After the sale <rack storage/marinas/forklifts??>

[Aqualissa]

Hey ya'll! Like many others, I have a learned a ton from this site. I am looking into a used 21-24 at the moment. Still researching boats, figuring out what to look for , what to ask etc. But I had a lightbulb moment this morning. Where do I keep it? I won't be able to trailer it because my truck is too small and its a huge boat-I have no experience with marinas or boat storage at all. Do these boats do ok in a slip or should it be kept out of the water? On the trailer under a carport thing? In the big warehouse with the racks? How much damage does that forklift thing do to these thin hulls? I want to keep this boat as long as possible!! What is the ideal way to go so I can start calling around? Thanks so much P.S. I live in Richmond and will be looking at keeping it at Lake Gaston, Kerr Lake or Smith Mountain Lake.

 

[Julian]

The do ok in fresh water lakes, but here in NC they do grow an algae fur on them pretty quickly that brings your top speed down and your gas mileage down with it. This is why mine sits on an Airdock while in her slip.

Rack storage is fine for these boats (no different than putting the boat on a trailer...probably less stress than trailering!).

Some marinas have in/out trailering options too.

 

[Aqualissa]

If you go the rack route, how , when and where do you flush the engines?

 

[Bluewater272]

Most places that offer rack storage will have an area to drop it off so you can clean it up before they put it away. Fancier places will flush and wash your boat for you.

 

[wkparker]

Noob question - no real need to flush the engine if only operated in fresh water, right?

 

[Aqualissa]

We always flush- even after fresh water. There is alot of silt and other debris in some lakes... while it probably isn't abdolutely necessary we still do it after every use- but that's just us!!

 

[Julian]

Noob question - no real need to flush the engine if only operated in fresh water, right?

If you are boating in fresh water and haven't got any concerns about having sucked up dirt/debris, there is no point in flushing on the hose. The water that comes out of our hose comes out of the lake we boat in!

 

[Aqualissa]

But! That is for our old '97 Speedster with the rotax engines- maybe you don't have to with the newer engines-

 

[chadweiser]

Rack storage is great!!!

 

[BlkGS]

I was in the same situation when I got my boat 3 weeks ago. I have a 2010 Colorado v8, it has the power to tow it, but it's small and 2wd, pulling it out of the water could be a hassle, plus I have nowhere to keep it at my house. I store mine in the racks at the marina, it's great. It makes it a million times more convenient to go out, just call when I'm on my way and they get it out.

Even if i get a bigger truck and moved to somewhere i could keep it, the convenience of not having to tow it through traffic is worth it.

 

[robert843]

Rack storage is awesome if its in your budget that is they way to go. Even if you had the tow vehicle I would still tell you rack storage. The first year we had rack storage we used the boat probably double the amount of time we did when towing it everyday as it eliminated a hassle and I could now arrive back at the marina after dark and not have to try and load the boat.

 

[haknslash]

Rack storage is awesome if its in your budget that is they way to go. Even if you had the tow vehicle I would still tell you rack storage. The first year we had rack storage we used the boat probably double the amount of time we did when towing it everyday as it eliminated a hassle and I could now arrive back at the marina after dark and not have to try and load the boat.

Yup if you can financially swing it I think its an awesome thing to do and something we may try it next season at one of the more pretty and clear water lakes. I figured having the ability to call ahead and have your boat sitting in the lake waiting on you makes up for a lot of wasted time having to deal with dragging the boat out of the garage, raising the tower, hook up to the truck, put the cover on, etc then repeat the whole process at the end of the day. Then we can just take my wife's car to the marina which gets much better gas mileage than my truck so this too helps offset some of the costs with dry rack storage at a marina. I'll likely need to do this with my next boat anyways as it will be larger and not fit in our garage. I assume these dry rack marinas also will pull your boat out but set it to the side allowing you to work on it, pull drain plugs, clean or whatever?

 

[Evil Sports]

Life would be so much easier if I had the option to rack my boat where I use it. I envy these members that have real lakes with proper facilities near them.

 

[robert843]

Yup if you can financially swing it I think its an awesome thing to do and something we may try it next season at one of the more pretty and clear water lakes. I figured having the ability to call ahead and have your boat sitting in the lake waiting on you makes up for a lot of wasted time having to deal with dragging the boat out of the garage, raising the tower, hook up to the truck, put the cover on, etc then repeat the whole process at the end of the day. Then we can just take my wife's car to the marina which gets much better gas mileage than my truck so this too helps offset some of the costs with dry rack storage at a marina. I'll likely need to do this with my next boat anyways as it will be larger and not fit in our garage. I assume these dry rack marinas also will pull your boat out but set it to the side allowing you to work on it, pull drain plugs, clean or whatever?

Biggest thing I found was it was now an option to go take a evening cruise on a Wednesday night. I could just call and show up at the marina at 6pm and go then arrive back and leave the boat for the night. When towing I wouldn't get to the boat till 6pm it would take an hour to prep tow and launch the boat and by that time you were going to have to pull out in an hour. It really added more boating days to our season.

 

[Aqualissa]

After reading these replies, I was convinced it was the way to go and started calling marinas. But then I got scared when they said they closed at 5 or 6-
we often don't come in until later so I was put off a bit. When I read Roberts reply above, I called back and 1 of them has special slips for people to leave their boats in overnight and they rack them in the a.m. !! ! Im going down to check it out tomorrow- thanks everyone!!

 

[robert843]

After reading these replies, I was convinced it was the way to go and started calling marinas. But then I got scared when they said they closed at 5 or 6-
we often don't come in until later so I was put off a bit. When I read Roberts reply above, I called back and 1 of them has special slips for people to leave their boats in overnight and they rack them in the a.m. !! ! Im going down to check it out tomorrow- thanks everyone!!

Corrrect mine closes at 6pm as well so I do have to call the boat out before 5pm to get it launched but as they mentioned mine has a dock I leave the boat tied up to when I come back after hours and the put it away in the morning it’s so convenient

 

[haknslash]

Yea I can totally see where it would add a lot more boating opportunities during a season. Rates are $145-165/mo under a contract on the lakes I've looked into. That's not bad at all since I burn more fuel than that per month in the truck towing the boat.

 

[robert843]

Yea I can totally see where it would add as lot more boating opportunities during a season. Rates are $145-165/mo under a contract on the lakes I've looked into. That's not bad at all since I burn more fuel than that per month in the truck towing the boat.

That’s a great rate almost half of what my marina charges

 

[Evil Sports]

After reading these replies, I was convinced it was the way to go and started calling marinas. But then I got scared when they said they closed at 5 or 6-
we often don't come in until later so I was put off a bit. When I read Roberts reply above, I called back and 1 of them has special slips for people to leave their boats in overnight and they rack them in the a.m. !! ! Im going down to check it out tomorrow- thanks everyone!!

I hate you all, just sayin

 

[Beachbummer]

First year on a dry stack for me. I lost my freebie personal dock with a lift that belonged to my inlaws, as they moved.

Other than the downside for having to pay for it, It's pretty sweet.

Negatives: Refueling on the water is more expensive, and bringing my fuel by hand is a bit of a pain but doable.
It's not a terrible downside, but forewarned is forearmed.