Commuter cruising logistics

[tsl]

My wife and I are about to head out from the west shore of Lake Michigan heading up through the North Channel, Trent Severn canal system, Erie canal and down the Hudson and on to the Bahamas.

We plan on cruising just 3 to 4 weeks a year taking our time. We plan on leaving the boat on the hard and returning home after each sail. My questions are about what to leave on the boat and what to take home, store , ship or other..

I'm thinking of a canvas cover but don't know if that would work as we get further south.

Many of you must have had the need to leave the boat for extended periods. How did you do it? and how did it work?
We also need to be thinking of a good winter layup location in North Florida, SC or NC.

We have a shoal draft Oday 39. Just refurbished, simple (charter rigging) don't need to insure it for more than liability.

[Gteall]

I see you didn't receive any responses to this post. A shame! I'd be interested in your experiences of you eventually took this path.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Gteall

I see you didn't receive any responses to this post. A shame! I'd be interested in your experiences of you eventually took this path.

Hi Gteall

I was a long distance boat owner or commuter cruiser if you will and my advice, don't do it.

Boats do not do well sitting unused for long periods. Electrical connections tend to corrode and all sorts of stuff tends to stop working. Anything with a motor especially suffers like starters and pumps. The interior tends to mold and mildew if you're keeping the boat someplace warm and humid like FL or the Caribbean.

I kept a boat in FL and lived in GA. Even commuting several times a year I would usually arrive to find lots of things not working and spend most of my cruising time doing boat repair and maintenance, sometimes never even leaving the dock the entire trip.

Storage on the hard is a little better than in the water but still not ideal.

[Gteall]

Thanks Skipmac! It was a possible solution for a working person looking to do part of the Great Loop before retirement! Sail to Toronto from Lake Michigan, leave the boat there for a while. Return later, move the boat further along, return to work .... etc., etc.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Gteall

Thanks Skipmac! It was a possible solution for a working person looking to do part of the Great Loop before retirement! Sail to Toronto from Lake Michigan, leave the boat there for a while. Return later, move the boat further along, return to work .... etc., etc.

My opinion, based my one experience and limited knowledge of the situation, the problems with leaving a boat stored as an absentee owner are impacted by two main factors; how long the boat sits and how hot and humid the environment.

If you're keeping the boat in places like Toronto or the northern US and visiting every month or two to air it out, run the engine and all the systems then it may work just fine. Leave it locked up for six months over the hot, humid summer in Florida and you're likely to come to a boat with mold everywhere and half the electrical stuff doesn't work.

[model 10]

If you leave your boat for 11 months where it gets hot, you are going to really need a boat cleaner. For our boat, 6 months was about the limit with no care and it looked like **** then. 11 months would be too much. Even at 6 months it takes a month to get the boat right again. Now we have it cleaned once a month, inside and out and it's worth it.

[jappelino]

Stored the boat 11 month on the hard in Tortola.
Very easy to clean inside with almost no dark spots.
Perhaps I was lucky with the windy conditions.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard theCF, jappelino.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by jappelino

Stored the boat 11 month on the hard in Tortola.
Very easy to clean inside with almost no dark spots.
Perhaps I was lucky with the windy conditions.

Hi Jappelino and welcome to the forum.

For prevention of mold and mildew, ventilation and air flow is a huge factor. If your boat was stored where it was exposed to a lot of wind and kept a good flow through dorade vents that was probably the reason you did so well.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Hi Jappelino and welcome to the forum.

For prevention of mold and mildew, ventilation and air flow is a huge factor. If your boat was stored where it was exposed to a lot of wind and kept a good flow through dorade vents that was probably the reason you did so well.

That + regular cleaning, or none (sealed up tight) + dehumidification.

[model 10]

[QUOTE=belizesailor;2190332 or none (sealed up tight) + dehumidification.[/QUOTE]

Then the power fails. 8 months of mold.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Guy

Then the power fails. 8 months of mold.

Important to have one that resumes after power interruption. Better yet, mine is running off inverter-batteries-solar...uninterrupted power. Going to check it tomorrow.

[tsl]

Originally Posted by Gteall

I see you didn't receive any responses to this post. A shame! I'd be interested in your experiences of you eventually took this path.

Thank you Gteall for reviving this thread. Here's my update. As planned, we sail very seldom, 10 days per year. We have sailed across Lake Superior (South to North)to Isle royal and back. Just this year sailed West to East on Superior and now are about to put the boat back on the hard in De Tour MI. It's just about as far east as you can be on Michigan's upper peninsula. We are now on Lake Huron.
As for storage: We shrink wrap the boat each year. Snow load is the most important factor. I've learned to do it myself. First years were pretty ugly. $200 and 3 hrs for a 40 ft boat.

There are absolutely no mold issues up on Lake Superior. The water temp was 39 degrees last month. I generally use a fumigator spray after I shrink wrap as I step off he boat for the last time. I either spray the thru-hulls with insecticide or tape them over as spiders love to build nest/webs in them.
No need to add anything to Diesel fuel. It stores for years. I do remove the batteries and keep them charged at my home during the winter.


The boat has no odors as the air is cool and dry .

So there are few issues if you stay up north but we need someplace warm for the winter so the boat must head south.


I lived in Jacksonville FL so I understand where Skipmac is coming from. I'm researching Florida storage. There are several yards near Lake Okeechobee that seem to know what they are doing. Outlets are available for dehumidifiers. Because of hurricanes and mold, shrink wrapping may not be an option. I do want to cover the hatches and windows so they do not craze. (Looking for suggestions)

Shrink wrapping: I support the boom and use it to for the peak of the tent and go from there to the toe rail. This requires that I cut a slit and tape around each stanchion. This provides a good slope for snow to slide off. I went over the stanchions one year and the ice and snow pooled in a low spot a bent one stanchion.

I think going over the boom is too high for Florida's hurricanes. I may go from the toe rail to the top of the coach. Giving the cover a very slight pitch. Air movement under this will be critical or I will be harvesting mold in the fall. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.
I find that I spend less on partial summer storage and transient slips as I would for a seasonal slip. I pay $120 a week in a slip where the boat is now. Total slip and summer storage is about $800 for this season. I may not be so lucky next season as the daily transient rate for Michigan harbors of refuge is $51 /day for a 40 ft boat.

[Vasco]

For Florida storage a shade cover helps a lot. The best is a black cloth with about one inch squares. Green Cove Springs on the St. Johns River is a popular spot (about the cheapest in FL.) Many folks hang up Sun Pacs (formaldehyde) and if you do there will be no mold nor will there be any critters when you return. It is wise to stuff a bit of the shade cloth in all the through hulls.

You will have to treat the fuel. I have used Startron for the past few years and have had no problems. I'll add a pic to show the shade cloth.

At your rate of travel you might have to store in areas where it might freeze so winterizing will be required.

[tsl]

Originally Posted by Vasco

For Florida storage a shade cover helps a lot. The best is a black cloth with about one inch squares. Green Cove Springs on the St. Johns River is a popular spot (about the cheapest in FL.) Many folks hang up Sun Pacs (formaldehyde) and if you do there will be no mold nor will there be any critters when you return. It is wise to stuff a bit of the shade cloth in all the through hulls.

You will have to treat the fuel. I have used Startron for the past few years and have had no problems. I'll add a pic to show the shade cloth.

At your rate of travel you might have to store in areas where it might freeze so winterizing will be required.

That's great info. Just what I was looking for. Diesel additives are like snake oil. This is helpful information. I keep/take the water out and never add anything. http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp-cou...age-diesel.pdf