Stupid Question about 14' Sears Seaking vertical storage

[porchlight]

Hi all,

I have a pretty dumb question about storing a 14' sears/montgomery ward seaking aluminum boat upright against the side of my house.

I've seen people just tip them up and lean them up against a house or shed or whatever, and I finally tried it for the first time myself yesterday. In my head, the transom was flat, and it would just sit on the transom and be fine.

In reality, however, the transom isn't flat—there's an angle to it. The result is that when the boat is straight up and down, the stern/transom is resting on the very "top" of the transom instead of the whole transom.

Hard to explain verbally.... but if you take a boat like this:


and tip it upright agains the wall.... the transom isn't sitting flat on the ground. The Top of the transom, where the motor mounts, is the only place touching the ground, while the "bottom" of the transom, where the drain plug is, is in the air, like so:



So what I'm wondering is: For a 14" aluminum boat, that's incredibly light... is this a problem? Will the weight of the boat cause big issues or anything?

If not, then great! I'll just keep it as-is.

But if this will cause problems: What can I do about it? I thought about just building a little platform at the correct angle to fully support the transom, something like this:



or I'd also really appreciate any other suggestions that anyone has!

Thanks!

p.s. holy cow, I'm sorry for the drawing quality

 

[GA_Boater]

Just lean it against the house. A 2X4 or 2X6 under the top of the transom will distribute the weight on an even surface.

Make sure it's secure and won't be blowing all over the back yard if you get any winds.

 

[bchaney]

I would not be concerned about the transom being damaged structurally by leaving it as-is. I agree with GA_boater about adding something under it and making sure it wouldn't blow over. If it's got a wood transom I'd want to keep it elevated a bit so that it won't be near any damp soil or sitting in the snow.

 

[JimS123]

I used to do that and the wind would blow under the sides and tip the boat over. I ended up building a 2x4 "stand and tying it to the ground upside down horizontal with ropes to tent stakes.

If you HAVE to stand it up due to lack of room, drill holes thru the house, install I-bolts and tie a rope around the hull to keep it in place.

 

[tpenfield]

I think the damage will come from a gust of wind blowing it over. If someone happens to be nearby, then add injury to that .

As stated, I see no problem in doing what you are planning as long as the bow of the boat is somehow tied to the top of the wall.

 

[porchlight]

Thank you all for the advice. I do plan on securing it upright, but always happy to hear safety stuff over and over.

But as far as standing it vertically, that's 4 smart people all saying it's fine, so I'm thinking it's fine. Thanks again for the input! Really sets my mind at ease.

 

[MTboatguy]

Yup, standing up is fine, just make sure and support the transom with a piece of wood to distribute the weight and make sure to secure it in a couple of spots, it is amazing how far the wind can move them.

 

[porchlight]

I've seen two people mention supporting the transom with a piece of wood... what exactly does this mean? I'm imagining just putting a 2x4 under the transom where it touches the ground.... something like this?



Thanks!

 

[MTboatguy]

I've seen two people mention supporting the transom with a piece of wood... what exactly does this mean? I'm imagining just putting a 2x4 under the transom where it touches the ground.... something like this?



Thanks!

Yup, exactly like that, you want to keep it off the ground if possible.

 

[GA_Boater]

That's it. Although I would have the keel facing out to reduce the chance of the wind catching and beating it up.