Leaving boat outside

Does the weather hurt an aluminium boat by leaving it outside?

Very few boats are all aluminum, so the wood, plastic and foam degrades when exposed to the elements and nature. The aluminum also corrodes, pits, gets dirty. Water, leaves, etc. collect. Most areas, the water freezes and can damage the aluminum. Better to have them indoors but properly stored outdoors is not bad. Critters can get in boats too, especially mice. Trailers rust promptly outdoors. Tires dry rot.
Tim

okay, the boat hull itself will last forever !!!!
now, the "soft goods" - - - cushions, seats, ropes, plastics, etc.
will NOT last for long in direct sunshine. Some states are worse than others.
Florida, for example, anything painted or fabric really takes a beating.
I still have our family tin boat that my Dad bought back in 1959.
It has seen a few trailers, many wood seats, a few steering cables,
a few gas tanks, countless ropes, wood paddles, yada yada yada.
So, whatever you can store in your garage, that would be the best idea.
Whatever items you can fabricate out of aluminum sheet metal vs wood, go for it.
My 1959 14' Crestliner.

Correct! As stated above the hull is fine - the other stuff


i take it off 1st

If you can't get it inside at least try to cover it with a boat cover or tarp. Make sure the cover will let rain water run off and not collect in pools inside the hull.

I second what most everyone else has said. It will be fine, but protect it as best you can. I have an old aluminum 10' Gamefisher Jon that I couldn't tell you how old it is. The registration sticker expired May of 1993, so it's older than I am. But I do know the boat has spent every day of the last 21 years outside. We leave it upside down just sitting on the ground by our pond, and it hasn't leaked a drop until this year, but that's unrelated. The wood in te transom, however, has been completely gone for around 5 years and rotted beyond use far longer than that, although the wood was never treated with epoxy or anything for marine use.

Technically, water can get in just about anywhere that is exposed, and when it freezes after such an intrusion, it will expand and make those spaces larger. Now, those spaces could be anything from large gaps in loose bolts, etc. to microscopic cracks and spaces in the material. Eventually, this process is going to cause noticeable damage, although it may take 20+ years. It is also important to remember that organic materials (wood, etc.) will rot and many other surfaces (foam, carpet, etc.) are great substrates for molds, mildews, and the like. Again, water can and will get virtually anywhere, so even epoxied wood can have chips, cracks, and missed spots that will allow the freezing-cracking to happen and/or cause the wood to rot inside the epoxy she'll.

I have a brand new 12' Alumacraft Jon, so taking all of ^^this^^ into account, and not having any indoor storage space, here's what I did. I took three unsplit firewood logs and stood them on end (two in back, one in front), then put my boat upside down on top of them. Now my boat sits a couple of inches off the ground, so I can at least look for snakes before flipping it over, and it will keep it out of the runoff water. I then sat my old 10' boat upside down on top, to keep rain off of my new boat and to provide some weight and protection for when the tornadoes start in a couple of months.

Hope you found something useful in this, but I really wouldn't worry too much about it if it's only for one season

I do not have any indoor storage options for my boat either. What I did was take 2 old saw horses and a length of 2x4 to create a structure for an extra heavy duty and UV treated/resistent tarp to lie on. I then tie this down with bungy cords to my trailer. Creates a nice tight cover over my entire boat. I keep my camouflage seats, life jackets and other gear in my boat and don't have any issues with fading or degradation due to weather. My boat also stays bone dry when under cover.

Thank you everyone, I got all the information I needed. :lol:

I've had a bunch over the years. Never had a place to put any of them, other than outside under a couple of small dogwood trees. The other option for parking it was under a BIG loblolly pine tree. Pines will destroy a boat. I hated the leaves from the dogwoods and cussed having to leave it out there, but no other options. In 2009, had a bit of an ice storm. The big pine lost one of it's limbs; where I would have parked the boat/trailer. The limb was 34" diameter at it's base and about 30 feet long. It made a BIG boom when it hit the ground, shook the house. The neighbor guy has a whole yard full of them like the one I had (loblolly's) and one of his smaller limbs fell right across the center of his 1436 boat while it was sitting on the trailer. Completely demolished the boat. Broke the trailer in two.

Now I'm in a different house, has a garage, and I kicked the Mustang outside and parked the (new) boat inside. The boat is one of only 2 things I've ever purchased brand new so I'm taking care of it the best I can.

The sun fades them. Here, in less than a year, a brand new boat that was originally OD green, will be gray. Cover it if possible, and keep it up off the ground if at all possible. I usually throw some dryer sheets in the boat to deter spiders, mice, etc...from messing with it.

Barefoot_Johnny said:

okay, the boat hull itself will last forever !!!!
now, the "soft goods" - - - cushions, seats, ropes, plastics, etc.
will NOT last for long in direct sunshine. Some states are worse than others.
Florida, for example, anything painted or fabric really takes a beating.
I still have our family tin boat that my Dad bought back in 1959.
It has seen a few trailers, many wood seats, a few steering cables,
a few gas tanks, countless ropes, wood paddles, yada yada yada.
So, whatever you can store in your garage, that would be the best idea.
Whatever items you can fabricate out of aluminum sheet metal vs wood, go for it.
My 1959 14' Crestliner.

Click to expand...

Johnny
That ole Crestliner is in awesome condition! =D> Need to post an interior shot!

Thanks - the boat has seen several transitions over the last 50 years.
My two brothers and I have swapped it back and forth over the years.
It has been in Virginia, San Juan, PR, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and now back home.
(when I was in the Navy, I absconded a ride for it to my overseas duty stations)

The original bench seats have been in and out a few times,
some type of chairs were bolted in.
had a duck hunting deck at one time with full camo paint.
then, when I got it back a few years ago, I came up with this type of
wood seats for front and back.
It has been in our family since new - 1959.
has over a hundred holes in the hull that have all been repaired and are smooth
under layers and layers of paint.

The brown wood seats were just pine that I "thought" would hold up if primed and painted
properly like house siding wood trim would .... I was WRONG !! Dry rot got in and I replaced
it with red oak. Primed carefully and painted. But the Florida Sun really beats up paint.
The oak was a poor choice. It expanded and contracted so much that the paint cracked
and mildew killed the paint. The wood was sound, just the paint had to be refinished every year or so.
I have been toying with the idea of the "plastic wood" used for decks - with substantial aluminum
bracing underneath that can't be readily seen by the casual onlooker. (admirer).
Pressure Treated wood does not hold paint worth a hoot. so that idea is out.

Wow, I love that Crestliner! Looking good, mighty good. As to where to store ye boat: my Dad, who'd have been 102 Sunday, always taught me that ye boat goes under ye sheds/garage, ye cyar can stay outside. Ye keep ye boat, ye trade ye cyar.

Barefoot_Johnny said:

Thanks - the boat has seen several transitions over the last 50 years.
My two brothers and I have swapped it back and forth over the years.
It has been in Virginia, San Juan, PR, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and now back home.
(when I was in the Navy, I absconded a ride for it to my overseas duty stations)

The original bench seats have been in and out a few times,
some type of chairs were bolted in.
had a duck hunting deck at one time with full camo paint.
then, when I got it back a few years ago, I came up with this type of
wood seats for front and back.
It has been in our family since new - 1959.
has over a hundred holes in the hull that have all been repaired and are smooth
under layers and layers of paint.

The brown wood seats were just pine that I "thought" would hold up if primed and painted
properly like house siding wood trim would .... I was WRONG !! Dry rot got in and I replaced
it with red oak. Primed carefully and painted. But the Florida Sun really beats up paint.
The oak was a poor choice. It expanded and contracted so much that the paint cracked
and mildew killed the paint. The wood was sound, just the paint had to be refinished every year or so.
I have been toying with the idea of the "plastic wood" used for decks - with substantial aluminum
bracing underneath that can't be readily seen by the casual onlooker. (admirer).
Pressure Treated wood does not hold paint worth a hoot. so that idea is out.

Click to expand...

Have you looked into Teak? I love the look of those wood slat seats, but can tell you neither Pine nor Oak will last if exposed. Cypress will last, but it will also gray up and doesn't like sealers. Teak is what you see on the high end wood boats.