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Outside canoe storage

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Jan 10, 2014
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Location
Lawrence, KS
I've just moved to Corvallis, Oregon and unfortunately don't yet have room to store my canoe inside. It's always been inside so if I have to store it outside I would like to do it correctly. Right now it's under a heavy canvas tarp that probably won't keep it dry through the rainy season or prevent moisture from forming between the tarp and canoe. It would obviously help to keep the tarp from direct contact with the boat, maybe with some kind of frame but that's a project I would like to avoid if I can. It's an ivory colored Royalex Vagabond. The gunnels are plastic, the seat and thwarts are wood. What I don't want is to uncover it and discover a large black stain, etc. Any thoughts? Hays in Oregon (formerly Kansas)
 
Well, I'm replying to my own thread: why not consider canoe covers? There are options and there have been several threads discussing them.
 
If it was me and I was in that situation, I would just wrap the whole canoe in a poly tarp. Then tie a rope around it in several places, or wind a rope around it so the wind won't blow it off, or critters won't get in. I would keep it off the ground with saw horses, concrete blocks or something equal.
There is a fishing club near me and they have three royalex canoes behind their bunk house that look like they have been there for years and they are covered with grunge, but look in good shape.

Jack L
 
I'd say definitely keep the tarp away from the canoe and keep the canoe off the ground. How to do this I can't say. Would be easy enough to build but you indicated you wanted to avoid that. Maybe simply some attachment points for tarp tie outs

Alan
 
I have the same understanding as Alan, which is that you should never leave the tarp in contact with the canoe. I have been fortunate enough to always have indoor space for my canoes.

Michael
 
My canoe has been stored wrapped under poly tarps secured with bungees for several years now with no ill effects. None whatsoever. However I also have the advantage of this location being fully shaded under a tall mature spruce. It receives dappled sunlight at most. For better or worse this has worked well but I would advise you to opt for a roofed structure instead.
 
My response regarding the tarp and the canoe was based on what people have told me. I have no personal experience with tarps and canoes. Perhaps my information was just urban folklore.

In my personal experience, however, Royalex can live outside for a long time without suffering significant UV damage. In August of 1998, Kathleen and I drove our Mad River Explorer to Hay River, NWT, where we put it on the barge down the MacKenzie River to Inuvik, where it lived outside our friends’ house until we picked it up in January. Then we flew into a one-room cabin north of Great Bear Lake, where we spent the winter until break up in mid-June. Canoe lived outside. Then we paddled one month down the Anderson River to the Arctic Coast. Canoe was obviously living outside. We didn’t arrive home in Vancouver until nearly August 1999. Canoe lived outside all that time, with no apparent damage. We had also applied a UV protectant to the hull.

When we moved to a small Island between Vancouver and Victoria in 2003, we kept a newer Royalex canoe on the beach for nearly five years.. Only partially covered by a concrete landing. This was a lot easier than carrying it up and down 65 vertical feet on our switchback stairs. The exposure was hard on the wooden gunwales, but the hull seemed fine.

So maybe there’s no hurry to make a storage decision. But I’m no expert. That’s just my experience.
 
I believe the recommendation to keep a tarp elevated off the surface of a stored canoe is mainly to allow evaporating air to circulate across the hull and to prevent a touching tarp from trapping moisture against the canoe. This would be very important for a wood/canvas canoe, somewhat important for a wood gunwale canoe, and probably the least important for a plastic canoe with plastic or metal gunwales. UV will probably damage an all plastic canoe more than moisture will.
 
Last year I got a used Kevlar boat (2004 Vagabond) for my mom to use. As she's gotten older we need to minimize barriers to her getting on the water, so the boat is being stored outside, exposed but on the north side of the house. It's propped off the ground and has aluminum gunnels, so I'm not worried about wood work. Suffice to say building something like a covered rack is not an option.

So for kevlar, is it better to have a tarp in direct contact with the hull, or to have it exposed to the sun? This is for, say, 6 months of the year in the Northeast US. (It spent this past winter in my garage.)
 
Last year I got a used Kevlar boat (2004 Vagabond) for my mom to use. As she's gotten older we need to minimize barriers to her getting on the water, so the boat is being stored outside, exposed but on the north side of the house. It's propped off the ground and has aluminum gunnels, so I'm not worried about wood work. Suffice to say building something like a covered rack is not an option.

So for kevlar, is it better to have a tarp in direct contact with the hull, or to have it exposed to the sun? This is for, say, 6 months of the year in the Northeast US. (It spent this past winter in my garage.)
build a box frame and drape a tarp over it.. UV is horrid to Kevlar but if you are in a treed area don't fret.
 
I've just moved to Corvallis, Oregon and unfortunately don't yet have room to store my canoe inside. It's always been inside so if I have to store it outside I would like to do it correctly. Right now it's under a heavy canvas tarp that probably won't keep it dry through the rainy season or prevent moisture from forming between the tarp and canoe. It would obviously help to keep the tarp from direct contact with the boat, maybe with some kind of frame but that's a project I would like to avoid if I can. It's an ivory colored Royalex Vagabond. The gunnels are plastic, the seat and thwarts are wood. What I don't want is to uncover it and discover a large black stain, etc. Any thoughts? Hays in Oregon (formerly Kansas)
I lived in Corvallis for 3 years in the early 80s. Those were great years and I enjoyed paddling in different areas throughout the state, especially in the lakes in the Cascades. Fortunately I rented a cottage on a small farm on the edge of town (on NE Pilkington Avenue) that had barn where I could store my canoe. I wonder if you could find a place somewhere near Corvallis where you could do the same?

When I first moved back to NY, I didn't have a place to store my canoe. Since I was doing all my canoeing in the Adirondacks, I thought it made more sense to try to store it there, rather trying to find a place near where I lived and then shuttling it back and forth. Luckily, I was able to find a marina in one of the towns centrally located to my paddling destinations up there that was willing to store my canoe in one of their buildings. They just put it inside on saw horses, covered with a tarp. When I was going up, I would call them ahead of time and they would move it outside so that I could pick it up anytime. On the return, I would just drop it off and they would move it back inside until the next time. They were so great, I would always leave a little gift from a local bakery near my home for them when I picked up the boat.

Now I am able to store both of my canoes at home; they are outside on saw horses, covered with a tarp during the paddling season. During the winter, I move the newer (Hornbeck) inside the garage, while the older (Sawyer Autumn Mist) stays outside all winter, in a cover, with tarp over it. All of these have worked fine for me. Enjoy your time in Oregon and be sure to visit as many parts of the state as you can. Each area is so unique and special.
 
Getting Off topic. My Best friend growing up, moved to Corvalis.

My wife and I, went there for our Honey moon, in 1972.
Loved the area ! Enjoy !

Now back to canoe storage. Great advice !
Keeping wood gunneled boats, outside is asking for a lot of trouble down road. A year and you will notice rot. Two years ? Look at replacing !
If there is bare ground underneath ? Worse yet !

Keep everything off the hull, allow air flow.

I have a stripper stored in an airy cement floored garage, over 30 years. Still in great shape !

Jim
 
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