Boating is one of the most enjoyable spring through fall activities in the world. However, if you live in climates with freezing temperatures, there comes that sad time of year when it’s time to park your boat for the winter. For maximum protection and security, the best place to park your boat is in a garage or shop if you have one large enough to store a boat.
Most boats will fit in a garage door that is 9′ wide by 9′ tall. When you get into cabin cruisers, wakeboard boats, etc., you will need a larger door. The average larger boat is from 10 to 12 feet in height, which means that you’ll need a garage door of around 14′ high and 10′ wide.
This article aims to provide you with a solid guide and game plan about how big your garage door needs to be. We’ll go over things to consider when installing your boat’s garage door and give you a solid game plan to work with.
Things to Consider When Planning to Park Your Boat in a Garage
The two main things to consider when installing the garage door for your boat are the boat itself and the trailer that’s carrying it.
The Height of the Boat
Most water sports and in-shore fishing boats are 8 to 12 feet tall with the trailer and 15 to 26 feet long. You’ll need to make sure that your garage door is tall enough to handle the boat’s height, and that the garage itself is deep enough.
The Width of the Boat
The average width of these boats is anywhere between 8 and 10 feet.
The Size of the Trailer
The trailer that carries the boat is often the piece that people forget to include. The trailer will typically add two feet of height to the boat and 1 to 2 feet in width. Again, this all depends on what type of trailer you have and how big it is.
The best thing that you can do is measure both your boat and your trailer to determine what size of garage door you’ll need. The next time you have your boat on your trailer measure the total height of the two vehicles and the total width. Once you have those dimensions, you should plan for a garage door that gives you several feet of wiggle room to reduce the chances of damaging your boat or trailer.
Different Garage Door Options
The good news for you is that garage doors come in a wide variety of widths and heights to accommodate any need. The bad news is that if you’ve already built your garage, your options are extremely limited without extensive remodeling.
One-Car Garage
A typical one-car garage door will measure between 8 to 10 feet wide and 7 to 8 feet tall. You won’t be able to get much more than a small fishing boat or dingy into a garage of this size.
Two-Car Garage
Two-car garage doors will give you more wiggle room as far as the boat’s width, but not more height. Two-car garage doors usually measure between 14 and 16 feet wide, but still only 7 to 8 feet high.
RV Garage Doors
Your best bet, outside of purchasing a custom-made and costly garage door, is to go with an RV garage door. Standard RV garage doors are anywhere between 12 and 14 feet wide, which is more than enough room for most boats and trailers. The best part, however, is that standard RV garage doors are between 14 and 16 feet tall. That amount of width and height should be enough to fit most boats and trailers capable of being towed.