Boat in water

[richardsoncd]

I just got my first dock, it is only a slip and doesn't have a lift and I can't afford to put one on. So here is my question: Do any of you just leave your boat in the water during the season, is this bad for the boat, should I take it out every once in a while? I will hopefully be running it no less than once every 5 or 6 days. Any advice for upkeep if I do leave it sitting in the water for a long period of time would be great.

[AirJunky]

I have been keeping my '94 205 on the lake for 5 or 6 years now, usually from about April till October of each year. I use a good Sunbrella cover that goes down over the vents & gunnels (keeps the rain & bugs out of the boat) and a mooring setup like this (http://overtons.com/cgi-bin/overtons/order/large.cgi?26386#) that I made using PVC I bought at Home Depot. No bumpers on the boat or dock & I've never had a problem, even in some windy conditions.

If you do a search on this group, you'll find some guys who have kept their boats on the water & ended up with blisters on the hull. There isn't really an explanation as to why this is happening & it doesn't happen to every boat. So you might want to pull the boat every couple weeks to check it out closely. I do just to clean the thing anyway since I don't have power or water on my dock.

[X-45]

Blisters are always a problem with gelcoat. There might be a product besides paint that would seal it but I don't know of any. You'd be better off pulling it. Had my old boat in for three weekes one time and spent all day getting crap off the bottom. They do have better products for cleaning boat bottoms though.


:steering:

[east tx skier]

The blisters would be my concern. With my luck, I'd have the boat that would get blistered. If this is what you're going to do, and you don't want to paint the wetted portion of your hull, I would take it out and wax it quite often.

[richardsoncd]

The blisters would be my concern. With my luck, I'd have the boat that would get blistered. If this is what you're going to do, and you don't want to paint the wetted portion of your hull, I would take it out and wax it quite often.
Like once every two weeks? No big deal easy to do if needed.

[east tx skier]

I don't know if there is a frequency that would guarantee no blisters. So let's just say, if it were me, I'd be waxing the snot out of the hull top and bottom at least every two weeks. It's a lot of work, but so is fixing a blistered hull.

I believe the paint is the recommended procedure in these circumstances.

[richardsoncd]

When you say paint, what kind of paint...application, etc. Take into consideration this is a 1979 S&S.

[east tx skier]

I forget the name of it. Do a search for "blisters" and "paint" and you'll come up with the name. I know Andre's boat is painted.

/edit. Okay, I found it. Andre's is painted with DuPont Imron paint..

[erkoehler]

I would not paint it, especially if it is restored. Just pull it out every 2-3 weeks and leave it out of the water for a couple days so the hull can fully dry, then wax.

[slalomskifreak]

I just got my first dock, it is only a slip and doesn't have a lift and I can't afford to put one on.

I have a lift I will sell cheap. It is a Nucraft 2500lbs cantilever lift with bunks. No cover. I kept my 88 190 on it without issue. I can even deliver for the right price. I will take $750 without delivery.

[Leroy]

I'm tempted to take it if richardsoncd doesn't! I'm in Carmel. I think I need around 3000 lbs though.

EDIT; I think the water I normally see in GA you will be cleaning a lot. I would really try to find a way to get it out of the water when you are not there.



I have a lift I will sell cheap. It is a Nucraft 2500lbs cantilever lift with bunks. No cover. I kept my 88 190 on it without issue. I can even deliver for the right price. I will take $750 without delivery.

[stevo137]

It's a strange thing, some people have old boats and leave them in the water and they never blister.
Others have new boats that blister in a few years or less even though they pull them out of the water.
Recently there was a post by someone that had blisters just where the bunks are on their lift due to the fact that the carpet holds moisture.
Personally I think that it is a raw material and or application issue.
Best to keep to keep it on a lift if possible, blisters will really hurt resale.

[slalomskifreak]

Leroy, mine probably won't work on yours, but I might be able to find you one. I have bought and sold a few here in Indy, all for less than 1K. One even had a electric hoist motor and came with an old boat that ran.

[milkmania]

I forget the name of it. Do a search for "blisters" and "paint" and you'll come up with the name. I know Andre's boat is painted.

/edit. Okay, I found it. Andre's is painted with DuPont Imron paint..

east tx skier,

during your vacation it was discussed that Jeremy's boat was painted.....
he's a painter and he used Imron.... and the boat in qurestion is a '79 S&S


Jeremy79's profile pics:
http://www.tmcowners.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=65
:twocents:

[parrish1]

I believe you would call it anti-fouling paint. We use to have a houseboat that required it every few years---not what I'd suggest. Just pull it--the joy is in the wipe down every day anyway.

[River Rat]

I have seen to many nasty bottom boats :eek: around here, I don't leave my boat floating for more than a day. She always spends the night on the trailer :headbang:

[Kevin 89MC]

If it were me, I'd pull it until I could find a cheap lift. I've left mine in over a few weekends, and it gets scummy real quick. Now that I read about the blister problems, I'll probably not let it sleep in the water again. I never did sleep real soundly with it in the water overnight anyways. Always woke up praying it wouldn't be on the bottom!
Good luck.

[88 PS190]

It really depends on the water. Our other boat a white fiberglass chris craft has been in the water in our lake for days w/o any build up, and we barely need to wash the thing. Occasionally we get a hard line on it by the waterlevel, but that's like bathtub type water lines.

On the other hand i've seen boats come out of smaller lakes, and dirty water w/ all sorts of algae growth etc, and this will really affect the boats performance.

If others on your waterway leave theirs in w/o staining etc. Then you should be able to get away with it. If they're all gross then you'll want to think again.

[richardsoncd]

I have a lift I will sell cheap. It is a Nucraft 2500lbs cantilever lift with bunks. No cover. I kept my 88 190 on it without issue. I can even deliver for the right price. I will take $750 without delivery.
Great price...good looking out man, but it's not my dock, it's my cousins and they are letting me use it for the summer before they build me one for next summer, so I don't need anything permanent. Why are you selling?

[Sodar]

I am not sure if they allow this where you are, because they do not allow it here in California, but I have had a few friends who leave their old ski boats in the ocean and have used white bottom paint. I guess the white paint has some toxins that California does not permit, but if your boat is white and you want a little extra comfort this might be the way to go. Every couple of weeks, just throw your mask and snorkel on and take a scotchbrite pad to the paint to clean the hull. They also have epoxy barrier coats that stop blistering. I am pretty sure it can just be painted on before the bottom paint is applied...

If I were you though, I would just risk it, pull my boat out every couple weeks to clean and wax it and enjoy your summer. I know plenty of people who leave there new boats in salt for 5 or 6 days and they have no problems, I can only imagine that fresh water is only going to be kinder to the boat. Just my two cents!

[Britt]

I leave my boat in for a fair amount of time over the summers. I would say about 8 weeks and I might pull it out three times periodically for some reason or another. I do however have anti-fouling paint on the bottom of my boat. It prevents anything from sticking to the boat and prevents blisters indefinetly. It is however, a pain in the *** to remove but can be done with the proper chemicals. The only thing that sucks for me is that where I park my boat the iron content in the water is high so I will get a red waterline stuck on the boat. Once its on the trailer though a decent grade of hull cleaner takes it right off and then just hose her down.

[Ric]

I forget the name of it. Do a search for "blisters" and "paint" and you'll come up with the name. I know Andre's boat is painted.

/edit. Okay, I found it. Andre's is painted with DuPont Imron paint..
ya but andre is a rich swingin single frenchman who will throw money at imron. the rest of us cannot pay that

[AirJunky]

If it were me, I'd pull it until I could find a cheap lift.
Don't go too cheap or you'll pay for more than just a scum line. Ever seen what happens when the wind or current makes a poorly installed lift fall over with a boat on it? Wish I had pictures to show you.... it ain't a pretty sight. :guitar:

[roddydog]

I have a lift I will sell cheap. It is a Nucraft 2500lbs cantilever lift with bunks. No cover. I kept my 88 190 on it without issue. I can even deliver for the right price. I will take $750 without delivery.
I'd be interested for a price like that. I have a 1990 PS 190 so I'm sure it's similar to your 88. I don't know what it would take to ship it up here but could easily find out. Gotta be a trucking Co. that comes up this way. Let me know.

[André]

I'd be interested for a price like that. I have a 1990 PS 190 so I'm sure it's similar to your 88. I don't know what it would take to ship it up here but could easily find out. Gotta be a trucking Co. that comes up this way. Let me know.
Good deal roddy,but the shipping will kill you.
Not as much the weight as the size of a boat lift to ship...
Delivered,under 1500 CDN would still be good... :toast:

[slalomskifreak]

Great price...good looking out man, but it's not my dock, it's my cousins and they are letting me use it for the summer before they build me one for next summer, so I don't need anything permanent. Why are you selling?

Sold my lake lot and will be moving to Lake Travis, TX before long. The lift is sitting on a buddies farm right now. It is not permanent, you can pull it out whenever you like. It has foot pads like a Shore Station. I mounted it on top of large landscape pads so the feet didn't sink in the mud. 3 people can move it pretty easily. I was actually planning on putting it on ebay towards spring, but I always like to help fellow MC owners. My MC came with this warning regarding leaving your boat in.

[agua4fun]

Trailer it untill you get the lift!! I didnt and now I have blisters. Waxing every 2 weeks or so didnt help. I'd love to get the chance to NOT do it again. The lift may cost alot, but the hit on re-sale or repair will be worse.