Boat Storage - Best practices

[rockinRio]

I've read and heard that you should store your boats standing up. Can anyone explain why the is better than storing them just laying down on the hull?

I can understand why you don't want to hang them by grab loops. But to be fair to everyone we should talk about why and why-nots for everything.

Thanks!

[BKC]

I hang mine from the ceiling in the garage ... hull side up. Not using the grab loops but having loops of rope for the bow and stern attached to the rafters or 2X4's.

[ToddG]

gravity + the weight of the boat will cause the weak hull surface to deform over time. plastic tends to be much more rigid over a "curve", the tighter the stronger, & the hull is always the flattest, most bendy part of your boat.

so, if you have a playboat & like the "looseness" of the planing hull (to release on green water), then to preserve the integrity of the planing surface as well as the overall shape the boat designer had in mind, you should stand it up on end, or "cradle" it. same holds true for creekboats with displacement hulls. oilcanning sux.

now that i think about it, 3 of my 4 boats are rotting away on their hulls ...