My Winter Projects

[JohnnieMo]

So even though it's barely November I'm already getting started on my offseason projects. Dandy will be happy to hear the boat is going in to the garage and there won't be any snow pics this year

I'll use this thread to chronicle my mods

Here's what I have planned so far:
1) New storm shield
2) Wake9 bags
3) Cross drain and vent
4) Magic button
5) if Santa is nice maybe a new WS420 or boxed subwoofer

Next spring I'll break ground on a new three car garage to store everything and get rid of weather once and for all. Despite our early September snow storm it was still +16C here on Halloween. I lose out on a lot of boating due to storing outside.



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[JohnnieMo]

So here are my first storm shield pics. After getting soaked twice this year I had it designed and built by CanvasMart in Calgary. It's made of black Sunbrella and attaches on the AlphaZ tower and windshield. It deploys independently from the stock bimini.

Between the two I get front protection from blowing rain or waves, plus top protection from falling rain. I also want the extended bimini from Tigé but they want $1600 for it!!!

Here is the trip that inspired it.



I had to tow this yutz 30 miles after running out of gas in a storm m. They stayed dry while my whole family got soaked. For my trouble he said thanks.

On my previous boat i had a shield built and never ever needed it again:



This new one isn't as perfect of a fit but it is pretty good. It will do the job.








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[Ewok]

Looks like a great idea. I've been hit with a little rain storm and luckily it didn't last long, but it wasn't fun. Now I just keep checking the Wx radar on my phone to know when to call it a day and avoid the rain, but it doesn't rain much at all here in the summer.

[JohnnieMo]

I get stuck out on a big lake (Shuswap Lake) and volatile weather comes pretty much unannounced. So it seems like I just had bad luck this year. Got nailed twice.

[ericinmich]

The rain shield would be nice to have. I got stuck in the hardest downpour I can remember, couldn't see far enough to go on plane, when I tried, the rain hurt my skin/eyes so I gave up. Got soaked....

Luckily I don't leave my lake much (10miles x 5 miles) and can tuck the tige in it's boathouse in about 10 minutes.

[JohnnieMo]

Well as the resident TigeOwner who comes up with all the most ridiculous ideas, I decided to shoe-horn by Z1 into the garage. It is 23' x 21' x 8' (interior). It also has a 7' x 16' door. As you can imagine this is going to be a challenge.

Here is the empty garage:


Now the issue here is that the furnace is in the way. The boat is all of 22' with the platform removed, so that means it is too big to fit in front of the furnace. Given the small width of the garage, I need every inch. So I decided to tug it in backwards. To do so, I picked up a cheap 3000lb ATV winch and mounted it very firmly to the back wall.



Next I parked the boat in the alley and unhooked it. You see the snow is already starting (I waited one day too many). Also lower the tower and tie it down as low as it will go.



As we started the winch, the first issue was that the tandem axle trailer didn't want to turn. It became a labourious process where we would turn it a bit, then jack up the tires to reduce the lateral strain..... it went about 20 degrees at a time.



Getting it in the door was tough.... I needed someone hanging on the tower on either side. It cleared by about 1/8". However it made it. The rear wall also had its share of creaks. However by bolting it to the base plate, it was strong enough. The winch grunted too, through the short incline. However the boat made it inside!



(No idea why photobucket won't rotate this image properly. I fought with it for hours)

Once inside, we jacked it up and put under some wheel dollys. I took the recommendations from this site and picked up the little red ones. My garage floor is far from perfect, but it was relatively easy to move with three people. It got tucked away all nicely in the corner.



Horrible success! Now the rest of my winter projects can begin.




Now it just has to dry out and then I can get to work.

Last step is drink a beer for a job well done and a garage still standing.

[dakota4ce]

Shoot, that fits easily. In just 47 easy steps, you too can put your boat into a garage!

Well done. First I have seen of the dollys, grand idea. I need to snag a set of those.

[WYTige?]

Any reason you didn't put it on the dollies as you were winching it in the garage? That looks like quite a project but she's safe and dry.

[JohnnieMo]

47 steps and about 4 hours

There wasn't enough clearance to get under the garage door with the dollys. However they do advertise for a kit you can get to bolt the dolly directly to the wheel hubs. They are intended for project cars with no wheels.

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[JohnnieMo]

The boat now makes a nice spot to watch the hockey game too

[WYTige?]

I was just thinking for the part getting it turned so you didn't have to use the floor jack, but maybe the small wheels on the dollies wouldn't be able to handle the pavement.

[JohnnieMo]

In retrospect I should have just driven the truck into the garage, then disconnected, swung away the tongue and then squeezed the truck out. I think that would have been easier.

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[DLafont]

Go Habs GO!!

[JohnnieMo]

The Habs got slaughtered by my Flames 6-2. Ironically enough I'm in Montreal today and going to the Hawks game tonight. Not sure who I'll cheer for. I have 4 Hawks in my hockey draft.

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[wired1236]

My Winter Projects

Maybe you could have put the dollys on just one axle. It wouldn't have then raised the boat (much) but it still would have allowed one axle to turn with the other. The tandem system would have adjusted for the height difference