Winter storage question

[Harley349]

I have been a lurker on this board for a while now, and I now need help. My wife and I have purchased a home on Lake Superior and we are in the process of purchasing a boat so we can fish and explore. We have decided after hours of research to buy a Grady 208, and I am curious how high a garage door needs to be to get the boat inside on a trailer. I don't think a hard top would fit, but a boat with a bimini might. Any help is appreciated. Harley349

 

[seasick]

First of all, the Bimini can be lowered. The height of the entire stack depends on the trailer type and setup.
The max height from keel to top of windshield is 7 feet 1/2 inch give or take an inch. My 208 sits about 18 inches above the ground on its trailer but that also depends on how much fuel and crap you leave in it. The more the weight, the lower it sits. So at a minimum for my boat and trailer, you would need 8 ft 9 inches clearance.

 

[Harley349]

Thanks, that is exactly what I needed. The door on the garage is a 9 footer so it will be a very close fit. I may have to make some modifications, but by cranking the trailer all the way down it may just scoot in there. Another option is move the boat into the garage with a tractor and lower the hitch on tongue of the trailer to nearly ground level with the three point hitch which should lower the top a couple inches. Harley349.

 

[Lew]

Another trick I have heard about (when an inch or two makes a differance) is letting some air out of the tires of the vehicle or trailer. years ago someone told me they were able to get a delivery truck inside a storage entrance by deflating the tires by half way. Lew :bang

 

[CWOT]

We have a standard 2 car garage that is 25x30. The overhead door was not the issue but the overall length and width of the trailer with the boat on it was a lot more than the boat alone. The largest boat we ever fitted was a BW 17 foot montauk on the trailer. We put it in corner to corner taking up both car stalls. We did have some shelving on the sides but that was no more than 18" each side.

 

[magicalbill]

CWOT is right.
I had a Seafarer 22 for 10 years and barely got it in my mini-barn. 9 Ft. should get you in with a bimini, height-wise, but it measured 30-odd feet from the hitch ball aft to the props.

 

[thunder3535]

Hey Harley, Where are you from? I am in Sault Ste. Marie.

 

[Harley349]

The house is located about 50 yards from the beach on Bete Gris. The back of the lot is on a lagoon on Lac Labelle, which is at the most Northern tip of the Keweenaw, 45 miles from Houghton/Hancock.