How to Properly Store Your Boat or Kayak

The good news is, with a bit of clever thinking and making use of the tools at your disposal at home, you can ensure your boat or kayak is stored in the most effective manner possible, protecting it from the elements and anything that might threaten its structural integrity. So keep reading this guide if you’d like to learn how to properly store your boat or kayak.

Mistakes to avoid

There’s no handbook on the one true perfect way to store a boat or kayak, but there are several mistakes you should try and avoid when determining a storage option. Here are the most common mistakes you should try to avoid so you can ensure your boat or kayak remains in a good, useable condition for years to come.

• Keeping your boat or kayak outdoors – While it can be difficult to find a place to store your boat or kayak, the great outdoors is definitely not the best spot. Even boats and kayaks that are constructed with tough hull materials like Kevlar, carbon fibre, and fibreglass can be damaged when subject to extended exposure to the elements. So keep your boat out of the sun and rain wherever possible and ensure it’s not damaged by nature.
• Storing a boat or kayak on its hull – When you’re figuring out the best way to store your boat or kayak, you really  have to eliminate options that will see you storing the vessel on its hull, as this doesn’t distribute the weight evenly. While plastic and fabric hulls are especially vulnerable to damage, you should note that fibreglass and wood-hulled boats are also susceptible to damage and the risk of distortion is highly increased by improper storage methods.
• Throwing other valuable equipment in loosely – A boat or kayak isn’t like a car, in the sense that it often doesn’t provide safe storage for valuable loose items like boating gear, water equipment, and life jackets. By not having a secure, lockable mechanism, you’re really asking for these items to be stolen, and leaving yourself open to all sorts of tricky situations as a boat owner.

Storage options

The good news is that there is a range of useful boat storage options available that can effectively keep your boat out of the elements and ensure that it stays in good condition for when you’re next out on the water. Here are our top three suggestions:

• Boat trailer with tarp covering – If you really don’t have the space to construct a boat shed/makeshift carport type of covering, then your best bet is to employ the use of a boat trailer with a tarp cover. While this doesn’t provide the most effective security and 100% coverage from the elements, a boat trailer with tarp cover is a pretty effective makeshift solution. It avoids warping, and at the very least ensures that not too much rain will get inside.
• Hired storage unit – If you’re working with a bit more coin and you’re serious about protecting your boat, you might want to consider renting out a storage unit and housing your boat there. Multipurpose storage units are one option, but there are also purpose built ones for boats and kayaks that are generally close to lakes, rivers, bays, and oceans, giving you easy access whenever you need to hit the water. That said, these options can become quite costly over time, so keep mindful of this.
• Your own shed or carport – While this option may take a little effort on your part, the result is generally more effective and provides you with something that definitely is the most valuable over time.

An existing carport with a mechanism to prop up your boat or kayak is the ideal solution, but if you’ve got the space and means, a custom built boat storage area will always provide the best results. And when you consider the ongoing costs of renting (or preparing your warped boat because you left it on the lawn), an area designated just for the boat represents the best value over time.

Final tips

Boats and kayaks cost a lot of money, and the prospect of adding the cost of repairs (or replacements to stolen parts) should be an unappetising one for any boat owner. By ensuring your boat is stored in the most effective way, you can make sure that it will be available for many years to come of great boating out on the open water.