Advice on winterizing a Cp16. Boat covers?

[Bbarry]

Hey yall.
I am about to store my new to me ComPac 16 for the winter up here in Wisconsin. Any advice? I'm keeping it in a metal barn it's lived in for 10 plus years. But the canvas covering I had to get rid of because of rodent damage.

Does anyone use a standard speed boat cover? Or other commercial cover to try to keep the deck clean and the critters out? What size/type?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can provide.
BB

[brackish]

If stored in a barn not sure why you would want any additional cover on it.  Cover is just to keep the leaves, snow/rain out of the cockpit, and stored inside that should not be a problem.  Drain any water tanks, hang some moth crystal bags in the cabin and any other enclosed spaces to keep the rodents out and it should be fine.  Maybe put a little 200W heater in it to keep it from getting mold or mildew.

I'd have little faith in any canvas cover keeping the rodents out, says one who is building metal gable vent screens to keep the squirrels  out of the attic.

[PJ]

Any recommendations  on a safe 200 watt heater?  Mildew is really bad in our rv, and sure it will be the same in our Horizon Cat.  Tried the chemical  buckets   they work ok until they spill ugh.... and we go through them fast here in KY.

[brackish]

Any recommendations  on a safe 200 watt heater?  Mildew is really bad in our rv, and sure it will be the same in our Horizon Cat.  Tried the chemical  buckets   they work ok until they spill ugh.... and we go through them fast here in KY.

Although I've never used them I suspect the safest are the types like the Davis Dry Air, or Caframo stor-dry.  50-60 bucks. They are only about 100 watts but run constantly.  I have used a standard heater that has a low setting of 700W with a Tstat set to come on at freezing.  Also has a tipover safety switch.  My boat stays in the water outside, so the heater doesn't run when the sun load is high, and I also have a solar vent circulating air.  No mildew with that setup.  I do have a couple of 200 watt standard heaters that have overtemp shut offs but no tstat nor tipover shut off.   I would use them if I could selectively turn them on and off, but I'm 35 miles away from the boat so not practical.

[Roland of Macatawa]

Regarding thermostat control for heaters, we have had good success in our travel trailer using a simple heater with a programmable 120Vac outlet thermostat. The advantage is that the thermostat, and its built-in temperature sensor, can be located remotely from the heater. We had found that in most built-in thermostat-heaters the thermostat is not well insulated/isolated from the heat source so it becomes ineffective. If you try one, understand that it works by switching the source power on or off. Use a heater with simple controls (without electronic controls) which will turn back on when power is restored.

The specific model thermostat which we use is:
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/heating-and-cooling/thermostats-and-heating-supplies/thermostats/4252961
It has many more features than we actually use.
It is capable of switching up to 15A @ 120Vac = 1800W

-Roland

[Gerry]

I store my CP 16 in a garage.  I cover it with two 8x10 tarps.  Keeps the dust off.  In fall and spring I use bungy cords with the same tarps to keep debris and rain off.  I suspend the tarps over the mast from pulpit to mast crutch.

[NateD]

I'm in MN. For boats stored outside I put a tarp over them to keep the snow and ice from building up, but when I've had the luxury of storing them inside pole barns I didn't put any additional covers on them. If you have the space to store the sails and cushions at home that will reduce the amount of damage that can be down if rodents do get into the boat. When I leave the cushions on the boat I try to tip them on edge so condensation doesn't build up on the bottom side.

Make sure there is no standing water anywhere in the boat. Pull the battery, or at least charge it up to full and disconnect the wires. I use dryer sheets instead of moth balls, cheap fragrant ones from Fleet Farm. I used to put chunks of rat poison around the boat too, figured a dead rat in the boat would do less damage than a rat that sets up residence. But I've never had a rodent get into a stored boat, so I've become lazy and stopped doing it.

Any chance of someone breaking into the barn? Maybe a sailboat is a less attractive target, but I had an uncle who was a contractor with a large pole barn set back in the woods a little and not visible from the house. Thieves got in and were able to take their sweet time searching through all the tools and supplies for the good stuff. They then put them all in the fishing boat that was stored in there, then hitched up and headed out. When I stored my CP23 in that barn I ran a large chain through the wheels and around the frame to make it a little harder to steal. With a CP16 you could probably remove the coupler from the tongue pretty easily if theft is a concern.

[Bbarry]

Not worried about thieves yet. The trailer bearings are still seized.. One of my winter projects to replace. And there's about 8 tons of farm equipment between it and the door now that harvest is over.
I've taken everything out of her and storing it in the basement till spring now that I have it clean.
Mouse/rattraps and heater are not a bad idea. I'll check with the barns owner if he has any problems with it.
Thanks!

[ameysails]

PTMTARPS.COM  has the perfect sized 12ft by 10ft white poly tarp with reinforced square grid fibers
it perfectly covers our CP 16cb and yet lets it still breathe
worked well for us for two years and cost/value is great... issues finding tarp, contact us

https://www.ptmtarps.com/

[ameysails]

moth balls are okay...BUT if used
remove any materials that can absorb the smell,
cuz next sailing season the naptha will still be there
Irish Spring soap keeps the mammal critters out