Re: Winter Storage?
I live in Buffalo, NY. I guess that makes me a snow afficionado. We also get some serious wind. I store my boat outside in a boat yard.<br /><br />Right now I have a 24 ft boat and I use a combination of 2X4s, sawhorse brackets, foam padding, carpeting, 2 20X30 tarps, racheting straps, and a lot of bungee cords. <br /><br />I create a frame across the length of boat from bow to stern with 2-12 ft 2x4s supported by sawhorse brackets and 2x4 legs of varying lengths. I make sure to pad the bottoms of the wood with carpeting to avoid scratches. I add some eye screws to the underside of the wood frame so I can tie it down to the boat at any available anchor points. Once it is anchored it is pretty sturdy.<br /><br />Once the base is complete I pad the length of the frame and any sharp edges that are exposed. I use carpet or foam pad and painters tape or a stapler. The biggest problem is wind and snow causing your tarps to wear through. Once that happens your out of luck. The more padding the better.<br /><br />I put a double layer of tarp over the boat and tie it down at every grommet. I run my racheting straps under the boat to an adjacent grommet and tighten them down really well (The tighter the better). You want to avoid any areas where the tarp might sag and allow snow or water pooling. The racheting straps are excellent for this. The tarp should fit like a roof and the snow should just slide off. Use a dark tarp to help the sun melt the snow. I use the bungees to tie down any loose areas and minimize the flapping in wind. <br /><br />I haven't had any problems with this method. I think I spent about $150 bucks for the initial materials. The tarps are good for a few years. It takes about a day to setup.
