Anyone dry stack?

[shonuff]

I was planning on dry stacking my boat this coming season. A friend warned me that its common for boats to get damaged by careless forklift operators, etc. If anyone dry stacks their boat or knows someone who does, can you give me your experience?

I don't have a tow vehicle at the moment and live 20 minutes to our lake (Lanier in Ga). My options are: buy a tow vehicle and keep the boat on the trailer at a storage facility close to the lake (neighborhood HOA prohibits keeping my boat in my driveway), wet slip then buy a lift or dry stacking.

Dry stacking is the most appealing option to me for convenience, cost and protection from the elements but my friend is telling me not to for the reason mentioned.

[ski4evr]

I'd find a decent storage building and either borrow or rent a tow vehicle for a day. Surely someone who rides with you has a truck. Wouldn't be comfortable lifting off trailer and back on.

[Gasman87]

We grew up in Calif and we had never heard of dry stack . We moved to Lake Norman Nc and have been with three dry stack marinas ( big lake ) and we have never had a problem ! We would never go back to trailer back and forth again ! We do tow to other lakes still , but to just be able to call ahead and our baby will be sitting at the dock, or stay out till ten at night and know all i have to do is tie up PRICELESS !!!! Crap happens but all of these marinas have hired very competent people with alot of pride , if we ever do have a issue i doubt it will be a careless action !!! I suggest you just go down and meet the folks at your dry stack and look around and talk to them . im quite sure you will go away knowing if those folks will take care of your baby just as you do !!!!!

[shonuff]

A couple of my friends have a truck but my riding crew is not a consistent group of people. I don't always have access to a friend's truck. We ride too often to rent a truck everytime we need to put it in.

Wouldn't be comfortable lifting off trailer and back on.

What do you mean? When dry stacked, they pick the boat up out of the water and stack it on a shelf. When you want to use it, they put it directly into the water for you. It wouldn't ever touch the trailer.

[shonuff]

We grew up in Calif and we had never heard of dry stack . We moved to Lake Norman Nc and have been with three dry stack marinas ( big lake ) and we have never had a problem ! We would never go back to trailer back and forth again ! We do tow to other lakes still , but to just be able to call ahead and our baby will be sitting at the dock, or stay out till ten at night and know all i have to do is tie up PRICELESS !!!! Crap happens but all of these marinas have hired very competent people with alot of pride , if we ever do have a issue i doubt it will be a careless action !!! I suggest you just go down and meet the folks at your dry stack and look around and talk to them . im quite sure you will go away knowing if those folks will take care of your baby just as you do !!!!!

Thanks for your input! That makes me feel better. I love the convenience of not having to tow back and forth, launching, etc. I kept my previous boat on a wet slip and was spoiled by the convenience. That was an older cheaper boat, now that I have a CC I need to keep it out of the water.

[RLS]

Think about what can happen towing and launching a boat. I would guess you have just a much chance damaging your boat while you transporting it as you would have with a lift. If the dry stack storage has boats in it as nice as yours I would not worry too much. I am very careful while towing my boat but I have had several problems while towing my boat.

[chris196]

I had a boat (not my Nautique) in a dry stack for over 10 years. Never had a serious problem. A few nicks, but they fixed them. My buddy who also had his boat there had a hole punched in the transom. It didn't go all the way trough, but it was pretty significant. They fixed it.

Just make sure the place you chose has a good rep.

Like someone said, good chance of damage trailering also.

[SkiTower]

Are these inside? Only time I've seen drystacking is at the coast and I always wondered because it's like big shelving units with a roof over it. No sides. Just curious.

And while I have no experience with dry stacking, one difference between this and trailering is that with this you're trusting someone else with your boat. That's big to me.

[shonuff]

Are these inside? Only time I've seen drystacking is at the coast and I always wondered because it's like big shelving units with a roof over it. No sides. Just curious.

And while I have no experience with dry stacking, one difference between this and trailering is that with this you're trusting someone else with your boat. That's big to me.

Yes the shelves are inside a warehouse so the boats are completely shielded from the elements.

I get your point and I feel the same way. Its a hard decision when I don't own a tow vehicle. The cost of dry stacking is way cheaper than buying a dedicated tow vehicle and still having to rent a storage facility near the lake.

[NautiqueJeff]

I did this with my 2003 210. Worked great! Would have continued with the newer boats, but they were too big to fit the shelves.

[chris196]

Are these inside? Only time I've seen drystacking is at the coast and I always wondered because it's like big shelving units with a roof over it. No sides. Just curious.

And while I have no experience with dry stacking, one difference between this and trailering is that with this you're trusting someone else with your boat. That's big to me.

Depends on the facility. The one I used was closed on 3 sides, but other was open to elements. If you were on the top rack, you were fairly well protected. The bottom could get rain. The top is also better because you don't have other boats draining on it. My friend had the boat above leak oil on his. He had a cover on, so not a big deal.

There was another facility on the lake that was completely enclosed.

Yes, you're trusing someone else with your boat. If you're super anal, it's probably not for you. But the convienence is really nice.
A big downside is access to boat for cleaning and maintenance.
I currently trailer and I like it, but I'm going to a different lake that's closer and I usually only go early. So no problems with a crowded ramp. But, if you use your boat primetime on a saturday/sunday the convienence is worth it.

[Sephmu]

The convienence is nice....just talk to some of the boaters at the dry stack of your choice and get some feedback about the employees.

One word of advice....invest in plenty of bumpers/fenders and leave them tied in place around your boat so when you call ahead they can just dunk the boat and tie it off without digging for fenders in your boat, or worse yet tieing it up without any. Same goes for leaving dock lines attached. When they guys get busy at the marina on the weekends, it just helps streamline the process.

Just makes it easier for everyone and you know your baby is protected while you're en route.

[shonuff]

The convienence is nice....just talk to some of the boaters at the dry stack of your choice and get some feedback about the employees.

One word of advice....invest in plenty of bumpers/fenders and leave them tied in place around your boat so when you call ahead they can just dunk the boat and tie it off without digging for fenders in your boat, or worse yet tieing it up without any. Same goes for leaving dock lines attached. When they guys get busy at the marina on the weekends, it just helps streamline the process.

Just makes it easier for everyone and you know your baby is protected while you're en route.

Great advice, thanks!

[maxpower220]

I would do a cost-benefit analysis. How much does dry/stack storage cost each month and how many months will you be doing it (and how many years)? Around here stack storage is about $230/mth for a 22' boat. Hopefully it is a lot cheaper there. Once you have a cost for storage, compare that to the cost of a cheap, dedicated tow rig. You should be able to find a truck/suv for $4-5K (maybe less) in good shape. Factor in repairs, insurance and gas. Also, factor in a return: at the end of the season, you can't get anything back from storage, but you could sell the tow vehicle and reclaim some costs.

Good luck.

[shonuff]

I would do a cost-benefit analysis. How much does dry/stack storage cost each month and how many months will you be doing it (and how many years)? Around here stack storage is about $230/mth for a 22' boat. Hopefully it is a lot cheaper there. Once you have a cost for storage, compare that to the cost of a cheap, dedicated tow rig. You should be able to find a truck/suv for $4-5K (maybe less) in good shape. Factor in repairs, insurance and gas. Also, factor in a return: at the end of the season, you can't get anything back from storage, but you could sell the tow vehicle and reclaim some costs.

Good luck.

I did a quick one in my head before. I was quoted $212 /month for dry stacking for a 23' boat (my 210 + swim platform is about 22' 8").

If I went the tow vehicle route:
~$80 /month insurance
~$60 /month gas to tow back and forth, maybe more
~$80 /month more or less for a covered parking spot at a boat storage facility near the lake

That already puts me at $220 /month then add in the cost of the vehicle, depreciation and maintenance. What kills it for me is I can't keep the boat in my driveway (HOA rules). For me dry stacking would be cheaper.