keeping boat in water

[royal1]

the local marina finally called after 3 years saying they have a spot open..1900 dollars for the season..huge increase! would you guys leave your boat in the water for the season?

[cadunkle]

Plan on pulling it once a month or so for a good cleaning. Maybe once or twice a season if your water is very clean and you don't get much marine growth. Make sure you have a good cover that keeps water out, and a reliable (if not redundant) battery/bilge/float switch setup if it'll be unattended for longer periods.

Personally I'd love to keep mine in the water. I'd imagine it would get a lot more use since I don't have an hour or two on the head and tail end of hooking up to the truck, getting everything together and loaded for a day on the water, towing, ramp fees, etc.

[jsandy]

keep in water as in floating? or in a lift? there is no way in hell i would keep mine in the water all year long. no no no no.

[royal1]

no it would be floating. its all black boat so little worried about what it will look like in the end, however it would save a ton of time and get alot more use

[michael hunter]

I agree with Jsandy bad mistake . Not only will it get the bottom trashed but the sun and rain will finish the rest of it . People ask me how I keep my 22 year old Sunsport looking so good. I always reply its easy the only time it sees the light of day is when I'm in it.

[cadunkle]

My thoughts on the matter is it's just a boat, it was made to be used and designed to be in the water. Use a good cover that keeps it dry and should be no problems. I never understood why people get paranoid about it.

At our lake house we keep a boat in the water there (just a '92 I/O) but it's in the water 5 months out of the year on a mooring and has been since new. No blisters in the gel or other issues from it. Everyone else on the lake keeps theirs floating all season too. Don't think I've ever seen anyone who has a lift.

When I bring mine up though, I'll pull it every couple days to get gas. I can't justify spending $50 more just to get gas on the water when I can see the boat ramp from our dock and the gas station is about a mile down the road. I'm used to trailering so to use the boat every day and only trailer every few days is fine. If I find a good deal on gas cans I might buy a bunch this year and see how much aggravation schlepping 8 or 9 gas cans around is compared to trailering.

[Diggs]

Really depends on you. If you are a meticulous person it will drive you crazy. If you are not that meticulous and just value the extra time and ease of being on the water, then do it. With a black boat you are going to need to put some serious love into it when you do pull it out to get it back to normal....
I could never do it cause I like to take really good care of it and I just would not sleep at night with it not sitting in my garage. That is just me and not the norm..... To top it all off that is alot of corn to spend to store the boat..... I bet you could give $1900 to your best unemployed riding buddy and make sure he has the boat at the ramp when you get there and clean when he pulls it out. He would probably be stoked!

[jsandy]

i dig Diggs idea. (ha! puns are fun and i'm board at work) but i'm just one of those crazy anal people that has to know exactly how my things are, even if it is "just a boat" and the fact that i did'nt know if someone else was on it or if a tie broke loose and the boat is grinding up against the dock. i just would'nt be able to sleep well at night either. and btw "just a boat" is a exspensive just

[Fman]

I agree with Diggs, if you are not meticuluos about your boat probably wont be a problem. Would definitely get a very good cover, and pulling the boat on a monthly basis seems like a great idea to detail and inspect. The convenience would be great. But what about having to lug your boards and gear in and out every time you leave the boat? tower speakers? stereo equip? does the dock have security?

They are just "boats" but they are very expensive, hand made watercrafts. I always look at the future when you sell the boat, much better resale with a meticuluos maintained boat.

Personally, I would never be able to do this, because I am way to metuculous about my boat. I really like having it in the garage, out of the elements. First thing my dealer said when I traded in my '08 was, wow, this boat looks brand new, and it had 231 hours on it.

[michael hunter]

''Just a boat'' Maybe your 92 IO is just a boat. As for me its never been just a boat more of a passion or maybe an obsession. I can just imagine what that 92 looks like after years of sitting in the weather in the water. Ill bet it doesn't look like this.