A wooden boat owned me for several years. 8 to be exact. It had been
uncovered for the two years prior to my taking possession of her, as
have countless other wooden boats rescued from the edge of oblivion.

Ergo it was frequently wet and frozen. I would work on getting it out
and covered. If you cover it with blue, or dark tarps, the upper range
of your temperatures will probably warm enough under the tarp to dry
soon enough any way. I don't think I would worry too much about hauling
it now, just get it covered to keep the fresh water of the winter snow
out of it.

If you are still concerned, try the forum at WoodenBoat magazine.com
with a concentrated group of wooden boat owners and builders

good luck,

Jonathan





AlaskaGuy wrote:

Hi Everyone,
I was not able to get my boat (1934 Skipjack -
www.homerhostel.com/boat.htm) out of the water yet this autumn. I have
been told that removing it when it is below freezing ( I live in Homer
Alaska and now the highs are15-30F and lows are 5-25F) can cause
problems with the caulking and/or planking if they freeze before
drying. I do not have an area to store it either in the water for the
winter or in a garage. I will have to store it outside and with a tarp
built over it to shed snow. How can I best prepare it for this:

Should I heavily salt the inside.?
Should I try to heat the inside with a small heater for a few weeks
(how long necessary?) Should I try to tarp the waterline to the trailer
and heat the outside too?
Will this very dry air dry it too fast and be a problem?
If I don't use heat and it freezes what will happen?
Do you have any other recommendations on what I should or shouldn't
do???

I am a novice wooden boat owner. But since buying it 2 months ago have
become quite attached to it. It is a fine looking boat, seems to be
built solidly, is very tight with very little water coming into the
bilge. I have always admired the skills, knowledge, tradition, and art
that go into wooden boat construction. Now that I am responsible for
one I want to treat it right. Any help with these questions will be
much appreciated!

Thanks!!



--
I am building my daughter an Argie 10 sailing dinghy, check it out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jonsailr