Covered Storage but not enclosed....anybody do this? (IE Carport, etc..)

[BurnMac42]

So, even though we are wrapping up literally tomorrow a garage reno that would allow me to pull my boat into the 3rd bay garage instead of using all of the 2 bay portion, my wife and I offered and are now pending on a new house in a town over from us.

Within the next year or so I'll have another detached garage that will house the boat but until that time I am trying to figure out what to do with the boat. Do any of you guys park your boat in a carport? Will this bring additional wear and tear vs a garage if I park it for just a summer under a carport? Winter I'll have it stored at my dealership so no worry there. I'm trying to decide if it's worth purchasing a carport to park it on site during the summer vs trying to locate a storage unit big enough to store it (not many around here at all).... She has never been parked outside a garage before so I'm a little hesitant to do this

For you guys that do it year round, assuming proper winterization any worry at all over the boat being prematurely worn due to being exposed to the full cold winters even though the boat is still sheltered?

[BCRider]

I don't see any issue with a carport for storage. The metal car ports available now are pretty good. You can extend walls down as low as you want if you're looking for additional protection or to keep the sun off the get coat. My boat lives on the driveway for the summer season and lives in my buddies shop for the winter. In the summer I pull a nice ghetto 15'x30' tarp over the whole boat to help keep it dry....more so for the tower and speakers as well. It's also nice to help keep prying eyes out. To me the security would be the only change in that equation. Cold is cold whether it's inside or outside other than moisture.

[h2o-ski]

My boat is outside 365 days a year in the Texas sun however I do keep it covered with the tarp. From what I can tell the only thing that wears out quicker is the tarp itself.

[cltTige]

Kept my past boat under a carport like structure near the lake. During the summer I rarely even put the tarp on, it never got wet if it rained and was protected enough that the seats didn't really see sun, the boat held up really well, stayed in the same (excellent) condition as when I bought it. I would think the carport is ample storage especially with the cover on it for the winter.

Comes with the added "benefit" you get to see it everyday and wish it was summer time again lol.

[mwaite09]

I keep mine under a similar cover like cltTige. Mine is at the marina by the house and keep it there year round. I do change out the cover when I winterize and put a fresh coat of wax on the boat/trailer and cover the tires with RV tire cover to keep everything semi clean through the winter. I do like the convenience of keeping it on the trailer as I save hundreds at the pump. I've not had any issues in the 4 years i kept the boat outside. I do wish my walls were longer though.

[JohnnieMo]

I looked at building a 3 car garage and settled instead on a 2 car plus boat port. I don't think I saved much money, but I liked the carport design better for an assortment of reasons. For me, the boat port is more for the summer (rain) than the winter (snow). It's easy to set something up to keep snow out for 6 months. It's harder to keep random rains out throughout the season while you are using the boat (hence the boat port).

I often leave the boat completely uncovered throughout the year. I also can hang all my jackets, tubes etc up in the rafters. LAstly, I have a fan above the boat to dry it out. Combined with a push-button gate, it's ideal.

The only downside is you can occasionally get a fierce north wind and get rain or snow in the boat. Also, if you have birds or critters, you have to manage them. I had a pair of pigeons who had to meet an unfortunate end.

There are four things that destroy boats - sun, moisture, critters and children. Avoid those and you're set!

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[BurnMac42]

Nice man!........here is a pic of the boats first night in here garage tonight....that we are about to leave lol....ugh
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