Dry storage? Pro's /Cons

[RidgeRunner]

So I've all but signed the contract for dry storage for Mtn's to Sea.
Sure, it's trailer able at 27 ft., but that's to much effort every time I want to go sit on the boat.
So here's the deal. -For about $5.00 /ft
Full 12 mo. dry storage with unlimited haul outs. You call, they set it in the water, gas it up ( if desired) and tie it off for you.
Upon your return, you back in special slip, depart as usual, they lift, rinse, and place it on the "work rack" for you to pittle on, or put it in the storage shed until next time.
Dockage at adjacent marina, Service's on site, Great ships store. Captn's lounge, wonderful restroom facilities, more
Here I'm getting surveyed for a exact price, as they actually measure the entire boat
. You read it right though, very close to $5.00 per ft. Conditions include 12 month payment upfront, and proof of insurance policies
By their measuring tape, a 2006 Amberjack 270
is 32 ft. long.....?:huh:
Anyway, you thoughts, before I sign would be appreciated


That bottom looks good huh?? Interlux "Pacificia"

 

[Strecker25]

So only $1,920/year? We pay that for our slip in upstate NY from April-October and then have to pay about 600-1000 for the winter months, so that seems like a really good price.

Pros for me would be a high and dry boat, and it should stay clean (assuming covered?)

Cons for me would be how much time we spend on our boat for overnights and I'm down there every night after work. Getting dropped in every day would probably make that difficult or at least annoy the marina staff quite a bit lol. Is the dockage near by usually available and included in your storage cost?

 

[skibum]

I've been in dry storage for 10 years now.

Pros:

• With a Bravo III equipped boat, your drive won't dissolve while you are not using your boat. They are notorious for doing that. This is the #1 reason I keep her on the rack. My drive looks still looks brand new.
• You never need to pay for a haul out to do maintenance.
• Bottom paint - simply not required. My boat sometimes stays in for a week at a time, but never long enough to get any growth. I only paint the portion that is visible when the boat is on the water and on plane. The rest simply does not matter. I only use 1 quart of bottom paint every 4 years.
• Insurance. Mine is much cheaper than it would be if I kept it in a slip.
• My marina has wash racks, but I've worked it out with the marina owners to keep it on the bottom rack so I can stop by at any time and clean or work on it.
• She'll never sink while you aren't there.
• No need to worry if a hurricane hits. Your insurance company can't hit you for not doing "due diligence" and getting her hauled before a storm.

Cons:

• No shore power on the rack so you can't leave food in your fridge.
• You can't make a last minute decision to go boating if you decide after the marina has closed for the day.
• No assigned slip so every once in a while, it can be a PIA to find a spot to dockalounge exactly where you want to be.

I would never be worried about the marina getting annoyed about how many times they have to put you in or haul you out. You pay them on a per year basis, and its their job to put you in and out every day if that is what you want. Every so often I'll tell them that I'll be back the "day after tomorrow" and give them the option of hauling me out or leaving me in.

 

[JVM225]

My daughters boyfriends parents keep their 23 footer high and dry. He isn't a big fan of it because it can sometimes be a pain in the neck when he wants to put it in and it's outside of the hours of the marina, and he it doesn't enable him to hang out on the boat much.
His parents seem to like it though, and it's their boat so it's their choice.

 

[b_arrington]

Trailering a boat sucks all the way around. It adds so much time and hassle to boating. And a 270 AJ is a big boat to trailer at 7,300 lb dry. Add another 1,000 lbs for water and fuel, plus a more for the other crap that gets loaded on and you're close to 9,000 lbs. You need a big truck to haul a boat and trailer that big. If it were a choice between trailering and dry storage as you describe, I'd take the dry storage.

You might want to show them the official dimensions from the owner's manual. Including the anchor and swim platform, Sea Ray lists it at an even 30'. Even at 32' that price isn't bad at all. I pay more than that for a combination of mooring with launch service and winter storage on stands. That's at a boat yard that's pretty basic - you've described a pretty good marina.

 

[Boater420]

What are you going to do with the trailer? Store it? Sell It?
What happens when you want to work on the boat? Carry tools with you to the high & dry? Do they provide a work space there or will you have to tow it home?
How busy is the high & dry? Will you be waiting hours to get your boat put in the water?
What about transporting gear from the car to the boat upon arrival at the high & dry?
You're forced to pay marina prices for fuel instead of filling up at the gas station.

 

[tcason]

DO it
I had my boat in high n dry storage and it was great.

Boat in on lift behind my house now and frankly it was easier to clean and "deal" with the boat when at high and dry facility

 

[BillK2632]

I've had my boat in dry storage for 4yrs now - for a smaller boat like mine I don't think I would do it any other way. If I had a cruiser that I wanted to overnight on etc, I would probably think differently. But for me it has been great, like others mentioned. My boat is inside on the bottom rack. Stays out of the weather, hardly have to wash it ever. They have wash racks with water and electric, so it makes any work I want to do easy - I changed my bellows with it sitting on their rack - plus if weather is bad they will let me access my boat inside since it is on the bottom. In the winter when it is not crowded I just drive my car up next to the boat. They are a full service marina with inside/outside dry storage and covered in water slips, showers, fuel and ships store. Plus all the services of the dealership. I will say the first two years I was in an outside rack - covered on three sides - it wasn't terrible, but the boat did stay dirtier that I though. Mainly dust and rubber particles from the lift tires. Inside is much better, I think mainly because 1. They have a machine and clean the floors inside weekly and 2. the racks are angled so the lift is not constantly turning inside the building. My only complaint is their courtesy docks - not their fault, but they tend to get a lot of wakes so I am always careful about fenders and try not to have my boat sit there for long periods unattended. Overall I am very happy with it and probably for anything under 30ft that is primary a day boat that is the way I would do it. I got lucky and have a friend who stores my trailer with his so not cost there.

As far as waiting to get to my boat, they have a text system, just text them 30min before you want your boat in or on the rack and it is there waiting - never had to wait for my boat. When they are busy in the summer I can call on a Thur and "reserve" a rack for Saturday morning for example. They do cut back hours in the winter (Dec-Feb) and are closed on winter weekends. Thought that was going to be an issue but it hasn't, found I rarely would use the boat during those months and if I do they will put it in on Friday and pickup on Monday. I can also have access to the wash racks even if they are closed. So I can work on it over a winter weekend, it just would sit in the water or on the wash rack until Monday morning. It's cold enough in NC that I just winterize and forget the boat for 3 months in the winter.

 

[mobocracy]

I liked the idea behind the dry storage near me, but didn't like the process and hours. You had to have your boat back by 7 PM and you couldn't get it out before 10 AM, and I suspect there was a long line to wait in on weekend mornings. No provision for any kind of temporary dockage other than the take out/put away dock, so if you decided you wanted to go to a restaurant or something and then come back to the boat, you couldn't easily do it.

 

[cwiert]

I guess I'm still caught up and in shock by the $5/foot. Is that per month?
We pay between $142/foot and $166/foot at our marina (wet dock slippage). And that's just for the season (April - Oct).

 

[Stee6043]

I did this for a few years with a go-fast style boat. It was absolutely great. For that type of boating I'd never go back to pulling it on a trailer after experiencing the marina in-out (rack storage) life. And that price you're paying is almost hard to believe. CHEAP!

If you don't want to keep it in the water rack storage is the absolute next best thing in my opinion.

 

[skibum]

I guess I'm still caught up and in shock by the $5/foot. Is that per month?

Mine works out to $5.67 per month per foot. $68/ft per year - the whole year.

 

[sbw1]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned dock rash as a con. Seems like our dry stack boat always picked up small dings. It was very convenient, but you can't get too concerned with the ocassional damage that is unavoidable with all of the in and out that happens in a season.

 

[JimT]

I dry stored my 240SD at three marinas on LKN. All did a decent job, had flexible hours and good service. My chief complaint about all three was the feeling of being rushed at launch and pullout. On busy weekends there was pressure to get off the dock after they splashed the boat. Similarly, when we returned and docked the dock hands would start dragging the boat to the lift while we struggled to pack up and put the cover on. For us boating is alot about hanging around the dock after a day on the water. With dry docking you don't get that leisure time.

 

[JeffM]

We've been in a dry-stack for 10 of the 12 years we've owned our boat, and I heartily second Skibum's comments. The two years we were in a wet slip were nice, but I missed being able to easily work on her, wash and wax the entire hull whenever I wanted, and the security knowing she was high and dry during storms.

We are on the lowest level, so we can park right behind the boat to unload, and we can get everything put away and ready before getting splashed -- helps avoid the rushed feeling on busy days. When we return, we either take a wash rack or just unload and button up back in our spot.

The stalls are pretty close together and we've had a couple of dings, but nothing too serious. I've done worse during docking "incidents."

Overall, I love the dry stack and would suggest you grab this. At $5/foot, it seems like a real bargain...we pay about $10/ft.

 

[tdgard]

Covered slip on a lift for me. There are times I wish there was a maintenance rack available like a high and dry provides though. I like the accessibility and the fact that there are no boats above me dripping muck on the boat.

$5 a foot is awesome. On my lake the high and drys are more expensive than a covered slip-go figure. We're at $10 ft but not based on your boat length-based on the slip. Marina rents lifts for around $180 month but we own ours which paid for itself years ago. I shake my head when I look at some of my neighbors knowing that they have spent $25,000 on an $8,000 lift they can't take with them.

 

[BillK2632]

As far as damage / dings on the boat, the only thing I have had is the marks that get on the bottom from the lift - not scratches more like rubber rash - I clean it off once or twice a season. I think the damage occurs when your boat is sitting at their dock after being launched (waiting on your) and waiting to be picked up after you leave - I make a practice of not asking for the boat to be launched too early and standing by until it is on the lift. Never had any damage from anything else, but it can happen, that's just part of the beast when a lot of boats are being moved around. As far as being rushed, I can see that also, if I need some time I will usually tie up away from the lift area and it is not a problem, can hang out as long as I like. Like Jeff, I am on the bottom (two boats above me), and at first I was worried about stuff dripping etc, but it has not been a problem - I like the bottom rack, sometimes I let them put the boat away and then go unload and cover it.

 

[Richie89]

no shore power sucks. in miami i'm paying almost $1200 a month for racked.

 

[Bridog]

14k a year? Dam I thought New Jersey was high. My 300DA would be 5800.00 for wet in Summer and another 1000.00 to block it for the Winter. And that's a 7 month season. Trailering? No way, not even with this boat I have now. Too many horror stories at the ramp and extra time wasted wouldn't be worth it. I pay 11.00 foot (221.00) for indoor rack storage. Call them, hour later in water. When I'm done they haul, wash boat and flush engine. Need gas, beer, ice pump out? Yep, do that too. Easiest, non stressful boating I've ever experienced. And not having to put cover up is an added bonus.

 

[ronjon]

So I've all but signed the contract for dry storage for Mtn's to Sea.
Sure, it's trailer able at 27 ft., but that's to much effort every time I want to go sit on the boat.
So here's the deal. -For about $5.00 /ft
Full 12 mo. dry storage with unlimited haul outs. You call, they set it in the water, gas it up ( if desired) and tie it off for you.
Upon your return, you back in special slip, depart as usual, they lift, rinse, and place it on the "work rack" for you to pittle on, or put it in the storage shed until next time.
Dockage at adjacent marina, Service's on site, Great ships store. Captn's lounge, wonderful restroom facilities, more
Here I'm getting surveyed for a exact price, as they actually measure the entire boat
. You read it right though, very close to $5.00 per ft. Conditions include 12 month payment upfront, and proof of insurance policies
By their measuring tape, a 2006 Amberjack 270
is 32 ft. long.....?:huh:
Anyway, you thoughts, before I sign would be appreciated
View attachment 49573

That bottom looks good huh?? Interlux "Pacificia"

I'm going with rack storage for the first time and am pretty excited about it. No haul out, no fouling, maintenance/detailing rack. $5/foot is a deal I'm paying $8.50/foot in southeast VA. My marina will launch it the night before if I want it before they open and they have 20+ slips for when I return. Not to mention gas prices are more than reasonable.


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