After a great day or season on the water, boaters must find their vessel a safe and protective home. They can choose from three main storage categories applicable both in and out of season: in-water, dry outdoor, and dry indoor boat storage.
All-year-round in-water boat storage is a suitable option for boaters residing in areas with considerably mild winters. Otherwise, boats must be prepared for the winter or winterized, and an agitator or ice eater put in the slip to prevent water from freezing around the vessel.
Slip holding may be the most accessible and most convenient option out of the three, but it does come with certain disadvantages. For instance, in the case of a power loss at the marina, the agitator would stop, leading to freezing the boat in place and ice damaging it. A possible solution for boaters who have a lift is storing the boat there through the colder months.
Dry outdoor boat storage is more common among boaters due to its lower cost compared to other options, ease of access, and relative safety and protection for the boat. Most marinas, boatyards, and commercial storage facilities, provide dry storage spaces for both boats and boat trailers. Possible disadvantages include security and additional preparations. Boaters should ensure areas are surrounded by a fence, locked, and equipped with functioning security or surveillance systems. In addition, boats must be shrink-wrapped, parked under a canopy, or tightly covered to avoid water intrusion and minimize other atmospheric influences.
Dry indoor boat storage is the costliest option, but it also offers the highest level of protection for the boat. In addition to the high price, finding indoor boat storage facilities can also be challenging. Except for boaters with spacious enough garages or those who keep their boats in the so-called “boatels,” where boats are fork-lifted and placed on huge stacking racks inside a building, others may struggle to locate an indoor boat storage facility.
Another disadvantage of this storage option is the limited availability. To use their boat, especially outside of business hours, boaters must plan and notify the storage facility in advance to take the boat off the rack and put it into the water. Also, depending on the facility, boat owners might not be allowed to perform any on-site maintenance or repairs on their vessels. Instead, they may have to pay a professional to conduct even a routine oil change.
When it comes to the cost of boat storage, besides the chosen storage option, the other two key influencing factors are the location and the boat size. Usually, boat storage prices are proportional to the local cost of living. Thus, expenses will vary depending on whether the area is an affluent one or has a lower cost of living. And logically, the bigger the boat, the larger space it will occupy, and the higher the price.
One more thing to consider with regards to storage costs is whether the boat is on a trailer. If so, boaters can keep both the boat and the trailer at the parking lot of the local marina with a boat ramp at a relatively low yearly cost. It is important to note, however, that marinas rarely provide boat launching and retrieving services. This means boat owners must also have a tow vehicle powerful enough to pull the rig to the boat ramp and bring it back.
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