Storing Your Boat without a lift?

[Silver Eagle]

With all the boats that we have owned Trailering is the only way to fly.Iwould rather trailer it then have to take it out of the water and clean all the crap off of the bottom . I have a trailer so why not use it. We like to travel the Chesapecke Bay so it's easier to tow the boat to a ramp then it is to run the boat a hundred miles to go some place and then have to refuel it and come back . Besides with the boat on dry land I can see the boat and not worry about who is messing around with it .It's always covered unless it's in the water. When I had my 21 ft bow rider people always asked me how come my fibergalss was always so clean.It looked brand new. I never waxed ,I just washed it down with a garden hose after bringing it back to our summer home. We had it for over 15 years and it still looked new when I sold it.
I'm 71 now and I ache all over so this may be my last year with the pontoon boat. unless some one comes up with an easier way to get in the boat from the water.I need some sort of a ramp that fits on the side of the boat and folds away when not in use.

[Bryden24shp]

side note; alot of cheap used lifts are for sale over at Lake of The Ozarks. They are pretty easy to haul.

Your not kidding... I just found a 6500 pounder for $500.00, gonna cost another $500 to have it moved to my slip and rigged for the boat.

[STEVEBRENDA]

STEVEBRENDA wrote:

side note; alot of cheap used lifts are for sale over at Lake of The Ozarks. They are pretty easy to haul.


Your not kidding... I just found a 6500 pounder for $500.00, gonna cost another $500 to have it moved to my slip and rigged for the boat.

Yeah, I paid about $700 for one, then hauled it on my trailer to Table Rock.

[STEVEBRENDA]

Silver Eagle, look at the link below for the posting I did to help resolve my problem for getting in and out of the water.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7471&hilit=LIFT

[STEVEBRENDA]

Doesn't get any cheaper than this. $500

http://loz.craigslist.org/for/3476414790.html

[JohnO]

I'll chime in too. The first three years I had teh boat I trailered it. I used it a total of 9 times (maybe 7). It was just to hard to launch and load by myself.

The last three years I slipped it and I'm in it almost every weekend.

Once the water is warm enough to swim a quick wipe down with a scotchbrite pad removes all the green (and since I'd be swimming anyway it's no big waste of time).

I'm in a covered slip and keep the boat covered. The only problem I have is the occasional mud dauber trying to nest in my bimini boot. If I push a dryer sheet up in there at the end of the day it keeps the pests away

The slip costs me about 3100 a year but I only use it from about March to November (I'm too wimpy for colder water). But weighing the cost of a slip against the cost of a boat sitting on a storage lot that I can use but still have to pay for, I'll pay for the slip every time.


(Really looking forward to this year. Just bought a 17 pitch Yamaha Reliance prop on ebay ($340) which should get me over 40MPH!!)

[Bamaman]

If you're going to leave it in the water, the covered slip is the only way to go.

Otherwise, I'd be looking for a covered storage close to the lake, and trailer it. I just don't like'em in the water out in the sun and weather.

The factory covers are just a little tough to put on every time the boat's used.