Dry Stack Storage

[Boondocker]

Has anyone used the valet style of dry stack storage as an alternative to mooring in the water? We'eve kept our boats in Foss Landing Marina for last several years, but they are concerned about the keel and shaft on our new Cutwater. The racks appear to be identical to those used up at Bayview Marine in Everett, and supposedly an R29 was stored up there for awhile. Our Marina uses one of the giant forklifts and is also concerned about the location of the thru hull? If anyone has any experience with this I'd appreciate input on the subject. I've told the marina if their dry rack doesn't work I'd pay to have one made that is optimized for a drop keel.
Thanks
Lee Hoggatt

 

[Tug@myHeart]

You might think about having a set of Cribs made just for your boat, that will set on a standard rack system. A Cradle of sorts.

 

[baz]

I had enquired about this at my Edmonds marina and they essentially told me the same story you posted. They simple did not feel comfortable in placing our R-25 on the racks in their dry stack yard. There were two things they were concerned about

1) Using the existing lift for getting the boat out of the water. They said it would likely damage the lift and/or the boat.

2) Placing the boat on the rack would be a problem given the boat has a keel.

I did ask DagMar in Everett about this and they said they could handle the R-25.... but then all boats at Dagmar are on blocks or racks if I recall... so there was really no choice at that facility.

 

[knotflying]

Interesting, have not seen that as an issue over here on the east coast. I have had mine taken out of the water with a fork lift and a sling with no problem. I have seen at least 3 Tugs on a standard rack storage as well and no reported issues that I know of.

 

[Boondocker]

(253)564-3032 Narrows Marina on Day Island is going to be offering a dry storage solution where they allow you to store boat on its trailer (solves that problem) while still offering valet service. I'm already on the waiting list, but I'd still prefer to stay at the Foss Landing in downtown Tacoma.

I did some research last night and found this company:

Boatracks@marinestorage.com manufactures a rack for shaft drive keeled boats. I'll contact them on Monday and inquire as to cost of having one made for our Cutwater. Past experience proves my MX costs are significantly reduced keeping boat out of water.