This may be a strange idea but coming from inland lakes and reservoir fishing I have in the past stored certain boats here or there to be at the ready when I NEEDED the boat for a paticular fishing trip. OK WHAT I AM GETTING AT IS THIS............. Not knowing anything at all really about the florida and surrounding area's I thought I would get some input on boat storage. My idea and question is this.......finding a decent boat around the 20 foot range for fishing. Now I do NOT want to tow this boat with me all year especially being up north and on the loop or semi looping anyway. I can use the tender then or the main boat when I have the need to fish..... We think we may simply winter in the florida and bahama's and around the louisiana area AND THIS is when I will want a BIGGER fishing boat and will want to use it at least 4 months out of the year....... With all this said..............am I out of my mind thinking like this or is there trust worthy and honest safe places to store a boat the 8 months out of the year....... In this way.....I do not have to deal with putting a larger tender on the bow and if we decide to stay down that way and only venture up north say as far as the Carolina's then I would just keep the boat on the hip as they say............. Any thoughts on this ????? Thanks Every one....... Jim
Lost of boat storage available. Warehouses with racks and forklift retrival, They wash and store the boat for you after use, then launch it with an hours notice next time you go out. Several places like that in Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
Boatels (rack storage, even dry rack storage) up the gazoo around here. Call ahead, the boat is in the water when you get there. Return, they haul, wash, and store. Just takes writing a check. -Chris
Just don't leave it sitting in that water for 8 months unmoved. It'll move nowhere when you're ready to go. (Barnacles, salt corrosion, electrolysis). Lots of marinas have dry storage or rack storage as others have mentioned. If stored outside, be sure to wax the topsides at least twice a year (oxidation).
I agree, plenty of indoor storage facilities. They really pay for themselves on a small boat. You don't have to bottom paint it, wax it often, the upholstry and gel coat look new a decade later and on and on........Some you can even pay to launch it once a month and run all of the systems and the boat.
To everyone, Thank You for the replies and this indeed is what I wanted to hear. This way I can have my fishing world along with my cruising everyday live a board world and I do not have to carry them both around with me at the same time. Thanks again, Jim
Jim, There's a inside storage area at Caribee Boat Sales, they are the Grady White dealer (among others) in Islamorada. They have service techs on the payroll, and it's a very nice facility. I would also check and see the status of the inside facility on Duck Key. It was mothballed three years ago, when the Owner passed.
NEO56 , Thank You and I will check them out. Just trying to cover every area of this before we get started on this life of cruising....Never was a boy scout or anything but being prepared suits me well...as much as one can that is !! Thanks again Jim
Here's one I'll bet you don't know, if you dip your eggs in Olive Oil, they'll last up to two months before they go bad. We used to do that when spending the Summer cruising the Bahamas. It's tough to make Lobster, Spinach, and Feta Cheese omelets without eggs!
Ahhhh Yep I bet your right that I did not know this ! Sounds like a slippery the yokes on you thing BUT......I still say thanks. ROFL....That is good to know since I got very sick one time from bad eggs.........Any more tips there NEO56
As a matter of fact, yes I do. This is if you do a lot of fishing. Carry a case of Lemons and Limes, and find several recipes for Ceviche. Most recipes call for you to semi cook the fish prior to putting them into the Lime juice. We never did that we used equal parts of Lemon and Lime juice, sealed the container ( usually a clean 5 gallon bucket, we put everything into it. Lobster, Stone crabs, Conch, Dolphin (with the blood line cut out of the filet) Grouper, Snapper, Tuna. We'd seal the container with Saran Wrap, then put the top on, and let it sit inside for 24 hours. We'd keep out what we wanted for the next few days then put the rest into zip locks and freeze the rest. Don't freeze with the juice...it'll ruin the meat. Whatever citrus you have left over don't waste it....it makes great sour mix for Margaritas! And here's another great tip....put whatever you want to freeze into a Zip lock bag and seal it with about a 1/4 inch left. Insert a very long straw into the corner and seal it as much as you can against the straw. Now here comes the neat part. Take a 5 gallon bucket of water (which is why you need the longest straw you can find. I actually bought a thin piece of clear vinyl tubing for the job.) The bottom of the straw should be just below the seal, anyway push the bag slowly down to the bottom of bucket. This creates at least one atmosphere of pressure, with your teeth or some one else's help with your fingers on both sides of the straw, pull the straw out at the same time pinching the zip lock closed. This method actually pushes out more air than a vacuum sealer, and it's cheaper. And no freezer burn! I kept food in the freezer on board for 6 months without freezer burn. If anything else comes to mind, I'll put it on here.
Eggs have pores, the Oil seals up the pores...so air can't get to them and spoil them. We would re-dip the eggs every week, just to be on the safe side.
You do still keep them in the fridge or is this out? Oh and thanks for the tips and I will keep looking back !!