Winter storage at home
 

22’ boat: I’m going to do the normal winterization and full wrap, but I’d also like to put up one of those temporary garages to limit the elements as much as I can.
Have any of you done this and which structure did you have good luck with?
I have a portion of my yard that is flat, graveled and can’t be seen from the house or the street.
I may eventually build a more permanent pole barn, but for now, I’m just looking for a reasonable solution.


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I’ve used the shelter logic ones in the past with good success.. leave it up year round and it does the job. I take off the sides in the summer and use it as a car port, put the sides on in the winter to make it winter storage. One tip is to critter proof your boat.

Also most of them I think are 20x10.. my boat is 22 feet also so the fit is not perfect. Luckily my trailer tongue swings closed and since the front doors flexible it tucks in tight

yup shelters
 

I've had two from Shelter Logic, both 12 x 20, they worked well for boats and cars. Great products, great value. Definitely better than just a boat cover or tarp. They each lasted me 10+ years with minor ductape patches on the cover when falling sticks from trees put small punctures in them. The covers are replaceable. Get the heaviest weight cover you can for longer life. The material is pretty durable, I'm still using 20-year-old pieces from the first one to cover the sides of my wood rack.

What matters in snow country is roof shape. The round style and barn style both shed snow pretty well, house style does not so avoid house style. Best for shedding heavy snow is probably the alpine peak roof style model. On the second one I had, the barn style, I added cross pieces under alternate top frames because I did not trust it to hold a heavy wet snow load without something holding the sides together like a proper truss.

To reduce chances of the cover fabric tearing at frame joints where the sharp metal tube edges are, I put ductape over the top of all those joints before putting the cover on. I think it helped, never had any tears at those joints despite stress from heavy now loads and me pulling a roof rake across them repeatedly.

A dark color cover will warm up the sides faster in the winter sun and help the snow slide off.

Taller is better, the dimensions they provide for the height of the door openings are exaggerated, and boat windshield height on trailer can be surprisingly tall. The roll-up door is tends to be lower along the sides, even with a PVC pipe inside. So get a model with at least an extra foot of door height over your highest windshield height.

To deal with the too-long trailer tongue, I just cut a flap in the front roll-up cover and let it stick out.

The metal frame posts sink into the ground over time, reducing your door opening height. Second time I screwed them down to PT 2x4s along the sides so they would float on the ground, helps keep them aligned also.

The plastic gable vents come with little plastic pop-pins to attach the inner and outer frames. The pins will get brittle and break after 6-7 years, causing the vents to fall off. Consider using some good SS screws and nylock nuts instead so you don't have to deal with this later.

If you have a choice, put the door side you will use facing south to the sun. Otherwise you may wait an extra week+ in spring for a big block of ice to melt before you can get it out, which is what tends to happen on the north side (Unless you clear it all winter, taking care not to hit the trailer tongue with the snowblower auger haha)

Cheers

Hitting it with the auger: That would be an unforgettable sound, hah!


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We have a 24' Rhino Shelter round style that we put up last year and we stored our 19' Yamaha in it all winter and it worked perfectly. No shrink wrap, just full gas tank and fuel stabilizer and blew out the water from the jet.

No critter control?

BTW: Talk to your people:
2 boats almost hit me at the docks this year, both Yamahas :)


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I used a shelter-logic type structure for many years. I advise against shrink-since it will reduce ventilation. Open it up on warmer days for the same reason.

Get one long enough to include the trailer tongue so you don't have to remove it or cut the front of the shelter.

Good luck!

I like this idea. I was going to wrap it but it seems counterproductive.
What are all of the tactics you are using for critter control?

I’m told we should use everything and then some:
Dryer sheets, crushed mothballs, peppermint spray, traps, voodoo hexes, etc
I will probably spray the trailer with a really thick coat of Boeshield to keep it slippery, too


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Nothing works forever but peanut butter on rat traps will work the best with mice and chipmunks. If it's warm weather though, the ants may get to it first and you'll wonder "how'd them varmints get it so clean and not get dead?"