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Storing things on boat.

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mraynie

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Hi all, We've had out boat for 3 weeks now and we've had a lot of rain.  It seems like everything gets wet in the storage areas and I'm trying to figure out the best way to store things so that stuff stays dry.  I have been leaving lids and doors open (read to do that somewhere on here, great advice) but every time it rains, I need to take the life jackets out of the center storage and get them dried again.  What is everyone else doing?  We have the boat on the trailer, I have waterproof sprayed the playpen cover, I keep a fan going to help dry things, but I am out of ideas.  Does everyone pull everything off the boat each time they are done for the day?

Thanks, Mary
 
Only my carpet gets wet where the cover leaks .
 
Same here, only a few spots on mine gets wet went it rains, those spots are small openings on the cover, going around my bimini, etc.

Maybe your trailer has to be cranked up or down to allow the water to run off a different way?
 
We always use the mooring cover but I do notice if there's a driving rain water can come in under and around the gates (not much but I've seen telltale signs on the vinyl flooring). Also occasionally under the covers' air vents I've seen drips.

To prevent anything that is susceptible to getting wet we use plastic containers that we always keep on board: 

Under the console seat (in front of the helm on our 22SFX) two covered plastic bins fit real well. It's where we keep towels, picnic stuff, emergency flares, first aid, etc. (Carefully measure the access door and space first to get as large of containers as possible to make use of all the storage space. Is why we had to buy two bins vs. just one)

Under the helm a plastic locking ammunition type container keeps tools, paperwork, flashlight, etc.

In privacy enclosure a larger plastic bin for a carpet runner and day bags, etc.

In one front corner two small plastic garbage cans fit right inside, keeps our bottles of cleaning things organized along with the microfiber cloths.

Under the lounge seats, no bins, we keep our life jackets there but those have never gotten wet inside nor had rain water seep underneath.

I like items kept on board to be kinda neat and orderly anyways, so all these bins are super handy to keep things from rolling around while staying waterproof/off the floor at the same time.
 
Don't know if we are just lucky but the inside of my boat does not get wet even after a good rain.  I do treat it every year but I know Jack does as well and he mentioned that his still leaks. 

Are you leaks from a seam Jack?
 
Yes it is the seams . Waiting for the dealer to receive my replacement so they can attach the snaps 

Link said:
Don't know if we are just lucky but the inside of my boat does not get wet even after a good rain.  I do treat it every year but I know Jack does as well and he mentioned that his still leaks. 

Are you leaks from a seam Jack?
Click to expand...
 
Center tube storage will always be damp.

warm humid air + cooler lake water causes tube to sweat, along with the fact that the bilge pump cannot remove 100% of the water that gets in through other methods (rain, splashing etc)
 
I've found locking-lid storage bins at Walmart that fit EXACTLY under the seats when you push them all the way back to the fence.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-25-qt-Mod-Latch-Box-Bamboo/20682863

The link shows the style, but they come in many different sizes. There's a medium sized one that fits perfectly between the seat supports. Lets you maximize use of the space way back under the seats.
 
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kaydano said:
I've found locking-lid storage bins at Walmart that fit EXACTLY under the seats when you push them all the way back to the fence.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-25-qt-Mod-Latch-Box-Bamboo/20682863

The link shows the style, but they come in many different sizes.  There's a medium sized one that fits perfectly between the seat supports.  Lets you use maximize use of the space way back under the seats.
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I'm going to look for those, thanks for the link. We just found a sweet big bin that fits perfectly under the starboard lounger on our boat with maybe 1/8-1/4" to spare. It was a ziplock brand box and it has a nice waterproof seal around the lid. We keep our kitchen stuff in it now when we're camping, that way it stores nice on the boat but we can also leave it on the beach with the stove and table and not worry about it when it rains or gets windy. Well, mostly. We had a storm come through on the last trip that had gusts so strong that they picked up the table with the stove and everything on it and flipped it upside down. I was trying to drive the boat onto the beach to keep from blowing away so it wasn't too much of a concern in comparison. 
 
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Parts of the carpet gets wet from a hard rain that gets through the air vents in the cover.........but that's about it. Everything else stays dry and although it's faded as hell the cover is going on 11 yrs. old......
 
Jack M. said:
Yes it is the seams . Waiting for the dealer to receive my replacement so they can attach the snaps 
Click to expand...
Well I got a surprise this weekend, opened up my boat Friday and found a couple of wet spots from Thursday night rainstorms.  Of course I hadn't treated the mooring cover because I was out of 303.  It had come in this week though and I sprayed the heck out of the cover, will see what happens next Friday
 
Link said:
Don't know if we are just lucky but the inside of my boat does not get wet even after a good rain. 
Click to expand...


That'll teach you to make a statement .... you jinxed yourself !!
 
[SIZE=13.9107179641724px]Thanks for the ideas everyone!  It has been super rainy here in Illinois.  Our boating is curtailed for now because the Illinois River is flooded and not expected to be normal til this weekend if we're lucky.  I was going to get into the boat and work on storage placement but again, we are expecting more rain/storms this afternoon.[/SIZE]
 
Where we launch.  The ramp is underwater.
gallery_6525_737_965404.jpg
 
mraynie said:
Where we launch.  The ramp is underwater.
gallery_6525_737_965404.jpg
Click to expand...
Remember "this too shall pass"! (That looks just like our situation from last year on the Mississippi River! It'll recede in time, but the wait sure does seem loong at moments, hey?!)
 
I went on an older Bennington forum and the response from Team Bennington was that each storage area should have a drain hole in the back corner of the box. He said the factory should have drilled the drain holes but apparently missed this one boat. Since this is now 2015 and that response was posted in 2012, they must still be missing drilling holes in the storage boxes. Poor quality control! We purchased our brand new boat on June 1, 2015. This news is very disappointing as we were told that we were buying a top quality pontoon boat.

We did put plastic boxes in each storage unit to keep things dry but each storage box has large amounts of water in the bottom after a heavy rain! Because of this, anything stored in there that is not in plastic boxes is soaked! Also a bilge pump can not get out all of the water.

We are going to ask our dealer about drilling hole in the boxes to make sure that tis is the appropriate action!
 
What boat do you have? Do you have the cover on? I never have water under the seats.
 
Bobette0076 said:
I went on an older Bennington forum and the response from Team Bennington was that each storage area should have a drain hole in the back corner of the box. He said the factory should have drilled the drain holes but apparently missed this one boat. Since this is now 2015 and that response was posted in 2012, they must still be missing drilling holes in the storage boxes. Poor quality control! We purchased our brand new boat on June 1, 2015. This news is very disappointing as we were told that we were buying a top quality pontoon boat.

We did put plastic boxes in each storage unit to keep things dry but each storage box has large amounts of water in the bottom after a heavy rain! Because of this, anything stored in there that is not in plastic boxes is soaked! Also a bilge pump can not get out all of the water.

We are going to ask our dealer about drilling hole in the boxes to make sure that tis is the appropriate action!
Click to expand...
Did you LOOK to see if there are holes?  They may also have a little debris just plugging them. It sounds like you sure do manage to get a lot of rain inside your playpen cover, or as Carl asked, are you using the playpen cover? Something doesn't sound right.

To the original post, have you lifted the black decking in your center storage and removed all the water to see when it is getting in there? There should also b a little hatch that you can lift up and see your bilge pump, see if there is water around it and try turning it on. Also check the little hole in the center storage that goes through the back divider to make sure it isn't plugged.
 
You could also store things in trash bags if nothing else works for you.
 
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