I have been away from the blog for a short period as I finally had my left shoulder surgery completed in Collingwood. Great hospital...unbelievably busy with some very friendly staff. I have been back to work for a few days and have involved in a number of detailed conversations with both prospects and existing boat storage customers. With the middle of September here and the leaves starting to display fall colours it is time to talk about boat storage for the family marine investment.
Here is the question. My family has invested 30,000 in a recreational boat...how can I or how should I store this investment over the winter months? My boat is located in the Huntsville Lake of Bays area in Muskoka. Add to this that human nature is to seek the lowest cost to achieve winter storage.
The very first question I get asked is how much per foot or just how much. This assumes and it is a huge assumption that all boat storage is the same. Inside is inside and shrink wrap is shrink wrap is the assumption. This is somewhat expected as most boat owners do not know what should be done, what is required and perhaps the real question what is the right process for the area the boat will be stored in? Take note of the last statement...what is right for the type of boat and the geographic area it will be stored in.
A person can drive from Toronto north to Huntsville and see a number of road signs all for shrink wrap storage on display particularly around Orillia. One says $15.99 per foot. one says $15.00 per foot another says Best Price Wrap, sings for storage at every marina you pass....sign....sign...everywhere a sign...breaking my mind....I think that was a song by The Electric Light Orchestra! So confusing and so little real information...price...price...price...no meat...no information...get me in the door...it is all the same...right! You would have to pay me to store my marine investment 50' max off Highway 11 in plastic warp with a million tons of salt and brine about to be blasted onto the Highway 11 over the next 6 months. It is a fact that salt and aluminum or steel is a no go and canvas forget it, vinyl well maybe for a short period ...lets just say it is not an ideal situation! Huntsville Marine is on Highway 60 which utilizes brine these days to clear the roads. At Huntsville Marine all boats are pulled a minimum of 250' of the highway and aluminum products are a miminimum of 400' or taken to our storage location which is 1500 feet from the highway. In Huntsville one of our local major marinas shrink wraps essentially 90 percent of his storage boats. One of their storage locations is on very busy main street, the other place utilized is a grassy field right beside Highway 11 and the third is a back country field. Are you asking what is being done for your hard earned money?
A typical boat storage situation is to pull out the Yellow Pages and start calling all and everyone in the area and ask how much? A new boat owner called this week and asked about shrink wrap. He had talked with at least 6 other storage places and everyone had quoted shrink wrap storage with no explanation of what and why this was being offered. My first question to him was how old was the boat? "He said brand new!" I asked why are you considering putting your new $30K plus investment in a plastic cocoon? "This is what everyone has offerred me with the follow up question...why are they doing that?" Very simple I said! The boat storage facilities required for proper and preferred inside boat storage in Muskoka are expensive and these gentlemen did not want to make the investment or do not have the required capital to make this investment or the land to build these facilities. Any back yard mechanic or small motor repair shop can tell the inquiring boater I am in the boat storage business with shrink warp. I will take your money and just stick your boat in a field and both of us hope for the best in the spring! Then he says "I have seen shrink wrap boats all over the place in grassy fields. Any problem with grass?" Nothing serious along as you like mice and you are comfortable with essentially no one to monitor the boat over the winter months! "What should I do?" Place the boat in inside storage with someone who is qualified to do the right service in a properly designed building monitored throughout the winter months. "This will cost more!" Absolutely and it should...but you get what you pay for short and long term! Did you buy the cheapest boat you could find or did you investigate value for your money?
This conversation continued for a while. I stated that Huntsville Marine does offer shrink wrap storage and service. In fact Huntsville Marine was one of the original test centers for this product back in the early 80's. We have more experience that any other facility in Muskoka with this product and perhaps in Ontario as a whole. Still....Huntsville Marines stated goal is to be essentially out of the shrink wrap storage option in the next 5 years or less. Why 5 years? We now have 50,000 square feet of inside storage space and we need to double this...this takes time. That will be expensive he adds. Yes but the fact remains that there are two main reasons why shrink wrap is not where you want to be.
1. Shrink wrap does not provide the best storage protection package for your marine investment....period! Huntsville Marine takes the time when ever possible to dry out the boats before they are cocooned. Why do we do this? Because most boats are wet and you are trapping this water inside the plastic for months causing all kinds of unnecessary additional corrosion, mould and biological problems, associated additional wear and tear. Huntsville Marine places more venting than any other facility I know of. We also carefully treat the canvas and the interior with mould and biological agents. No one even asks what happens other than the plastic wrap or what kind of blocking and hull support or interior wrap support is utilized. I feel that Huntsville marine does perhaps the best shrink wrap procedure in the business and I still tell everyone that proper inside storage is the way to go! If your boat is 15 years old and you want to save some dough and your boat is over 15 years old...consider shrink warp but put it in inside storage.
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