Raft Winter Storage

[mountainfish]

I know it a little early for this but we have no water and I am thinkin of SNOW. What is the best way to store my raft Outdoors? I have no garage and 0 storage space in my tiny condo. It will be on a trailer down valley(From T-Ride). Rolled or semi Inflated?

[calendar16]

Originally Posted by mountainfish

I know it a little early for this but we have no water and I am thinkin of SNOW. What is the best way to store my raft Outdoors? I have no garage and 0 storage space in my tiny condo. It will be on a trailer down valley(From T-Ride). Rolled or semi Inflated?

Depending...I have a Maravia and dare not roll it up to store it. I would strongly suggest (if you have a PVC boat) to keep it inflated and on the trailer. Cover it up with a tarp to keep the UV from the sun off of it. Clean it and 303 it prior to covering it up so she is nice and clean and protected just in case the tarp gets loose. I check on my boat often when stored to make sure heavy snow pack which turns into ice is not weighing too heavy of a burden on the PVC and tarp.

I have never owned hypalon but from what i've heard just roll the hypalon raft up and throw it in any available cabinet/closet space you might have?

hope my $0.02 get you many dollar$ worth.

[zboda]

I would agree with what "calendar16" said. Take extra care when tarping it down. Get a fairly high quality tarp and one that will not disintegrate in the sun. Make sure the entire raft is covered, factoring in wind and blowing snow. Use two tarps if necessary. The more time you take protecting it, the better off you will be. If you do roll it up (which would probably allow you to cover it better), don't roll it up crazy tight, keep a little air in the raft to help avoid creases. Also, keep in mind extreme temperatures (hot or cold) have adverse effects on glue and seems.

[JHimick]

Originally Posted by calendar16

Cover it up with a tarp to keep the UV from the sun off of it. Clean it and 303 it prior to covering it up so she is nice and clean and protected just in case the tarp gets loose.

This goes for Hypalon as well. Since Hypalon is much less rigid than PVC it's fine to keep it rolled during the off season. If you take care of your boat as Calendar has suggested it will last a long time. I've seen 20 year old boats in better shape than 5 year old boats.

[El Flaco]

I'm looking to do the same thing - someplace to store my Aire (PVC) so that I can leave it inflated and my garage a little less cluttered. Anybody got a line on a rental barn that they want to go in on somewhere in north Denver / Boulder / Louisville? PM if interested in going in on storage...

Sorry- hijacked the threat a bit.

[Dave Frank]

Josh, If you find something cheap enough, I could be in on that. It'd have to be pretty cheap though.

My pvc aire has spent 8 winters rolled up tight. it's not killing it, but some of the creases look like they might become cracks someday.