Looking for guidance on storage and service
 

I have a 25-foot bowrider I/O that is serviced by a local marina ,they pull it in the fall winterize maintain and store undercover. In the spring the process is reversed no complaints on the service but I want to save money. What are my options , I do not have a trailer but I do own a truck that can pull about anything. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks

Don't see much opportunity to save. You'd need to buy a trailer to store it yourself and you'd still have to winterize and shrink wrap it. You'd save in the long run but it would be several years before you recovered your costs

Went thru the same calculation just a few years ago. 5 years to break even.


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There's two possibilities, but both rely on having a trailer (though some independents may provide a trailer to transport): 1. an independent service which, from my friends' experiences, are marginally cheaper or 2. self-store.

I think about it every year but then come back to my boating goal: simplicity = enjoyment.

I know there's cheaper options than marina storage, but I drive it over in fall, pick it up in spring, and use it for the summer. And if there's anything needed at any time, my marina is super responsive. With such a short season, time > $.

Good luck!

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Shop around, not all marinas will try to rip you off.

Self store
 

Once I no longer docked at a marina that if you did not store with them, they would not guarantee the dock in the spring. Boat was a 25 ft bowrider. Cost to dock and store was just under $4000, plus winterizing and commissioning.

Bought a tandem trailer (new) around $2500. Winterizing was $800+. Shrinkwrapping was $11/ ft . Spring commissioning was a couple of hundred. Stored the boat in my front yard.

I was lucky. A friend was putting in a seasonal dock, 6 10ft aluminum sections, and said if I helped him put it in and out, I could dock on the other side. :)

I was told by someone at a marina that if I wanted to pay money to take off the shrinkwrap, put in the drain plug, charge the batteries, check the oil, and then crank'er up, they'd be happy to take my money. Started doing it myself, no issues. Saved money there.

So, amortize the trailer however you want, add in your cost to winterize, add in shrinkwrap, and plunk the whole kit and caboodle in your yard (or friend, neighbor, relative), and there you have it. Compare this to what you are paying now.

Dave

Time horizon?
 

How long will you be a boater? Buying a trailer is a fixed cost for many years. Hiring a marina is a cost that will increase almost every year. If you have a long time horizon, buying a slip or rack can level off your costs. If you get out of boating, you can sell or rent it, or give it to your kids. Obviously, this is very long term and a lot different than trying to save $100 by doing your own oil changes.

Just looking for some clarification, not sure what you mean by "rack".
Assuming "rack" storage is done at a marina, how would one by a "rack"?

Boat Storage Options
 

I have been at the same marina for over 25 years. I do have a trailer and have built a car port in my back yard for my boat for winter storage. The marina winterizes my boat and puts it on the trailer. I take it home for the winter, store it under my car port. In the spring I clean it, put the plug in, charge the batteries and launch. I have never had an issue with the marina as far as having a slip in their boat house.

Works for me,
Hope this helps,
Bill

There's two possibilities...
 

Either you is a English teacher, or you isn't! :eek:

If you're referring to my "there's," look up colloquial vs. standard English. You'll notice that I vary based on the topic and tone.

And why throw the thread OT?

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"Rack" = "valet" except valet is a service and a rack is a physical contraption. Racks can be bought and sold as condominiums, or memberships. Harilla Landing Yacht Club, I believe is an example. Dave's Motor Boat Shoppe in Gilford offers rack storage but is not a marina in the sense that they are not located on expensive waterfront property.

So, if you buy a "rack" for storage, you also have to buy a trailer to launch the boat or a fork lift or pay the storage place to launch your boat.
That does not make sense to me.

You can valet your whole “boatlife” without a trailer. Unless you want to leave the marina and go to other lakes they will service/store/launch your boat as long as you pay for it. If you valet, in most cases your boat is launched and retrieved by fork lift. Nothing changes unless you want to move your boat elsewhere, then you need a trailer or boat hauling company.

Condo
 

As in any condo ownership, you're the owner and through your board of directors (you could be on the board) you have some control over prices and services offered. Based on what I paid for my boat slip many years ago, my annual cost is ~$600 and averages down every year. To rent the same slip is ~$5000 / year and going up routinely. I can sell for 4-5 times what I paid. Because it is a condo association, the rules allow me to buy services from the management company,, outside vendors, or do the work myself. These are not options at most commercial marinas. I think it's a bargain.

Rack-valet
 

I think there is some confusion here. If you buy a rack then owning it permits you to store in the rack when not using it. You are part of a association and there is a association/condo fee annually that probably covers the valet to launch and haul your boat when you want to use it. you would not need a trailer for that. If you rent instead of buying a rack (MVYC has rental racks) the rent you pay for the season covers the rack for storage when not being used and covers the valet to launch and haul when you want to use it. Again no trailer needed.

The original post I believe was asking about storing for the winter. You don't buy a rack for winter storage only.

storage
 

This is what I would do if I were you. Because marina storage has gone out of sight in the last 2 years. I changed where I store as well but I can't trailer as the boat is too big. If you have space to store on your own for free, buy a used trailer, much cheaper than new since it sounds like you are only going to launch at the beginning of the season and haul at the end. If your handy build your own frame and buy a tarp to cover it for the winter, no shrinkwrap needed. I did this when I trailered. You will save on storage and shrinkwrap and with a used trailer will probably break even in 2 - 3 given what marinas are charging.

I think a bit more info is needed to really answer your question. You state that its serviced by a local marina, but do you keep it in a slip with them during the season, or do you take it elsewhere (like to a/your private dock)?

What marina do you use? If you dock with them as well, each marina will have different situations regarding storage, slip renewal, etc.

For instance I hear that West Alton requires storage with them in order to keep your slip. I am in Gilford Yacht Club, these are privately owned so we do whatever we choose. There is a travel lift there and we can pay to have our boats pulled, but winterization services are provided by outside contractors.

Thank you for all the explanation.

We have a rack, actually we have two racks. It comes withe the valet service.
I can not see myself buying one and put it in the backyard unless I had a slip or a mooring.

Thanks again.
Happy Boating.

X2, If you buy a "nice" used trlr, (galvanized, not painted steel), or one that needs just a little tlc to be "nice", you will always get your money back if, and when you sell. They hold their value pretty good.

I don't understand your post. If you bought a rack you wouldn't store it in your backyard. You could keep it in the rack. If you had a slip or mooring you would not buy a rack, you wouldn't need the rack. People buy racks to use the boat in the summer instead of trailering and launching. You wouldn't buy a rack just to store for the winter. The original poster doesn't have a rack. Stores in a marina for the winter and wanted ideas to reduce the cost.

Sorry for being OT
 

Sorry for ruffling your feathers- I thought the emoji made it clear that i was just poking some fun!
BTW- you don't need to instruct everyone to "look up" just because you think your vocabulary is that much greater than everybody else's.

Unfortunately, the standard English you refer to is on the wane- Listen to the news! Yes, we all do it- especially those who work with "kids".

I sometimes wonder if today's graduates, when interviewing for jobs, can get away with "relaxed" language" because they are being interviewed by others who grew up "colloquially".

Changing of the guard?

Given that almost 100% of your replies (at least to me) are snarky, it gets tiresome. I'd like to believe it's playful, but as I, others, and recent posts have pointed out, the forum's tone is no longer such that I assume so (unfortunately). Finally, I apologize if I was overly sensitive, but I don't take kindly to people criticizing my craft as a teacher—it's been done here a few times, and it's among the greatest insults. It especially touched a nerve on a day I delivered graduation signs to my seniors who are struggling and crossing off their calendars all those great rites of passage they are missing. This ending blows (that's colloquial).

Moving on: it's a good question about whether or not standard English is alive. It absolutely is—my students all understand the need to shift depending on circumstance. Their ability to do so, however, depends directly on how much their lives have incorporated reading and writing...outside the classroom.

Moving back to OP (sorry, OP!): It sounds like your best option to save money would be to buy a used trailer to just get you back and forth to your place for storage. If you're not inclined to want to do that, check out an independent shop and ask what they would charge to haul it and store it for you.

My association works with three primary dealers: Melvin Village Marina, Winnisquam Marina, and Independent Marine. The latter two don't have a lakeside presence (WOW now does) but they come to our ramp to pick up and deliver.

Would you kindly post what you decide on and, if changing, your savings? I'm not confident it would be worth the hassle for me, but it's always good to know options.

Cheers!

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Any language evolves with sustained and widespread use of what's nonstandard. What now is unacceptable later becomes acceptable. Some of the changes come by way of insistence on "political correctness" w.r.t. gender, while others come from lack of insistence on correct usage. It just seems an awful shame when change comes from ignorance of the language rather than from need. Regardless of whether such language evolution is acceptable, misuse and ignorance of proper grammar often marks the speaker or writer with a certain flavor of "uneducated," to his detriment in various ways.