Cutwater 28 dry storage

[JusDreamin]

My wife and I are considering taking our C28 out of the water in a covered marina and storing it in an enclosed heated dry storage. The boat would be lifted out of the water with a forklift and placed on a rack. When we want to use the boat, the marina would lift the boat off the rack and place it in the water.
Is the Cutwater hull structurally able to be lifted with a forklift? The tines of the forklift would be placed on either side of the keel for it's entire length. Are there any concerns with the thru-hull fittings? Is there anything else I should ask the dry storage facility?

Thank you,

Tim Cuchna
Epiphany

 

[monfried]

I keep my 2017 Ranger 29CB on a high-and-dry here in Florida. No problems at all with doing so. But I was advised to close the three through-hulls in the engine compartment (Volvo D4, 260hp) before storing the boat to avoid air bubbles in the lines.

 

[Cessna172]

I've kept my C28 on dry storage since new (2 years). Launch it nearly every weekend using the forklift process. Same situation with my previous boat for 5 years. Never a problem with the forklifts. Quick, convenient, and makes maintaining the boat so much easier.

I too thought the same thing as you regarding the use of forklifts, then I considered lifting it in and out with a forklift 45 times a year cannot be be any worse on the hull than trailering the boat. Also, the forks do not contact any of the thru hulls.

 

[koedding@comcast.net]

We have dry-stacked our 2016 C-26, since we purchased it and have had no issues whatsoever. There is also a 2016 C-28 in the dry-stack as well. The only thing the dry-stack staff had to do was slightly modify the cradle due to the keel. The good news is, they don't play musical cradles, moving my boat around in the dry-stack, as they did with our previous boat, a 24' Regal I/O.