What Your Boat Insurance Says About Hauling Out Before a Named Storm
Most owners book a fall haul out for one reason. The season is over. There is a second reason, and it is sitting in your insurance policy right now....
3 min read
Two yards quote you a price per foot. One says $40. One says $75. The cheap one wins, right?
Not always. The gap usually hides in what the low rate requires you to buy.
Winter boat storage is priced in a way that makes real comparison hard. Here is how to do it anyway.
The rate that comes with conditions
Some yards tie the advertised rate to work you are required to purchase.
One Long Island yard publishes its numbers openly. Winter boat storage runs $39.99 per foot. A package covering haul, pressure wash, storage and launch starts at $55.99 per foot. Read the footnote and you find that all boats must be bottom painted and waxed in the spring. Those charges are described as additional and mandatory in order to get the listed rate.
Nothing dishonest is happening there. The rate is real and it is published, which is more than most yards do. But it is conditional, and the condition is a paint job.
A $40 rate with a mandatory spring bottom job is not really a $40 rate.
Ask who owns the stands
The same published sheet carries a second line most owners never think about. Boats not stored on trailers or cradles are generally required to own their own jack stands.
Powerboats usually need four. Sailboats usually need five to seven. That yard sells them near dealer cost, which it puts at roughly $220 each.
Four stands is real money layered on top of the headline rate. Ask every yard whether stands are included, rented, or yours to buy.
Lay days
A lay day is a daily charge for a boat sitting on the hard while nobody works on it.
The rate varies enormously between yards. The question that matters is when the clock starts. If the yard is waiting on a part, or on your insurance paperwork, is the meter running?
Get that answer in writing before the boat leaves the water.
Growth surcharges
Some yards add a fee when a hull arrives with heavy growth. A few will require you to hire a diver to clean it at the dock before they will lift you.
Ask whether growth changes your price. Ask what counts as heavy.
We wash what comes out, on the same day it comes out. If a bottom is genuinely rough, we say so on the phone before haul day.
Can you get to your boat in February
This one surprises people. Not every yard lets you climb aboard during the winter.
If you want to pull gear in January, or check on the boat after a hard blow, ask now. The answer varies and it rarely appears on a rate sheet.
Our answer is yes. Ask us and we arrange access.
Which engine does the winterization price cover
Winterization is not one job. An outboard and an inboard are different amounts of work, and the price should reflect that.
Ours does. Outboards are $600 labor plus parts. Inboards and stern drives are $990 labor plus parts.
Some storage operations only handle outboards. If you own an inboard or a stern drive, ask early rather than assuming.
The worksheet
Call every yard with the same six questions.
What does the per foot rate include? Is any spring work mandatory to keep that rate? Do I need to own stands? What is the lay day charge and when does it start? Can I access the boat over the winter? What is winterization for my engine type?
Six answers turn two quotes into one real comparison.
Our numbers, in one place
Haul out is $300, covering the lift, same day power wash, blocking, and next spring's launch and wash. Storage is $75 per measured linear foot. Shrink wrapping is $35 per foot plus a $30 recycling fee, and we vent as standard.
It is all published. See the boat haul out page, the winter boat storage page, and the rates and services page.
We have 26 slips and a working yard on Mill Creek. We are not the biggest operation on this creek. What you get is a person who answers the phone in January and knows which stands your boat is on.
Get a real number
Call or text 631-500-7777, or email captain@yachthampton.com. Give us your boat's length and engine type. We will walk you through the whole year before you commit to anything. Estimates are free.
Yacht Hampton Boating Club and Marina, 51 Pine Neck Ave, Sag Harbor, NY 11963.
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