Thought on keeping boat in the water through summer

[Bakes5]

I plan on keeping my "new" 98 2200V on the water most of the summer at a local lake about 10 minutes from my house. The boat is in near perfect condition and I would like to keep it that was as much as possible. Will keeping it out on the water most of the time cause me much grief? It will always have a cover when not in use and I will take it out a couple times each month to go to other lakes so should be able to clean it and such.

Anyways, just looking for thoughts from folks who have kept their boats out on the lake all summer.

Thanks

Bakes

[Tequilasun]

Will it sit on a lift? If not I'd be worried about gel blisters

[Jeffe]

Dont forget to leave the plug in.

[Bakes5]

It's going to sit in the water in a slip

[dogbert]

Stuff will grow on it and make it a mess...not worth doing.

[MoneyPity]

x2
It will grow fugly stuff on it and to top it off being in water all summer and not on list will most likely cause Gel Coat blisters.

[zad0030]

get that stuff outa da water!

[MoneyPity]

You have a vintage boat which I assume is in good or better condition. Why let if have various fugly slime , mussels and other crud on the boat. If the boat being a 1998 does not have gelcoat blistering going on zi would not r leave in water. we had gel blisters start on a Sea Ray we had many moons ago for a blister and even being left in our slip every morning while we where on vacation we found more and more blisters. We pull our 20V out a couple of times while on vacation to fill tank for less in tow and to give it a quick wash bow to stern.

Fiberglass is not water proof. Being submerged in water for prolonged period the fiberglass will absorb water in a couple of days staying in water. Once they start they are hard to stop. You have to let the boat sit in warm area to dry out the ones that have just started and by letting hull dry out

[Bakes5]

Thanks for the input. I will definitely keep it out for the most part. That being said, how long should I be OK leaving it in for? Surely it is OK to keep it in for 2-3 days every so often

[Carter13]

No problem for short periods.

[MoneyPity]

Thanks for the input. I will definitely keep it out for the most part. That being said, how long should I be OK leaving it in for? Surely it is OK to keep it in for 2-3 days every so often

As Carter13 indicated a few days is ok. We pull ours every couple of days to run into town and get gas a $00.75 a gallon difference. We also pull it out to get rid of scum line. The hull of my last boat a 1994 Fourwinns looked like it just came from factory floor by getting the scum line off ASAP. It was always stored inside to keep from getting oxidized from the sun.
You could say I am pretty picky

[mcd]

I've been very lucky. I've left my boat in the water for the season for years. Since the early 90's. That being said, the risk of blisters is real. It's an expensive thing to have fixed. Also growth is an issue. We would clean the bottom every time we took the boat out to the sand bar. Just another part of the routine. Last year I bought a hoist. If the budget allows and you can use one in your slip, It's worth the price. Good luck.

[loudelectronics]

I leave mine in all summer... roughly 3 months. I have no issues with growth or blisters. If you do get some slime or scale just used some caustic to clean followed by some hydrochloric acid. Works real well and does not harm the gel. Just make sure to rinse well after as the HCL will make your trailer rust if it is not washed off.

[venetrex]

My boats original owner was my next door neighbor, a 2002 21v riders edition, it has been left in the water from may til november every year. Only the transom has some fading, due to the sun, not water though. I dunno, but believe its a boat and if you can't leave it in the water, than it is not a boat. Now I do live on a lake, so I would not want to pull it in and out. Gel coat is fine. The only suggestion I have is to install a second bilge pump by the v-drive, if your boat is a vdrive, because mine the water collects there in the bilge and the pump in the back doesn't get it.

[dogbert]

Underwater growth probably depends on what lake you're on. Around here, stuff grows in a hurry.