Storing Boat on Water all Summer

[TMO8853]

The Wife and I moved into our new house about 5 months ago on Lake Robinson, SC. It's been a dream of ours to live on the lake and we are very grateful to be here, but this house and yard needs a lot of work and has been huge undertaking so far. A couple years back I did a full restoration to my grandfathers 1436 that he left to me when he passed. He purchased the boat back in 1969 and it had been sitting outside to rot for years when I got it. Thanks to this forum, the boat is now rebuilt with middle seat removed, decks, electronics, carpet, no leaks, etc... and is great for fishing by myself or while the wife sits and reads while out with me. This was my first boat and I quickly realized how small a 1436 really is, but by myself I'm able to walk around and cast standing up if I'm careful. In a couple years I'll buy something really wide and stable like a 1660, but for now it's a great little boat.

This year will be the first time the boat has ever been out in the weather, as I've always kept it in the garage. I do have an automatic bilge that I installed before leaving it out on the lake. I have a cover for it, but it's the one from Walmart that cost like $50 and relies on straps that go under the hull to secure it. Obviously while its out on the water I can't use the straps and when it rains the cover just caves in and I get a ton of water in it. I don't think it could ever sink as long as the battery has charge because its got an 800gph bilge pump and I also use the cover that keeps about 50% of the water out of it, but Im pretty sure the weather is going to eventually destroy the boat as I have old timers formula wood floors that are covered with carpet.

Does anyone have any ideas for securing a cover to a boat that is on the water? I was thinking of possibly mounting some press type buttons on the hull and then sewing the other side of the button into the cover, but I know this a long shot. Just wanted to see if anyone had came up with any ideas that worked.

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

Why don't you build a covered slip off your dock. Where I live, folks build boat houses or just a roof on posts either on the water or on shore and winch their boats up inside when not in use. It will last longer than a cover and work with your next investment as well.

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[JL8Jeff]

You could try putting some of those adjustable poles in the boat to hold the cover up so it won't collapse with the rain. If that doesn't help enough, you could try the snaps or buttons that screw into the hull and put the other side in the cover to snap it on. Does the cover have a string that goes all the way around the outside edge? I bought a generic cover for a 15' center console I had and it was able to hold onto the lip on the hull by tightening up the string and tying it off. My current boat sits in the water all season with no cover but I don't have wood floors or carpet. Just make sure you have a proper anode somewhere mounted on the hull if you leave it in the water. Electrolysis will start to rot it out if you don't.

 

[Jim]

Congratulations on the move to your house. That has always been a dream of mine. =D>

I will add whatever you do, make sure you have an auto-bilge that works. I learned the hard way with my boat when I left it covered at the lake in the water.

 

[TMO8853]

I agree that a covered slip with boat lift would definitely be the best solution and that will eventually happen. However, lots of things rebuild and spend money on with this house and covered slip is at least one year out. I ordered some snap fasteners that are stainless and made for boat covers. One side screws into hull and the other side has a kind of Press Rivet that secures it to fabric. From front to back the canopy is pulled very tight because it’s made for my 14ft boat. But from side to side the water just collapses the cover and fills the boat and then bilge handles from there... not ideal.

I think these snap fasteners may work bc all I need is for the fabric to be tight on each side to allow water to run off. They really won’t have to support much weight as long as water doesn’t puddle. Now strong winds may be another factor, but time will quickly tell if they work bc we get 40mph storms on this lake on a two week basis. I’ll update this post if these snap fasteners work for making a custom fitting cover for my boat.

 

[TMO8853]

Congratulations on the move to your house. That has always been a dream of mine. =D>

I will add whatever you do, make sure you have an auto-bilge that works. I learned the hard way with my boat when I left it covered at the lake in the water.

Thanks Jim I appreciate it! Did your boat actually sink when your bilge failed? Was it deep enough to actually be fully submerged? I made sure my bilge was installed with a lot of care. I feel confident it will always work, however my next bigger more expensive boat will absolutely have two auto bilge pumps wired to two separate batteries bc like you experienced they will eventually fail.

 

[Jim]

I have a Ranger so its filled with foam and will not sink. It did fill with water and was really, really low in the water. Enough as to where the water was above the gas tank. It took a long time to pump out the water.

Here is the deal though. I had an auto bilge but it failed and only worked on manual. I had it replaced the next day with a newer, better, higher capacity one.


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[beetlespin]

I have two auto bilge pumps on my boat hooked up to seperate batteries. I have one mounted just a bit higher than the other one.

I do a spring and fall lake trip and the boat sometimes is uncovered for a week. One year I fished one year where we had on and off torential rains. One pump handled the load but I was able to sleep at night knowing if one failed the other was there.

If possible like other have suggested I would make a covered dock. One house I rent has a covered dock with a small storage shed and it makes things so much easier.

If you need to do a cover you can either do snaps or get a cover with the pull string that tightens under the gunnel. Posts to keep the cover up will be needed.

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

In the short term, you could make a PVC pipe frame that could be placed under the cover to keep it rented up so water will run off.

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[DaleH]

Fasteners - Regardless of type, put a thin nylon washer under each before you screw them into the tin hull, or the paint will blister around them.

Type - For that use, I'd prefer a few 'twist-lok' grommets every foot to every other foot. They will hold through winds. In bulk, you can buy them for $1.10 each from eBay Sellers like 'autoandmarineupholstery'. They sell the lift/dot ones too.

Pump - Look up that Marpac auto bilge pump I'verecommended here a zillion times, made by Johnson Pumps (the BEST in the business). They have no float switch with moving parts, but use field effect technology, a BEST BUY at only $50:

http://www.surplusunlimited.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=6993&Category_Code=1700-1-10

 

[JL8Jeff]

Yeah, don't trust the float switch that has the metal ball inside that rolls back and forth as it floats up. I had one of those not work (the ball didn't roll down to complete the circuit) and the boat filled up over the transom. With the flotation, the boat stayed afloat and the motor was above the water but it took me weeks to flush all the mud out of the nooks and crannies and I'm sure the wiring was compromised. As for the wind with the cover, just make sure you tie the cover to the boat somehow, it will blow off. I would find mine half in the water when the good summer thunderstorms rolled through.

 

[gwar822]

Fasteners - Regardless of type, put a thin nylon washer under each before you screw them into the tin hull, or the paint will blister around them.

Type - For that use, I'd prefer a few 'twist-lok' grommets every foot to every other foot. They will hold through winds. In bulk, you can buy them for $1.10 each from eBay Sellers like 'autoandmarineupholstery'. They sell the lift/dot ones too.

Pump - Look up that Marpac auto bilge pump I'verecommended here a zillion times, made by Johnson Pumps (the BEST in the business). They have no float switch with moving parts, but use field effect technology, a BEST BUY at only $50:

http://www.surplusunlimited.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=6993&Category_Code=1700-1-10


Twist-Lok.jpg

thats good advice!

also yeah the pvc pipe in the boat / the boat stands that go in the boat to keep the cover slightly elevated and angled so water runs off will work.
i had to ghetto rig some stands inside my boat when it was otside and it kept the water out. but everything else i tried failed lol.. water would find a weak spot.

beautiful property, the sunset looks awesome

 

[TMO8853]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I actually already have some some nylon washers I purchased when doing the rebuild of this boat, so I'll make sure to use them. I've got a ton of scrap PVC pipe and fittings laying around so I'll see what i can come up with for supporting the canopy. Hopefully between the snap fasteners and PVC I can make something that will get me through the rest of this year.

I'm glad I went down this path of rebuilding a smaller, less expensive boat for my first boat because I've learned so many things that I will improve on with my next boat. I've definitely learned that carpet looks and feels great on your feet, but is just not practical in a boat that will be exposed to the weather, dirt from shoes, etc... My neighbor has a nice, large aluminum Lowe boat and he just leaves it out in the weather with no cover all summer long. He says he brings it back to the garage in the winter and just sprays the inside out and its clean and ready to go for the next summer.


Jeff - you've got a great boat! That stand up center console is what I would like to have in my next boat.

 

[turbotodd]

If at all possible, leave it on the trailer until you're ready to use it. IT sounds like your place needs a lot of updating, etc and if that's the case, it's always best to take care of your greatest investment FIRST, before going fishing. Then once that part's done you can fish all you want.

corrosion happens in fresh water too, and for a lot of reasons. Brackish water will corrode aluminum just as quickly as salt will. Galvanic corrosion happens too with boat docks that are not grounded properly, or boats that have competing grounds, and a lot of other reasons. I've been do a dock recently, guy complained that the paint is coming off of his 1 year old boat, I walk out on the dock and there are bubbles coming from around the boat, teeny tiny bubbles. Water was calm and no wake from other boats so it was obvious. Inspected the dock and found that he had an electrical outlet (110v) installed so that the battery tender/charger and a light could be used in the mornings/evenings when docking, etc. Well the outlet was not grounded properly. Also the boat was not "grounded" properly (12v system), so he was seeing corrosion. Once it was through the paint, it was bare aluminum and that's where the bubbles were coming from. I would be surprised if there's not a bunch of corrosion on the outboard, similarly a 40hp yamaha that a local guy owns, stays in the boat house year round, same deal poor electrical thoughts, the entire skeg is GONE as is a lot of the rest of the lower unit and leg. It is ugly. That took about 6 years. There are holes in the transom that are the direct result of corrosion because of the brackish water and electrical conductivity.

If you can swing it, a boat house with a lift would be nice to have-and would prevent a lot of problems down the road. If not in the budget, is there any way you can just keep it on the trailer until it's ready to be used?

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

A lot of folks make a rail/track out of channel iron set in the U position for the trailer wheels to sit in. With a winch mounted to the front of the tracks, you can launch your boat off the trailer without a vehicle. Go fishing, hook boat back on trailer and winch it out of the water. If you or a buddy can weld, you can make something in an afternoon for not a lot of coin

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[TMO8853]

If at all possible, leave it on the trailer until you're ready to use it. IT sounds like your place needs a lot of updating, etc and if that's the case, it's always best to take care of your greatest investment FIRST, before going fishing. Then once that part's done you can fish all you want.

corrosion happens in fresh water too, and for a lot of reasons. Brackish water will corrode aluminum just as quickly as salt will. Galvanic corrosion happens too with boat docks that are not grounded properly, or boats that have competing grounds, and a lot of other reasons. I've been do a dock recently, guy complained that the paint is coming off of his 1 year old boat, I walk out on the dock and there are bubbles coming from around the boat, teeny tiny bubbles. Water was calm and no wake from other boats so it was obvious. Inspected the dock and found that he had an electrical outlet (110v) installed so that the battery tender/charger and a light could be used in the mornings/evenings when docking, etc. Well the outlet was not grounded properly. Also the boat was not "grounded" properly (12v system), so he was seeing corrosion. Once it was through the paint, it was bare aluminum and that's where the bubbles were coming from. I would be surprised if there's not a bunch of corrosion on the outboard, similarly a 40hp yamaha that a local guy owns, stays in the boat house year round, same deal poor electrical thoughts, the entire skeg is GONE as is a lot of the rest of the lower unit and leg. It is ugly. That took about 6 years. There are holes in the transom that are the direct result of corrosion because of the brackish water and electrical conductivity.

If you can swing it, a boat house with a lift would be nice to have-and would prevent a lot of problems down the road. If not in the budget, is there any way you can just keep it on the trailer until it's ready to be used?

So how do you go about properly grounding the wiring system on a boat? Are we talking about just a sacrificial anode somewhere on the hull like someone previously mentioned? My boat has a manual pull start engine, so there is no negative to ground to on my engine like I read in another article. All my wiring is marine grade and everything has its own dedicated negative running back to either a neg. bus bar or the battery. Currently, none of the wiring is connected to the hull.

Also, this lake has a lot weird restrictions however things have loosened up over the years. For instance, they do allow you to install a boat lift, but the lift or the dock can't be covered with a roof. No electricity allowed on any dock or lifts, so everyone on this lake uses these manual lifts with a large turning wheel. The power company owns the lake and they also own about 15 feet of the shoreline, so most people build secondary decks right up to this 15ft mark and then run electricity to these decks. Then they use an extension cord running from deck to the dock to charge their boats overnight. After reading about electricity and boat docks I'm actually kind of relieved I don't have to worry about people getting shocked while swimming at my dock from a faulty wired system.

Everyone I've met so far keeps their pontoon boats in the water for multiple years at a time and uses the lifts only for their fishing boats. The pontoons have the engines rotated out of the water, but all seem to stay relatively clean, but not sure how the bottom of the toons look after 4-5 years of constantly being in the water. The water on this lake is used as a source of drinking water for this area, so the county is always pushing these initiatives for trying to keep the water as clean as possible.

 

[DaleH]

So how do you go about properly grounding the wiring system on a boat? Are we talking about just a sacrificial anode somewhere on the hull like someone previously mentioned?

Here's how you can at least protect your boat from goings-on within your boat: https://forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=39331&p=400146

To the issue of 'stray current' that might be in the water from a stray/poor electrical issue. The only way to diagnose it is to have a special $150+ silver/silver chloride meter element that connects to a good Fluke or equivalent DVM multi-meter in which one can read the value for any stray electrical current.

This usually happens at marinas and docs where the electrical system, bonding and/or grounding is poor, as remember this always ... electricity will ALWAYS find the fastest way to ground, even if through the water. One day at a local marina a diver jumped in to remove a prop from a large 40-footer for someone and became instantly paralyzed and unresponsive :shock: , due to electricity in the water. We fished him out and while he still does such underwater service, he now checks using the special meter/element BEFORE entering the water. The boat owner of the big powerboat bought the setup for him, which I thought was a very nice gesture, even though it was the marina system found at fault.

 

[TMO8853]

A lot of folks make a rail/track out of channel iron set in the U position for the trailer wheels to sit in. With a winch mounted to the front of the tracks, you can launch your boat off the trailer without a vehicle. Go fishing, hook boat back on trailer and winch it out of the water. If you or a buddy can weld, you can make something in an afternoon for not a lot of coin

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Thanks for the suggestion that sounds like it would work. However, my lot is way to steep for my 4x4 tacoma to make it up and down without tearing it all up. I've seen quite a few people on this lake do something similar, where they build a rail/track setup from the water up the bank 15-20 ft. Then at the top they install 6x6 post with wench. So instead of a boat lift they just pull up to the track like there loading it on trailer. Then attach the wench to the boat and pull it up on shore out of the water. When you want to put it back in the water you just reverse the wench and gravity does the rest.

 

[DaleH]

Then at the top they install 6x6 post with wench. So instead of a boat lift they just pull up to the track like there loading it on trailer. Then attach the wench to the boat and pull it up on shore out of the water. When you want to put it back in the water you just reverse the wench and gravity does the rest.

As much as I love my 'wench' (wifey) ... I don't think she'll launch or retrieve the boat for me ...

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

A lot of folks make a rail/track out of channel iron set in the U position for the trailer wheels to sit in. With a winch mounted to the front of the tracks, you can launch your boat off the trailer without a vehicle. Go fishing, hook boat back on trailer and winch it out of the water. If you or a buddy can weld, you can make something in an afternoon for not a lot of coin

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Thanks for the suggestion that sounds like it would work. However, my lot is way to steep for my 4x4 tacoma to make it up and down without tearing it all up. I've seen quite a few people on this lake do something similar, where they build a rail/track setup from the water up the bank 15-20 ft. Then at the top they install 6x6 post with wench. So instead of a boat lift they just pull up to the track like there loading it on trailer. Then attach the wench to the boat and pull it up on shore out of the water. When you want to put it back in the water you just reverse the wench and gravity does the rest.

Exactly

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