Any tips for leaving the boat in the water

[Guma]

We have a lakehouse rented from Tues to Tues this week. This is a first for me. Are there any tips I should know about doing this?

One thing I am thinking about, it rains alot in Florida in the evenings, so I am going to cover the boat on nights I think it might rain.

The lake is spring fed, so I should not have to worry too much about the water level changing drastically while either tied to the dock or anchored just off shore.

[jbort]

not much to it. make sure tied up and covered for the rain. we used to keep ours in the water the whole summer and no big issues. Make sure bilge pumpo works in case cover lets in water-we keep a manual pump as backup too. One wee is no biggie.

[st68]

I like to tie my boat up so the wind pushes the boat away from the dock and then use bumpers to protect against scratching the boat in case the winds shifts. At the end of the week I make sure I wipe down the water line really well to keep any dirt build up off the hull, if I see dirt build up at the water line I will even use a soft bristle washing brush to keep the hull clean. Overall you should not have any problems, I just like to be sure a dock doesn't potentially beat up my boat...

[Ewok]

Like jbort said, one week is no big deal. When you pull the boat out of the water, try to clean it as soon as possible. Try not to let the funk dry out, its easier to clean off if its still a little wet.

If its hard to clean, use a hull cleaner such as Starbrite hull cleaner. It has a mild murich acid so keep the kids away from it and use some rubber gloves if you can.

I kept my old boat in the water all summer. I would take it out of the water once a month and give it a good cleaning and wax. Each weekend I would use snorkel gear and scrub the bottom with a bug and tar remover style sponge. It depends on the water but boats get pretty nasty from sitting in the water, but it is SO nice to drive/walk down to the dock, jump in and go.

If I was going to do it again, I would have put a nice anti-fouling paint on the bottom, it's designed to prevent the growth of funk on the bottom and its easier to clean when it's out of the water.

I'm moving to WA at the end of the summer, just bought a house up there with a 3 car garage in a tandem bay setup so I'll be able to back the boat all the way into its cave, and keeep it in a warm spot in the winter.

[chadster2]

I left mine out in a rain storm and I had too much weight in the front. The water kept pushing down the bow and not getting to the bilge pump. When I climbed onto the back of the boat it "all" rushed to the back.
I found that the bow seats were holding 300-400 lbs water and thats what kept the water draining correctly

[Guma]

Thanks guys, figured it wasn't much of a big deal but wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking anything.

[Dave S]

X2 - Scrubb water line right after removal, if you let it dry, it is a pain to remove later. keep a rag in the boat and while floating jump in and wipe down water line, that will help also.

[MoneyPity]

One thing about leaving a fiberglass boat in water for extended periods is that fiberglass absorbs water over time which may result in gelcoat blisters. If you can get a lift I would recommend it.

If boat is only in water for a week or so then blisters are not an issue. Blisters are issue if boat is left in water for extended periods. If in water for a week or so just clean scum line when still wet. When we pull ours out we wipe down with damp towel to clean scum line and sometimes use Starbright Hull cleaner if real grungy.

[Joeprunc]

If the lake house is not in a protected no wake zone, I would dock it with the bow facing the wakes (back it in). If you only have two bumpers, you might want to invest in another two (larger diameter ones) and leave them tied on the dock.

If you have a support pole for you cover, I would bring that too.