Found a boat to buy

[TBill36]

Here is an option which will give you plenty of nice cruising and save a pile of money and worry this winter.

Head north on the ICW make it as far as Lake Michigan for the winter layup. Most marinas on Lake Michigan are way cheaper than East Coast, safer, conscientious and a shorter flight back home. Shop rates are around $100 an hour compared to maybe twice that in the big East coast cities.

I can make some recommendations if you are interested.

pete

Curious about bringing a FL boat north for the winter and if heated storage is suggested. I would think that any water intrusion into the core would freeze and split the fiberglass and surrounding structure. A good moisture meter survey might find most of it, but still an expensive way to find that some was missed. Isn't heated storage expensive?

 

[PM]

Basically there is no heated storage available in the midwest. Here is a rule of thumb for about a 35 foot boat:

Outside storage $900
Inside storage, double that, around $2,000
Inside heated storage, double again $4,000 (Usually not available for larger boats)

If you have water intrusion into your core you already have bigger issues than freezing. Don't worry about it.

Many owners winterize their boats themselves, generally takes a day or two including oil changes, some remove batteries, some have custom tarps, some hire it shrunk ( about $500) Some hire the entire process, around $1,000.

A boat stored on the hard outside in Northern Wisconsin RARELY sustains any freezing damage. And they smell so nice and clean in the Spring. I have a custom cover and leave a few windows open, tip up the cushions and empty the foodstuff.

Consider it..

pete

 

[Steve Jackson]

If the weather comes down a bit, almost 30 knots today, I hope to leave on Wednesday morning and am looking at Sarasota as a first stop for the night. Figure 3-4 days to make it to Ft Myers, than have to decide either through the lake or around the south tip of mainland Florida. Watching weather will help make that decision.

Thanks everyone for your encouragement.

 

[AZ2Loop]

Congratulations! What a great journey ahead. Rgano sure made a nice offer above. If in Fort Myers Beach area and you need something, feel free to PM me and I will help if I can.