Knowing how to store your skiff boat properly is one of the most important aspects of boat ownership. If you don’t store your boat properly during the winter, or when you are not using it will lead to the deterioration of the boat and you will end up paying thousand of dollars repairing it, or worse you will have to buy a new one.
Fortunately storing your skiff boat is not that complicated. There are actually 4 ways of doing this. During my first years as a boat owner I used to store my boat in dedicated boat strages, but as I got more experienced I started storing my boat in my own yard.
In this article I will discuss all possible storage methods, and give you a step by step guide where one is needed. As you will see all of them have their own advantages and disadvantages, so there is no overall best method. The best method will depend on your possibilities. So let’s start taking a look at each method.
There are four possible ways of storing your boat:
- Storing your boat on a trailer in your yard or garage
- Storing your boat in a indoor boat storage unit
- Storing your boat in a outdoor boat storage unit
- Storing your boat at the dock
Table of Contents
Storing Your Skiff Boat on a Trailer in Your Yard or Garage
Out of the four options available,this is what I would call the DIY method, since you will be doing everything all by yourself.
The first thing that you will need for this method is of course a boat trailer. You can usually get a boat trailer for around $2,000. But depending on its size you might end up paying more or less.
While the cost of the trailer might seem scary, it’s actually not that bad since it’s only a one time cost, and you will need a trailer to move your boat around when it’s not in the water.
Now that you have a trailer it’s time to start winterizing your boat.
If you are interested in storing your boat during any other season except the winter, you will find that part in the “Storing Your Boat During the Summer, Spring and Autumn” section of the article.
Winterizing your boat can seem like a complicated process, but it’s not that hard, especially if you follow this guide where I describe the whole process in a lot of detail: Easy Step by Step Guide to Properly Winterizing Your Boat.
In this article I will focus on storage options so read the winterizing article if you want a guide for that. But just to give you an idea of what you will have to do, here is a quick step by step recap:
- Clean the boat, this will prevent any damage done by algae, barnacles and mold
- Add fuel stabilizer, this will stop water getting into your engine
- Add antifreeze to the block, this will prevent water from freezing and cracking the block
- Fogging the engine, this will keep the exterior of the engine safe from rust and humidity
- The water system, empty it correctly so you don’t end up with cracks and leaks in the spring
- The battery, charge and remove it
- Cover the boat, get a good cover with a good airflow
After you are done winterizing your boat you will have to find a good place to store it. If possible I would advise you to store it in your garage, or somewhere indoors. If that is not possible try at least to place it somewhere where it will not be very exposed to the wind and the snow.
And don’t make the mistake of covering it with too many things, this will restrict the airflow offered by the cover. If you want to add some extra protection you can add it to the haul, just don’t put anything over the cover.
And that’s it. This is what you have to do in order to store your boat in your yard or garage. Here is a quick step by step recap:
- Get yourself a trailer, this is the only proper way of storing and moving a boat.
- Winterize your boat, you can find a guide on how to do that here: Easy Step by Step Guide to Properly Winterizing Your Boat.
- Find a good place to store your boat, ideally that place would be indoors, but outdoors can also work.
Storing Your Boat in a Indoor Boat Storage Unit
Indoor boat storage is great, this method won’t take up any space in your garage or yard, and in a lot of cases you won’t even have to go through the process of winterizing your boat. The only disadvantage is the cost. It can cost you anywhere between $130 to $150 for most small and medium sized boats. And if you have a bigger boat, the cost will go up.
The big thing to know about indoor boat storage units is that they are not all the same. In some cases the storage units will be heated, so you won’t have to winterize your boat,( although I would still recommend you to do it, since leaving water or fuel in the boat it’s not a good idea), some of them are not heated. Some of them will provide a trailer for you to move your boat, some of them won’t.
So you will have to take a look at what each indoor boat storage near you is offering, don’t just go to the one with the smallest price.
Storing Your Boat in a Outdoor Boat Storage Unit
Outdoor storage units are not that similar to indoor storage units, most of them just provide you a space where you will be able to store your boat. I’ve seen a few out there that will provide you a trailer to move your boat. But most of them are just big parking spaces.
The price is usually around $40 to $50, so they are not that expensive, and if you don’t have enough space at home they can be quite useful, even if they don’t provide the same protection as an indoor boat storage.
Just remember that you will have to winterize your boat, so if you want to know how to do it here is the link again: Easy Step by Step Guide to Properly Winterizing Your Boat.
Storing Your Boat at the Dock
This storage method is also known as a wet slip. And most ports offer this service.
In the case of this method you will simply leave your boat in water at the port. The big advantage is that you won’t have to move your boat from one place to another.
As for disadvantages, there are no real disadvantages, boats are made to stay in water, so leaving them there won’t do them any harm. You might have to get a deicer to make sure that ice doesn’t trap your boat, but that’s about it.
And again, if you choose this method you will have to winterize your boat, otherwise your boat will be a complete mess when spring comes.
Storing Your Boat During the Summer, Spring and Autumn
Now let’s talk about storage during other seasons.
Storing Your Boat During Spring
Storing your boat during the spring doesn’t require anything in particular. Covering your boat with a boat cover should be enough.
Storing Your Boat During Summer
Just like in the spring, storing your boat during the summer won’t require anything special, just a simple boat cover with a good airflow. The role of the cover is mostly to stop dust and birds from dirtying your boat
Storing Your Boat During Autumn
Depending on where you live autumn days might be really warm and gentle, or they might be full of rain and bad weather.
If where you live the autumn is gentle, simply covering your boat should be enough.
But if the autumn looks more like the winter, than you should start the winterizing process early and follow the same storage steps as you would have for winter.
Which Method Is the Safest?
Now that we discussed every method possible, you might ask yourself which is the safest. I would say that the safest is a warm indoor storage, but as you’ve seen those can be quite expensive.
Leaving your boat outside, or the water won’t do any damage to the hull. But leaving your boat outside always comes with a risk, just like with everything left outside.
In the beginning I would keep my boat in indoor storage units. After that I decided that the cost was too big when I could just leave it in my backyard. And at the moment I prefer to store it in an outdoor storage.
So I’ve tried almost all the possible storage methods. And I never had any problem with any of them.
Final Thoughts
In the end I want to remind you that there is no “best storage” for a skiff boat. It all depends on how much space you have available, or how much you are willing to spend. All storage methods work, but some of them require less effort than others.