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Indoor boat storage in Menorca
Undercover space in our guarded yard outside Mahon, for owners who would rather their boat spent the winter out of the weather altogether.
What a roof actually changes
Outdoor storage protects a boat from the sea. Indoor storage protects it from the island. Those are different problems, and on a Mediterranean island the second one is the slow, expensive one, because it works away for six months without producing a single obvious symptom.
Below is what each of the three agents does to a boat left standing in the open, and what changes once it is inside.
Sun, water and salt
Ultraviolet light
Menorca gets close to 2,800 hours of sun a year, and it does not stop in winter.
- Outdoors: Gelcoat chalks, dark hulls fade unevenly, canvas and covers go brittle, plastic fittings yellow.
- Indoors: None of it reaches the boat.
Rain and standing water
Autumn here arrives as short, heavy downpours rather than steady drizzle.
- Outdoors: Covers pool water, it finds its way into lockers, and cushions and headlinings stay damp for weeks.
- Indoors: The boat stays dry from the day it comes in.
Salt-laden air
Anywhere near this coast the air carries salt, whether the boat is afloat or not.
- Outdoors: Deck fittings pit, stainless stains, electrical connections corrode quietly out of sight.
- Indoors: Well away from the shore, the air is far kinder to metal.
Boats that gain most from being inside
We are not going to pretend every boat needs a roof. Some genuinely do not. These are the ones where owners notice the difference in spring.
- Boats with a lot of upholstery, carpet or headlining, where damp does slow, invisible damage.
- Dark or metallic-finished hulls that show UV fading badly.
- Boats with open cockpits and no fitted hard cover.
- Anything you plan to sell in the next year or two, where condition shows in the price.
- Boats with electronics you would rather not leave in salt air for six months.
If your boat is not on that list, read theoutdoor storage page before you decide. Outdoor with shrink-wrapping is a perfectly sound answer for a lot of boats, and it costs less.
Ask about indoor space
Give us the length and beam and the months you need, and we will confirm what is available.
Indoor storage questions
Is indoor storage worth the difference in price?
It depends on the boat. For an open boat with a lot of upholstery, or a dark hull, indoor storage usually pays for itself in condition alone. For a small RIB that lives on a trailer, outdoor with shrink-wrap is often plenty.
Do I need to shrink-wrap a boat stored indoors?
No. Shrink-wrapping is there to keep rain, dust and UV off a boat standing outside. Under a roof the boat is already out of all three, so most owners skip it and save the cost.
Can I work on the boat while it is inside?
Yes, with notice. Tell us when you want to come and we will arrange access. Working on a boat in a dry building in February is a good deal more pleasant than doing it in a yard.
How much indoor space is there?
Indoor space is finite and it fills first, usually well before the season ends. If you want to be under a roof, ask early rather than in October.
What size of boat fits indoors?
Up to 10 metres overall length. Beam matters as much as length when we work out where a boat goes, so tell us both when you ask for a quote.