Catsailor.com Winter Storage
Posted By: ryanm Winter Storage - 08/26/08 05:32 AM
Living in Minnesota we can have some pretty cold winters and I have to store my cat outside. Besides putting a tarp over the entire boat what other precautions should I take when leaving it outside? What damage can be done if it is in below zero weather? Any input helps.
Posted By: Chris9 Re: Winter Storage - 08/26/08 10:30 AM
Take tramp off - snow can get heavy
Keep water out of the hulls
Look up, try to not store under trees - falling limbs
Put all misc stuff in the house (sails, lines, boards, and blocks)
Posted By: erice Re: Winter Storage - 08/26/08 10:32 AM
my nacra spent upwards of 10 winters disassembled and upside down under 3-6 feet of snow under some trees. the mast was tied to 1 of the trees
there appears to have been no damage from that, but it did get osmosis bubbles in the gelcoat from 1 summer of being moored
Posted By: popeyez7 Re: Winter Storage - 08/26/08 12:07 PM
Take yer cat OFF the trailer. My 17 hulls had the back rollers crush into the hulls on both sides.~repair job~. After that I built a ''A'' frame over my cats. It's a pain to take the tramp off of a 17. I now do it with all my cats. It's on TheBeachcats.com site~~ Tech. help gallery (see attachment here)
I HIGHLY agree with 'popeyez7' on the no rollers thing! I made 18-inch-long padded/carpeted hull cradles from the same piece of scrap sewer pvc tube that's the storage tube.
Strip the boat of EVERYTHING. Down to just fiberglass hulls and crossbars (remove any barberhauler cleats screwed to crossbars). Cover any remaining exposed cleats (downhaul riveted to mast) with Hefty lawn and leaf bag, but poke holes in the bottom of the bag to allow for drainage. Drive the trailer tire over Hefty lawn and leaf bags, pull them up and over and tie them off to protect the tires from UV wear. Unplug the drain plugs and tape over the holes with nylon screen door meshing (cheap at Lowes). You WANT airflow through the hulls to allow for condensation to not build up, but don't let mice use your hulls as a winter hibernation home. Mice can easily fit through your drain holes and a cat hull is PERFECT for building a nest. NO tarps! It'll only catch rain/snow and weigh down and a polytarp the rubs on the hulls from a little wind will wear off and stain the hulls.
Just remember that fiberglass and aluminum with airflow is fairly impervious to weather/cold. It may get a little dirty, but is easily cleaned off in the Spring.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Winter Storage - 08/26/08 03:52 PM
Wow that looks bad!
any pics of your a frame in action?
Posted By: Rhino1302 Re: Winter Storage - 08/26/08 03:53 PM
If you take your boat off the trailer, make sure you tie it down.
I learned that the hard way last winter.
Posted By: ryanm Re: Winter Storage - 08/26/08 04:34 PM
there appears to have been no damage from that, but it did get osmosis bubbles in the gelcoat from 1 summer of being moored
Do the 5.2 get really bad when moored (thought about doing that next year)
Posted By: PTP Re: Winter Storage - 08/26/08 04:43 PM
none of these cats should be moored really.
Posted By: ryanm Re: Winter Storage - 08/26/08 04:47 PM
isnt there a new gelcoat or some type of paint for older fiberglass hulls that stops water from being able soak through the gelcoat, some guy at westmarine was trying to get me to buy this for my monohull a bit back.
Posted By: brucat Re: Winter Storage - 08/26/08 06:28 PM
Mooring causes all sorts of issues. Besides marine growth, the motion of the waves will work on the hull/crossbar connections, eventually loosening the whole boat.
Mike
Posted By: popeyez7 Re: Winter Storage - 08/27/08 11:22 AM
Hey Andy... No I don't have any picts of the 'A' frame. I'll get some for this yrs storage coming up in October.
PTP & brucat are right.. don't moore it. My neighbor lost his mast~~ <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> one of the shrouds broke and yer cat will rock & roll too much~~~~ ya ROCK & ROLL while sailin it~~ so go ROCK & ROLL..... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: srm Re: Winter Storage - 08/27/08 01:56 PM
I think using a tarp to cover the boat is ok as long as you make sure it's pulled tight so that it doesn't collect snow or rain water. Be sure to remove any snow that does happen to accumulate.
Loosen or better yet, remove the tramp, and remove any lines. All the hardware/fittings are impervious to weather/cold.
One other thing that I do that I didn't see mentioned is that I like to put my trailer up on blocks so the wheels are off the ground. I'm not sure whether it matters, but I just don't like the idea of having the wheels sit loaded in one position for several months in a row.
sm
Posted By: brucat Re: Winter Storage - 08/27/08 06:05 PM
The ultimate answer is to store it indoors (barn, garage, basement, storage shed, etc.). This may mean taking the boat apart, but it is the best solution for areas prone to lots of snow.
Mike
Posted By: ryanm Re: Winter Storage - 08/27/08 08:13 PM
The ultimate answer is to store it indoors (barn, garage, basement, storage shed, etc.). This may mean taking the boat apart, but it is the best solution for areas prone to lots of snow.
Mike
Well i can store it in a garage but the door frame isnt large enough to fit the boat in, how hard is it to disassemble the cross beams so that the boat could fit in?
It would be a nacra 5.2 that i would have to disassemble
Posted By: popeyez7 Re: Winter Storage - 08/28/08 06:43 AM
chain saw 'VS' door frame guess who'll win ~~LOL <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: erice Re: Winter Storage - 08/28/08 06:49 AM
my nacra 5.2 comes apart every year for winter breakdown
if yours hasn't come apart for some make sure that you can "crack" all 16 beam bolts get them all turning a little before pulling any of them out
want to make sure you don't turn the captive nut in the glass
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Winter Storage - 08/28/08 01:04 PM
NEVER had to deal with that before, BUT last winter has different. Only snow a few days, but I am boatlees this winter. Will get something worked out before next
Doug