Winter's almost here (sigh): need your help

[Bobetpine]

Hi guys,

I read what you had to say about outdoors winter storage and here is what I intend to do for this winter since I don't have a place to keep my Laser inside at least this winter.

First make sure that there is no water left in the boat.
Then, cover up the mast step in some way to prevent any water/snow to sneak in during storage.
Last, I'll hang my boat on the gunwale as shown here:
http://www.jdecm.com/laser/dollies.htm#Winter%20Storage

Boat will be stored on "terra firma", about 15 feet from the water's edge (small lake), on 2 posts made with 4 x 4. The posts will be joigned together by one 2x4 on the upper part of the post and another 2x4 will joign the post at the bottom. The final look would be like the # sign.

My problem is this part (I'm originally French-speaking and I don't understand exactly what the guy means):
" Leave the poly open at the bottom to ensure no snow or ice gets trapped on the boat"

I have the feeling that if I leave the poly open at the bottom it's the opposite! I COULD and in fact I'm convinced that I WOULD get snow to sneak in .

So, what do you think? Is there a problem to completely seal the poly around the boat (mould problems in sight?)

Last, I would put a tarp on top of the poly, to be extra sure the boat stays dry (and to protect from sunlight since poly is transparent)

Thanks for your toughts, I would hate to ruin my Laser this winter.

Pascale

 

[TheBoathouse]

I think he was referring to cutting a couple of drain holes at the bottom of the plastic (which would be below the bottom rail if hull stored on its side not the bottom of the boat). This will allow any water that gets into the plastic (including condensation which will build up if sealed completly) to drain and not freeze. The tarp will work well, and here's a tip spray it with McLube so the snow and ice just slides off.