Owning a boat is a great way to have fun exploring local waters with family and friends – but it can be a lot of work to store and maintain. If you don’t have a good plan for how you are going to store the boat you plan to purchase, consider buying a carport for your boat.
With a carport on your property that is specifically intended to serve as a home for your boat, you’ll always have a covered place to park the vessel when it is not in use. Read on for five careful considerations before making your purchase! Or, if you’re ready to start customizing the perfect home base for your boat, explore our free Build & Price tool today.
#1 – Choose a Location
Choosing a location for your carport is the most important part of your project. You need to figure out where on your property this new home base will live and how you’ll get your boat in and out of the carport. Remember, you’ll have to be able to drive right up to the carport to drop off the boat along with enough room to maneuver your boat while it’s on the trailer. Only move forward with the project once you have figured out exactly where the carport will be constructed.
#2 – Consider Legal Issues
You may have to deal with some administrative steps before you can build a carport. For people who live way out in the country with no neighbors for miles, this likely won’t be an issue; regulations are minimal in such areas, but it’s smart to double-check anyway. On the other hand, if you live in a city or a neighborhood with an HOA, there will be plenty of rules to consider. Get this information sorted out from the start before you place an order and schedule a date for construction. The last thing you want to do is take your new carport down because it wasn’t allowed to be there in the first place.
#3 – Get the Sizing Right
If the point of this new carport is to serve as a home for your boat, make sure that it’s big enough to fit your boat along with a few accessories. Remember, you’ll need to back your boat into the carport while it’s on a trailer, so give yourself a little margin for error to be safe. If the carport is barely wider than the boat trailer, you’ll spend a lot of time trying to get perfectly lined up for each approach.
In addition to the width of the carport also consider the length and height of the boat. It’s not only the height of the boat itself that matters but also its height when trailered. Check all these dimensions and allow some margin on all sides to be safe.
#4 – More Than One Purpose?
While you are building a new carport, you may also want to think about designing this structure such that it can do more than just serve as boat parking. For instance, you could create an enclosed space in the back of the carport for indoor storage, or you could make it wide enough to park both your boat and perhaps a jet ski or kayak. The marginal cost of making your carport bigger may be worth it in the end.
#5 – Foundation Decisions
If possible, a concrete foundation is ideal for your new carport. The weight of your boat and the process of moving it in and out is far easier with a concrete pad in place as opposed to loose gravel. Putting the concrete in place as soon as possible will set the stage for a smooth carport installation process.
Design Your Custom Carport
Choosing or designing the right carport for your boat is easy enough when you consider the basic points outlined above. You can be left with a durable, attractive structure that will protect your boat for many years to come.
If you are still interested in buying a carport for your boat, remember to explore our free Build & Price tool.
