Boat Storage - Indoor vs Outdoor

[finja]

Hi folks.

Looking for some experience on outdoor storage.  I've used indoor storage since I bought my boat new with mostly good experiences.  However, last year I tried a new place (that had no concrete floor and no heating) and found that my boat was damaged by mice over the winter.  The reason I always used indoor storage was because I thought I would be safe from rodents.  Needless to say, I was very upset that I had to replace one of my seats and struggled to rid the boat of the rodent and urine smell.

This year I'm considering professional shrink wrap and outdoor storage.  I'm looking for your experience.  Will professional shrink wrap keep the critters out?

Thanks!

[misfish]

Your location would be very helpful.

[finja]

1 hour ago, misfish said:

Your location would be very helpful.

GTA.  Do you recommend indoor vs outdoor depending on climate?

[misfish]

11 minutes ago, finja said:

GTA.  Do you recommend indoor vs outdoor depending on climate?

Never had an issue with outdoors. Always had my boat (when I had one ) shrinked wrapped. Never an issue.

[Dutch01]

I stored my boat outdoors for four winters. Three shrink wrapped (with a dessicant bag to absorb any moisture). The last year before I sold it I made a frame myself and put an industrial strength tarp over it. It worked too, but it was at my Dad's place so he could clear the snow off of it. If you can afford the shrink wrap, it is better than the tarp.

Edited August 14, 2018 by Dutch01

[OhioFisherman]

This is going back some years, 1980's, I had a 24 foot SeaRay I kept stored on a cradle outside at a marina roughly 70 miles from home, I didn't have a trailer for it, or a vehicle I felt could safely pull it around.

It came with a winter cover (tarp) but after one winter and feeling a need to run 70 miles after every heavy snowfall or high wind to check on it I went the shrink wrap route, in part because I viewed any problems with those issues would be on them. The place that it were pro's everyone it the marina that went the shrink wrap route used them and no issues that I ever heard of, LOL and we spent a lot of time  walking around the marina BSing!

Considerations,  It was my Lake Erie boat, the normal season for pleasure boaters starts around Memorial Day here, the marina didn't start putting there docks in until after ice out, and it was normally just a dozen or so for the charter boats until mid May, my tarp - wrap didn't come off until early May to give me a couple few - weekends of prep time.

My last boat, much smaller, was stored indoors in my garage or barn with the trailering cover on it, no issues with mice, but our outdoor cats seemed to think that cover was  a lounge chair, and cat hair is hard to vacuum off a cover!

There may not be a perfect solution, I have seen spark plug wires chewed up by mice when parked in the owners garage. Shrink wrap is probably the way to go if you don't mind the annual expense and have a pretty clear idea of when your boating season starts because once it's off it's off.

[Fisherman]

I store mine inside,  so far in 15 years no mouse problem,  but then again a quick pee in the corner will keep the mice away, lol .  Just kidding, but there is success with fox urine. 

[DanD]

I'd say (if possible) go back to your original storage facility. I have customers that store their summer vehicles and the ones that were stored inside a building, with cement floors, properly fitting doors and security systems; always come out in the best condition. 

The next thing about inside storage is it's out of sight; especially a boat sitting on a trailer. Even in a fenced in compound, the boat is there for the viewing; all winter long. Have you ever seen how fast a plasma cutter can get through a chain linked fence or any of your theft deterrent devices on a trailer? 

Yes people can break into buildings; but they're fishing to see what they can catch. Again out of sight out of mind.

Dan.

[Cast-Away]

I would stick with your current site and put moth balls in a throw away dish inside the front and back of the boat. I do this every year at a barn that has lots of critters and never had an issue.

[Old Ironmaker]

In my experience more rodent damage happens indoors than outdoors. Maybe because it's a warmer environment. I have used both, shrink wrapped and once only the mooring cover and tarped outdoors. The indoor building had several Guard Cats. I put shaved Irish Spring soap in plastic containers and drill holes in them, I put them everywhere in nooks and cranny's where a rodent can hide. Many next to the fuse panel and along wiring raceways, in the spring the interior smells like a spring meadow.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Old Ironmaker

[lew]

37 minutes ago, Cast-Away said:

I would stick with your current site and put moth balls in a throw away dish inside the front and back of the boat. I do this every year at a barn that has lots of critters and never had an issue.

same deal with me, kept my boat in a barn for 10 winters and put in lots of mothballs and never once had a critter issue of any kind and there was plenty of rats & mice in there just like most barns.

 

[grimsbylander]

Some great ideas here guys! The Irish Spring idea is great even if you don't have a rodent problem!! 

Who sells moth balls?

[Fisherman]

1 hour ago, grimsbylander said:

Some great ideas here guys! The Irish Spring idea is great even if you don't have a rodent problem!! 

Who sells moth balls?

Hardware stores.  It's a hit and miss thing, mothballs, Irish spring soap,  dryer sheets.  Come next spring you'll find the mice have been vigorously bowling with the mothballs and then wash themselves with the soap and dry off with the dryer sheets, chew them up and make nests. 

Concentrated peppermint oil or oil of oregano do a better job. Another one is

Stay Away® Mouse Repellent

Stay Away® botanical rodent deterrent combines ease of use with biodegradable ingredients for a safe and environmentally friendly way to rid any home or farm of mice. The convenient pouches slowly release an odor that is offensive to mice and rats but pleasant to humans.

Rodents have terrible eyesight but a great sense of smell and they don’t want to nest in a place where they can’t smell danger coming.

Stay Away® comes in convenient pouches that you can use anywhere you have a mouse problem.

The best part? It’s environmentally friendly and safe to use! Unlike other types of rodent repellents or poisons, Stay Away® is safe for use around children and pets.

  If you haven't had mice, there probably weren't any there in the first place.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Fisherman

[finja]

I had dryer sheets in the boat but not in the compartments where the damage was done.  I have considered moth balls but was worried about the smell.  Looking back now, moth ball smell might not have been so bad.

Edited August 15, 2018 by finja

[Terry]

You can pick moth balls your self

 

 

but it is hard to get their legs apart

 

lol never mind

[grimsbylander]

Oh boy dryer sheets!! lol 

My wife used to put dryer sheets everywhere! Closets, storage boxes, blankets....then we got a new puppy that LOVES eating dryer sheets. My backyard started looking like someone was testing out a t-shirt cannon! No more dryer sheets.

Edited August 15, 2018 by grimsbylander

[Cast-Away]

Terry, I resisted saying the same thing in my original post!

[Terry]

Lol

[John Bacon]

I have always put moth balls in my boat.  I have only ever had one issue where something chewed on my gas line near the back of the boat.  I store mine outdoors under a tarp.  I use a Navigloo frame which is tall enough to eliminate any issues with snow.

I have been saving the clear plastic containers that berries are sold in.  They are well ventilated and should be a good place to put the moth balls in the boat for the winter.

[bigbuck]

I store mine outside under a tarp up at the cottage. I built a frame out of scrap lumber that is tall enough to not let snow build up on it. As for critters, I have never really given them a thought. I think this winter I will go the Irish Spring route. 

 

[Carp]

Neighbor of mine had all his seats destroyed by raccoons one spring/summer.

He had a tarp over it, but not shrink wrap, so they easily climbed in and out. 

Left a mess of #2 and smell of #1 as well.

My brother and I have been storing our boats in our parents garage for 30 years. No moth balls, dryer sheets or any other repellants used.

Nowhere for the mice to get in, unless they slip in when the door is open. Never had any indication we had mice in there....ever !

A barn is different.

I've stored boats with no cushion seats or upholstery outside. Tipped up for the rain/snow to run off and always good to go.