# How tall is your boat sitting on the trailer?



## 68bucks (Aug 17, 2013)

I'm working on building a barn and I had a question for someone with a larger boat. My boat is a 17-1/2' open bow metal boat that fits through a standard 9' wide overhead door, barely. Down the road I'd like to get a larger boat for the lake so I was wondering how tall of a door I would need. So how tall is something like a 22'-25' boat sitting on the trailer?Something like a Sportcraft or the like, typical Lake Erie fiberglass closed bow boat fishing boat. I wouldn't get a 30 footer or anything with more than a cuddy cabin. I have a friend that gets his 22' Imperial through a 10' door but not by a lot.


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## nate gsi (Oct 18, 2011)

I have a hewescraft 22' sea runner with the top up its about 9'. I would go 10' at a minimum for a the boat. If a camper is in your future 12' would not hurt if you have the room. Check out the side mount garage door opener as well you can really get your track close to the ceiling. Lift master wall mount garage door opener.


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## Hook N Book (Apr 7, 2004)

I'm at about 11'6". I use to store it at a local commercial building and it barely made it through. I'd definitely go 12 foot high and at least 10 foot in width.


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## 68bucks (Aug 17, 2013)

Hook N Book said:


> I'm at about 11'6". I use to store it at a local commercial building and it barely made it through. I'd definitely go 12 foot high and at least 10 foot in width.


What size and type of boat you have Hook N Book? I was planning at least 10'x10' doors but I might have to get a 12' in somewhere.


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## Cabbagehead (Oct 8, 2015)

I changed my mind a dozen times when I built my pole building. I finally realized how many times I drove down the road and saw a nice building with a camper or boat sitting outside. If I built a 14' door I could get anything inside that I could legally tow down the road. The center console with T-top I later bought is 11'6" on the trailer including the gps antenna. My neighbor pays me rent to store his big 5th wheel camper in the winter. A few more years and the camper rent will pay for the additional cost of the taller building and doorway.


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## Hook N Book (Apr 7, 2004)

68bucks said:


> What size and type of boat you have Hook N Book? I was planning at least 10'x10' doors but I might have to get a 12' in somewhere.


It's 23-1/2 ft. but is very close to 30 ft. on the trailer with swin platform and trailer tongue. Its a fully enclosed hardtop with an 8-1/2 ft. beam.


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

bulid the bldg in two stages one 14ft the other 12 that way you can get the boat and your future motorhome under cover.


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## 68bucks (Aug 17, 2013)

bountyhunter said:


> bulid the bldg in two stages one 14ft the other 12 that way you can get the boat and your future motorhome under cover.


That's what I have been thinking about. I can build enough building for now and then add on to it for a large space for an RV or something later. That would be just a big space and cheaper to build. But I'm sure in the end the overall cost would be a little higher in 2 stages. Fits the budget better now though. Thanks for all the feedback folks.


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## Spike Dog (Mar 13, 2015)

9'-11" to the top of the windshield. I measured it to see if I could pull it through my local DIY carwash to give her a quick scrub a dub. The car wash had a 10'-0" opening, i didn't risk it!


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## 68bucks (Aug 17, 2013)

Spike Dog said:


> 9'-11" to the top of the windshield. I measured it to see if I could pull it through my local DIY carwash to give her a quick scrub a dub. The car wash had a 10'-0" opening, i didn't risk it!
> View attachment 206041


Thanks Spike Dog, nice rig. Real similar to what I would go to next I think. Seems like I would probably need a 12' door if I don't want to shop for boats based on the barn door size.


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## Skeet1 (Jan 10, 2013)

My boat is 11ft. Sitting on the trailer. Would not fit through the 12 ft door on my barn.


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

Skeet1 said:


> My boat is 11ft. Sitting on the trailer. Would not fit through the 12 ft door on my barn.


How is this possible?..is your boat not 11 foot at it's highest point?..because 11 foot high should fit throught a 12 foot door...what am I missing?..either your boat isn't 11 at its highest point or your garage isn't 12.


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## capt j-rod (Feb 14, 2008)

The anwser is the biggest you can stand... It's like the sizing equation you use to build a barn... Figure out what you need and double it!


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## viper1 (Apr 13, 2004)

My starcraft islander is 11.5 or 10.5 with upper rod holders removed.


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

you can't trailer without a permit if it is over 13'6" - so I would build door to open at least 14" with finished floor and door clearance.

My Baha 299 (30' boat) fits nicely under a 14' height. Building a new garage this summer at the lake house - I may go 15' on that one. My barn in Tennesse has two 16' high/wide doors on opposing sides so that can pull a large trailer or motor home through without problems...


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## BlueMax (Dec 3, 2006)

Mine is 11'9" on trailer. 22' Grady with hardtop and accessories on the hard top.( Have to lay anchor/stern light down on hardtop to get under 12')
I would go minimum 12' high. This will accommodate majority of toys.


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

BlueMax said:


> Mine is 11'9" on trailer. 22' Grady with hardtop and accessories on the hard top.( Have to lay anchor/stern light down on hardtop to get under 12')
> I would go minimum 12' high. This will accommodate majority of toys.


but if going 12' - why not just do 2' more and then you can put any non-permit required vehicle / trailer in there... may increase resale value too as getting those extra 2' is really expensive after the structure is built...


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## BlueMax (Dec 3, 2006)

privateer said:


> but if going 12' - why not just do 2' more and then you can put any non-permit required vehicle / trailer in there... may increase resale value too as getting those extra 2' is really expensive after the structure is built...


Makes sense.


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## 68bucks (Aug 17, 2013)

Think I'm going with a 14' wall and. 13' door. That way I can use standard trusses. 13' should clear any boat I would have and most motor homes too if that would be in the cards. Appreciate the input folks.


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

68bucks said:


> Think I'm going with a 14' wall and. 13' door. That way I can use standard trusses. 13' should clear any boat I would have and most motor homes too if that would be in the cards. Appreciate the input folks.


can you explain to me how the wall height affects the selection of the roof truss - the truss simply sits on the wall's top plate. unless it is because of an overall height restriction and then the wall height and the height of the roof truss will be combined into overall height...

i plan to not use trusses - or perhaps a flat-roof truss on angle as will be mono-pitch roof. I plan to do a pole building 32x40 and will have centerline poles so that the largest span will be 16'. With center poles, I can put a hoist crane mounted on rails so that can lift engines out of boat when needed. If I timber frame the thing, may be able to lift the boats too? Centerline poles will let me put a walk way next to two boats too... with a 30' boat on a 35+' trailer, nothing will be going sideways in the building anyway - so poles are a plus here...


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## 68bucks (Aug 17, 2013)

privateer said:


> can you explain to me how the wall height affects the selection of the roof truss - the truss simply sits on the wall's top plate. unless it is because of an overall height restriction and then the wall height and the height of the roof truss will be combined into overall height...
> 
> i plan to not use trusses - or perhaps a flat-roof truss on angle as will be mono-pitch roof. I plan to do a pole building 32x40 and will have centerline poles so that the largest span will be 16'. With center poles, I can put a hoist crane mounted on rails so that can lift engines out of boat when needed. If I timber frame the thing, may be able to lift the boats too? Centerline poles will let me put a walk way next to two boats too... with a 30' boat on a 35+' trailer, nothing will be going sideways in the building anyway - so poles are a plus here...


I guess it begins with the type of door you want. I want overhead doors because they tend to seal up better IMO vs a slider. With a slider you can put a 14' door on a 14' wall. The mounting for an overhead takes up head space so you can't get a 14' door on a 14' wall. Unless you use a scissor truss, which cost more. So if I stick with a 13' door I can save a few bucks using standard trusses vs the scissor trusses.


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

hmm, I used the metal rollup doors on my, well barn (its 60-long x 40-wide x 16+high). I had them professionally installed and did use the mid-priced ones intended for commercial storage facilities. The door itself is a single wavy sheet of steel. The commercial version of this is extremely expensive and each 4" or so section of door is an individual piece - like a small rectangular hollow cube. The commercial ones do seal better and can be insulated. Typically these can be found in industrial installations. Price difference is dramatic - factor of 10x for commercial vs the ones i used.

Yes you are right that a door requires head space. Even my doors require about 3' above the door height so they can roll up... Very important that you consider this in construction. However, I designed mine so that the roof trusses are parallel to the doors so that when rolled up the doors tuck up inside the truss frame. If you are perpendicular to the truss, then yes, your door will have to completely sit below the roof truss line bottom chord.

Let me know if you want pics of my setup. they are around here somewhere on a terabyte drive...


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## 68bucks (Aug 17, 2013)

My overhead is going to be on the gable end so I will have to be below the trusses . Does anyone make an insulated roll up door? Don't remember ever seeing one. Probably stupid expensive if there is such a thing.


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

68bucks said:


> My overhead is going to be on the gable end so I will have to be below the trusses . Does anyone make an insulated roll up door? Don't remember ever seeing one. Probably stupid expensive if there is such a thing.


That would be the commercial / industrial version. I don't recall the company i spoke with that quoted me one - i just called an industrial door mfg out of the madison yellow pages when i ran into the crazy 10x $$ quote. just google it up.... "insulated roll up doors" yes they do exist... i plan to explore this again too for my new boat barn in Ohio...


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## Seaturd (Apr 14, 2004)

We use these guys at work and they are good.
http://www.prodoorsecurity.com/index.php


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