Congratulation on your purchase of a Newport Dingy! Your boat is going to turn heads and help you get out on adventures! Our dinghies require some storage maintenance that will lengthen your boat’s life and reduce future maintenance.
Storage:
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How To Increase Your Boat's Life Expectancy
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Different Climates
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Packed Up
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On a Trailer
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On the Water
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Davit
It’s a great feeling to open a Newport Inflatable Dinghy. It’s an even better feeling to keep your boat clean and in pristine condition. Cleaning and properly storing your dinghy will achieve both of these things.
1. How To Increase Your Boat's Life Expectancy
Remember, your boat can handle many things, but leaving it in hot and humid weather for a long time will eventually damage the PVC and the glue.
Avoid Storing Your Boat In:
- Hot places that are exposed directly to sunlight or rooms that are trapped with heat.
- Humid places that invite mold and reduce the strength of the glue in your boat.
- Places without cross ventilation or a breeze also invite mold to grow. Gross!
- Places unprotected from the weather.
These places include but are not limited to attics that are 98 degrees the entire summer, sheds that are incredibly humid, which produce mold, or on saltwater where barnacles and other growth can damage the boat fabric. Use common sense to avoid your boat from being unnecessarily damaged by the environment you put it in. These storage and cleaning tips will help your boat last for years.
2. Different Climates
Hot and Humid
If you live in a hot climate like Arizona or a humid one like Florida, you must store your boat out of these elements. Please keep your boats indoors in a climate-controlled area like a closet, a garage, or a basement to avoid extreme heat or humidity. This will increase the life of the boat and reduce your frustration from the weather doing what it does best, breaking down glue and damaging PVC!
Our boats are excellent quality, and we want you to enjoy them for many years. We want to be upfront with customers that live in extreme climates. Glue from any manufacturer will not stand up to frequent outdoor storage in the described weather.
Cooler Climates
Suppose you live in a climate that experiences summers with temperatures ranging from 60-80 degrees. In that case, we recommend purchasing a boat cover and storing it under a porch, in a shaded area under a tree, or anywhere that protects it from direct sunlight and heat. For best results, keep your boat in a climate-controlled environment. Alternative options include a closet on your boat, in your garage, or in a shed that is well ventilated.
When storing the boat in temperatures below freezing the boat should be stored off the ground. This will help protect the boat from nesting animals and from the material sticking to the ground. Please note that PVC can become brittle in subzero temperatures.
3. Packed Up
If it works best for you, storing your boat inside its carry bag is an excellent storage method. You can keep it in more compact locations, and it allows you to transport it right away for your next adventure! We use 1,100 denier PVC to ensure our boats are very durable enough for repeated deflation and storage in the carry bag.
Take some precautions while storing your boat in the carry bag. It is crucial to clean and dry your boat thoroughly before packing it away. You’ll also want to make sure the boat is stored in an area that is well ventilated, climate-controlled, and out of direct sunlight. Failure to do so would invite harmful mold or other growth on your boat. You will damage your boat’s PVC, and a foul odor will develop if you do not clean and properly store your vessels.
4. On a Trailer
So you got a trailer, and now you want to know the details of storing your sweet new dinghy safely on it. Here are a few things to consider:
- If you plan on storing the boat for more than one day, we recommend partially deflating the boat. This protects the seams from unnecessary stress.
- Make sure there aren’t any points where the boat will rub while in transport. You can add cloth, rags, or pieces of carpet as buffer to protect the boat from chafing.
- Don’t leave the boat on the trailer in direct sunlight for extended periods. Store it somewhere to protect it from heat or sunlight. Avoid trees that might drop sap on your beautiful boat. At a minimum, use a boat cover to protect it.
- When transporting your boat on a trailer, make sure your boat doesn’t go for a ride in the jet stream. Seriously though, take some extra time to make sure it's secure. If you are a first-time boat owner, find a local hero who served in the Navy or a scout, and they will show you a thing or two about knots. YouTube will also have some great resources for how to secure your vessel safely and racket straps are another great alternative.
5. On The Water
We recommend cleaning your boat after every use and storing it outside of the water for a better experience and increased longevity of your boat. If you store your boat on saltwater long term, we recommend cleaning your vessel as frequently as possible. Barnacles and other marine growth will establish a foothold on your hull and safely removing them is a difficult process. At minimum, please use a boat cover to protect your boat from prolonged UV ray exposure.
6. Davits
A davit allows you to lift your boat out of the water. The benefit is you do not have to tow your boat and it's not stored in the water. One person can generally use a davit system to launch the boat back into the water. It is essential to note the dinghy is still exposed to the sun and its harmful UV rays, which can damage the PVC over time.
Davits Care
We highly recommend getting a boat cover to help protect the boat from the sun. We also recommend removing the outboard and any other items inside the boat to reduce the stress on the transom and lift points. Please do not leave a motor on your boat when using davits as this can put a lot of stress on the transom. The more frequent and intense the stress, the more wear is placed on the transom, leading to premature repairs.
Davits Set-Up
We cannot recommend technical advice on installing davits as there are many different systems. Please reach out to the company you are interested in to determine where to mount the hardware needed to lift the boat out of the water. The current attachments on your boat are not designed for a davits system. Davit systems require hardware installed with a two-part PVC glue to ensure the vessel can be hoisted out of the water. Several options can be found at the following links: here and here.
If you have any additional questions about our boats, please see our Boat FAQ Page. For more in-depth articles, please see our Boat Support Page. If you can’t find the information you need, give us a call (866) 721-0002 Monday to Friday: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm PST or reach out to us via email SUPPORT@NEWPORTVESSELS.COM.
