Dry Dock or Wet Slip? What would you do?

[CoralReefer]

My new purchase is kept at dry dock which is really nice. Pretty much valet service for the boat. Great people and awesome service. But it's a drive from my home and I miss the dock life. Plus not a big fan of the lake I'm on which is basically a flooded river with some crazy contours and depth change drastically. You have to stay in the channel or disaster.

I have a marina 4 minutes from my house and on my old lake which I like much better. I like the idea of keeping the boat stored indoors and a place to keep winterized out of the elements in the offseason. I'm without trailer so my question is how dependable are bilge heaters and winterizing while keeping in the water? I know a ton of folks keep their boats in year round with no issues but I've also read horror stories about cracked blocks and more. Winters do get well below freezing here.

I guess I'm just looking for some advice on what most of you would do and the best process for insuring same winter storage in the water. Or keep in slip in season and spring for trailer to winterize and store out of the water in off-season?

 

[Loneranger]

Will they allow you to have a HydroHoist or similar system to lift ? I would keep the boat on the lake you like the most and is most convenient - which sounds like wet slipping.

For your size boat I would spring for a trailer. It allows you to occasionally go to a different lake. It allows you to take it out to work on it. In the case of wet slipping it gives you a way to store it dry over the winter. Although I have a trailer for my cobalt and I use the trailer about once every five years (but my boat is stored in a lift at my house).

I have a boat safe heater in my cobalt so I extend my season on up until January or so but I still winterize it for Jan-March.

John

 

[Whitenights]

I kept both a 1990 250DA, and 1990 280DA on lifts all year round on Lake Cumberland with no problems. Winterized first part of November on the lift and they are fine, our slips are covered and the boats stay nice and clean all winter.

I keep my current boat in the same slip, no lift, and again no problems. I would highly recommend a lift for any boat with out drives, or plan on storing out of the water during the winter.

As for bilge heaters, I would never trust them. When is power more likely to go out? During a winter ice or snow storm, which if it is that bad you may not be able to get to the boat quick enough, and to do what when you get there? Winterizing lets me sleep fine all winter long with no worries.

If you do use a lift, and try heaters, just remember the boat is out of the warmer water and much more exposed to the cold temps so keeping it in the water does offer some extended protection.

My boat came from Texas, near Dallas, and they installed a heater system of lights. He said it rarely stays below freezing that long so it only has to help during the early morning hours. I would never trust it some place that can stay below freezing 24 hrs at a time.

Winterizing is cheap compared to a new block

 

[tn shenanigans]

I used to live in hendersonville and would boat all year round on Old Hickory, I suggest a wet slip and bilge heater. Depending on where you dock marina life can create great freindships.

Scott

 

[Danny Troy]

I think your first priority should be to have a good time boating. Keeping the boat in pristine condition should be secondary. I'd opt for the wet slip. Have fun whichever way you go!

 

[CoralReefer]

Danny Troy,

Thanks for the input. By the way, did you have someone make your camper top or did it come with the boat? Looks great!!

 

[Dave S]

I have done both, My 240SD was rack stored and hence had to be winterized and was not usable during the winter. Plus it was subjected to handling by the fork lift operators and it was damaged several times. My 260DA on the other hand is wet slipped year round and is used year round as well. Our climates (Nashville and Charlotte) are similar and as long as you have a bilge heater and a cabin heater you can use the boat without fear of freezing. We even have folks who have neither a bilge heater or cabin heat and stay in the water year round (without winterizing) and have no issues come spring. Even this past winter with the coldest temperatures we ever experienced here in Charlotte those same folk (who don't winterize) had no issues with their boats. Thats probably because the water never gets below 40 degrees in our lake and it almost always goes above freezing every day as well.

Dave

 

[Danny Troy]

Danny Troy,

Thanks for the input. By the way, did you have someone make your camper top or did it come with the boat? Looks great!!

Thanks for the compliments. I bought the boat with a Bimini top and had the rest added by a local canvas guy. He made 4 trips to my house, which is where I had the boat stored, and it all came out perfect! Well worth the money. Installing all those 5 panels at the end of the day isn't as much of a hassle as I thought it would be, once you get the hang of it!

 

[sea ray sundancer boy]

a friend of mine keeps his boat in the chicago river all year, the marina he is at is under some condo buildings and they have a bubbler system so it doesnt freeze in the harbor area. when it is really cold he has a small electric space heater he puts in the bilge and he uses elcetric heaters to keep the cabin comfortable as he lives on it and it is his home office as well so he is usually either on it or very close by. he has been doing this for the last few years and last winter seemed the coldest it has in a long time in the chicago area and he had no problems with his boat, engines or drives.

 

[Gofirstclass]

I kept my 330 in the water year around for several years. All I did was blow out the fresh water lines (don't forget the water heater) and put a bilge heater in. We boat all winter and our winters get a lot colder than yours. We get a week or two of sub freezing every winter and every few years it gets down to sub-zero and stays there for a few days. The boat sits in the water and that tends to keep it above freezing.

Hmmmm, no boating today. Hard water!

This was after I put my bubbler in to melt the ice. It worked well.

 

[Rxflyer]

We've got some openings at Creekwood if you want to try the marina idea. They will do month-to-month, so you don't have to sign up for a year, unless you want to.

FWIW, I kept my boat in all last winter, which as you know, was about as hard a Winter as we'll see here in Nashville. A BoatSafe 750w heater in the ER, and a remote digital thermometer sold me it never got below 42 down there. Blew out the lines with air like GFC mentioned above, and all was fine. And I went down there EVERY day during that cold snap to check. I love the marina life, personally, and enjoy talking with the others throwing their money into the lake....