putting suncat up for winter

[patch]

was i right when i put my boat away for the winter,i decided to leave the sail on the boom.i had the sail over on.then wrapped the sail and boom in mylar wrap.then i took a large tarp covered the whole boat from bow to stern.tied it up as tight as possible.its outside but protected from the wind.this is my 1st time.should i have taken the sail off.

[ontarioSuncat]

I leave my boat at the cottage in Central Ontario. On the suncat as with other boats I always took the canvas off the boat. Mice seem to like to nest in the folds and chew on things. I would remove the sail. I found this year that I could open up the sail cleats form the track slides and allow the sail to be removed without taking the mast hinge apart. Only had 4 slides to deal with. In total a 15  inute job.
All the best.

[tmorgan]

I took the sail off this winter because I was taking our Suncat to a dealer to have some work done.  I was concerned because when I unscrewed the nylon slides to get the sail off, it seemed the screws were just embedded in the nylon and did not have a metal sleeve inside.  Screwing and unscrewing each year would not be a good idea.  I asked the dealer and he told me some owners store their boats as you have and others take the bolt out of the mast hinge, slide the gaff, sail and boom out of the track and store the entire package for the winter.  Of course you need a storage place big enough to store the mast!

I like the idea of taking the sail and canvass off of the boat for the winter but I think I will need to buy another type of track slide.  Anyone have experience with a track slide that would work well?

[Tom G.]

I have stored my Sun Cat in a storage unit for the last two seasons.  I have not taken the sails off, as a matter of fact the only thing I have done is to empty the gas from the tank into my vehicle.  I do visit the boat several weekends during the winter and look things over.  The managers of the site put plenty of poison for mice about and I've yet to see any sign that any have even gotten into the storage unit.

If you are storing yours outdoors thing may be a bit different.

Tom G. (Seaweed)

[ontarioSuncat]

Wish I had a storage unit. I have to leave mine beside the cottage with a tarp over it. Mice can be a real problem. With the shape of the boat with a tarp on the snow seems to slide off ok.

[patch]

 i have a storage shed for my bikes and stuff,now that my truck is paid off may get a bigger shed 20x 10 will not hold the trailer,may get a swing out trailer tongue.then the height becomes an issue. boat is pretty well protected in its outside storage.