Boat Cover / storage advice

[pajarito]

Greetings,

We own a Com Pac 16 which we have been storing in our garage but we now we will be needing to store the boat outside.

We are moving to France for 2 years and our boat will  need to be stored in our driveway. We need advice on what type of cover to purchase as well any dealers and any other particulars regarding storage for such a time period.
Thanks,
Jude

[Craig Weis]

Here in good O'frozen Wisconsin where the wind and ice balls rain freely and generally horizontial most boats in outdoor storage are mouthballed in that heat shrunk heavy BLUE plastic.
But before doing that I would use U S Postage clear tape and tape-up all the cracks around the drop board, and openings in the seats [if you have any]. Keep the mice out.
And I would leave an open jar of mouth balls inside the boat. Tie the jar to the compression post so it will not be knocked over if the boat is moved during the two years your gone.
Block the trailer up on jack stands so the tires don't pick up a memory in the cords used to make the tires. Pump them up to 100 lb plus for the long sit.
Bare boat. Do not leave anything like boat cushions inside the boat. They will be ruined.
Hide the mast below the boat on the trailer, plug-up the bottom end of the mast with styrofoam board by simply pounding it in by hand to keep the mice out and from eating the wiring. Tied down the mast so it stays put. Do not use rubber bungie cords. They may rot away. Leave the boom tied down inside the boat.
Any 'bright work' on the boat will need to be redone next time you see the boat after the return from 'Frog-land'. I don't care for the French. Sorry. I degress. It's a Vietnam thing.
Park the sails by laying them out longwise and rolling them up loosely. Please don't fold them, then slide them in to the bags. Keep them inside some [warm] building. I normally hang the bags so as not to sit on the ground or floor. Do not leave the battens in the sail pockets.
Take all the lines off the boat; that means the two halyards for the main and lapper sails and coil them up and keep them with the sails in a ditty bag of some sort. Hung up too.
HINT: This is a good time to take every line from the boat and toss them hellter skellter into the washing machine with some Tide. Pull the mess out after the finial spin and dump them into the tub filled with water and with a half bottle of any liquid fabric softner for two days of soak. Un-coil the whole mess after letting drip dry for a day [that will take some time] and let dry prior to storage in the bag.
Get rid of the fuel tank on board and store the motor with the sails, after all the fuel, tainted with Sta-Bil, is run out of the motor.
Squirt some oil into the spark plug hole, put the plug back in and do not turn over the motor, keeping the motor oil inside the cylinder .  Remove and replace the 80/90 weight oil in the bottom end of the motor's gear box. May want to do this before oiling the cylinder.
Throw away or give away the battery to you neighbor as a thank you for watching the boat.
Tell the insurance carrier about the boat and give the company a heads-up.
Are you willing to walk away if the hurricane or a theif wants the boat more then you?
I don't think I can think of much else...Ohhhh yea, your talking to skip here. Wax her, wax her, wax her. And not just the bikini wax job either. All of her! :wink:
Enjoy your stay over seas. Don't forget where home is. skip
OHHHHH one more think.
Where the trailer supports the roundness of the hull, don't make that contact so tight that it 'oil-cans' the hull in. Let her sit on the concrete filled keel like it should. Boy I did not know I was that picky! :roll:

[sawyer]

Good on ya,
Great post, if I was going to store thats what I would to, now that I know.
I'm just not a good waxer....................  I'm bookmarking this..

[Craig Weis]

It's all in the sore wrists...
Wax on...
Wax off...
What could be easier?
You need good wax! And a little time, 2 days? skip.
Not that Turtle wax stuff. Nothing liquid 'cept on
pasted-on stripes.
skip

[Gil Weiss]

You convinced me . . .I bought a 4 10 can of Mother's Gold yesterday. Cost more than three times the price of Turtle Wax. It should be good stuff. I hope it is not a bear to take off and buff?

The storage post above contains some great information.

[pajarito]

Skip - thanks for the good advice.  You covered some points we had never even thought of.  With any luck, she'll be in good shape when we get back.  Picky is good  :!:
If you think of anything else, don't hesitate to post it...

Thanks,
Jude

[Craig Weis]

Once in France, keep in touch and thank you for posting. It's a blast to have all of you on board. Let us know what life is like in France. skip.

[Gil Weiss]

Jude,

FYI . . .I cover my CP16 each winter with a heavy duty 10 x 20 foot tarp sold by Boaters World. They are less than 20 bucks but price is not the issue. These tarps are green on one side and brown on the other and grometted on all four sides. They fit a CP16 on a trailer very well giving great protection. These tarps hold up very well and last more than one season. I made a simple "A" frame using a two piece 2x2 down the length of the boat and several 3/4 x 1/2 inch cross members over the cockpit.

I use a combination of bungy coed straps and some line under the stern to hold everything on. This system has lasted without any problems for three winters now here in PA. Survuves high winds, snow, etc.

Have a great trip . . .

[Pat McL]

Thanks for the tip, Gil. Just received my order for the tarp. Really nice for the money! --Pat

[Gil Weiss]

OK Pat . . . I brought my CP16 home from winter storage at a local marina. The tarp is in fine shape and will do another year atleast. I use bungie cords most of the way around, except towards the rear around under the stern. I found that some 1/4 inch line tied to a grommet hole, wrapped under the hull and tied to a grommet on the opposite side works great under the stern. I use three of these lines. I thn bungie the end of the tarp around the rudder pintles, etc, making sure that rain will drain away form the boat.