Rubright Marinas · Dry Stack Storage
Dry Stack Boat Storage on Old Hickory Lake
Dry stack boat storage means your boat lives on a steel rack, several levels high, instead of sitting in the lake. A marina forklift brings it down when you want to go out and puts it back up when you are finished. Rubright Marinas offers it at both of our Old Hickory Lake locations: Gallatin Marina on the north shore, and The Boathouse at Benders Ferry on the Mount Juliet side.
The two run on the same basic idea but feel different day to day. Below is how the process works, why so many owners switch to it, and how to choose between the two.
How dry stack boat storage works
Each boat has its own spot in the racks. When you plan a trip, you tell the marina when you will arrive. Before you get there, a trained operator lifts the boat from its rack, carries it to the water and sets it down at the dock. You park, load your gear and go.
When you come back, you tie up and hand the boat over. The crew raises it from the water and slides it back onto its rack, often after a quick freshwater rinse of the hull. There is no trailer to back down a ramp and no wet boat to strap down in the parking lot.
A typical launch day
Say you want to be on the water by nine on a Saturday. On Friday evening you open SpeedyDock and request an early launch. When you drive in next morning, the boat is already tied at the dock, so you load the cooler and pull away. You come back mid afternoon, hand the boat to the crew and head home while they deal with the rest.
Booking launches with SpeedyDock
The weak point of rack storage used to be waiting. You would arrive, join a line of other owners, and watch a slice of your morning disappear while the forklift worked through the queue.
SpeedyDock fixes that. It is the booking app both of our Tennessee marinas use: you choose a launch time on your phone and the crew works to that schedule. Done the night before, it means the boat is floating when you pull in. On a quiet weekday, booking the same morning usually works too.
Why dry boat storage saves on upkeep
A hull that never sits in the lake never grows anything. That is the big argument for dry boat storage. There is no green film along the waterline, no slime to scrub, and no need for the antifouling paint that boats kept afloat usually wear. The risk of osmotic blistering on a gelcoat hull, which comes from months of constant immersion, disappears as well.
Owners notice it most at the end of the season. Instead of a haul out, a pressure wash and a bottom job, the boat needs a normal cleaning. Engines benefit too, since outdrives and trim tabs are not soaking in lake water all week.
Two places to rack a boat on Old Hickory Lake
Gallatin Marina, a full service dry storage marina
Gallatin Marina is where the company started in 2017, and it offers the widest range of services in the group. Its dry racks share the property with covered slips, fuel and a well stocked store. That makes it a good dry storage marina for owners who want options in one place, or who might move between a slip and a rack as their boat or their routine changes.
The marina is on the lake’s northern side. From downtown Nashville the drive takes about thirty five minutes by Ellington Parkway and Vietnam Veterans Boulevard. Hendersonville is roughly fifteen minutes away and Goodlettsville about twenty five.
Enclosed boat storage at The Boathouse at Benders Ferry
The Boathouse, which joined the group in 2020, is built entirely around concierge service. Every boat is kept in enclosed boat storage, a covered building rather than open air racks, so it stays out of the sun, the rain and the occasional Middle Tennessee hailstorm. If you have been searching for indoor boat storage near the lake, this is it.
When you book a launch you can also ask the crew to fuel the boat, and it will be topped up and waiting at the dock. Launching and retrieval are included in how storage works there, and fuel is charged by the gallon actually pumped. From East Nashville it is about twenty five minutes along Interstate 40, from Hermitage around fifteen, and from Lebanon about twenty.
Boat rack storage and boat size
Every rack has limits, and so does the forklift. Length, beam, height and weight all matter. Height catches people out most often, especially on wake boats with towers and cruisers with hardtops or radar arches. Pontoons and tritoons are a special case, because their tubes sit on the forks differently from a V hull, so whether one fits boat rack storage depends on the model.
Before you commit, call with the make and model plus three numbers: length, beam, and height to the highest fixed point. The team will tell you which location can take it.
Dry stack storage or a covered slip?
Both protect the boat from the sun. The real difference is spontaneity. With a covered slip you can wander down the dock at any time the marina is open and simply leave, and you can sit aboard at the dock on a warm evening. With dry stack storage you plan a little ahead, and in exchange the hull stays clean and dry.
People who like to fish at dawn on a whim, or who treat the boat as a floating porch, usually prefer a slip. People who plan their lake days and care a lot about how the boat looks in five years usually prefer the racks. Gallatin Marina offers both, so it is the easiest place to compare them.
Over the winter
Racked boats stay in place through the off season. At The Boathouse they are under a roof the whole time. Freezing temperatures still matter for engines and plumbing, so talk with the staff about winterizing well before the first hard frost.
Pricing
The rate depends on the location, the size of the boat and the length of the agreement. When you compare it with a slip, add in the bottom paint, hull cleaning and haul outs that dry storage removes. Call the corporate office for current pricing and availability at either marina.
Frequently asked questions
Is a launch included with dry storage at The Boathouse?
Yes. Launching and retrieval are part of the storage arrangement there. Fuel is extra and billed for the gallons pumped into your tank.
Can I get to my boat to do my own maintenance?
Routine access is easy to arrange. For bigger projects, talk to the staff first so the work can be scheduled without tying up the racks on a busy day.
Do the Kentucky marinas offer rack storage?
No. Racks are only on the Tennessee side, at Gallatin and at the Mount Juliet Boathouse. On Barren River Lake, Peninsula Marina and Barren River State Dock keep boats in slips instead.
What happens if I need the boat at short notice?
Outside busy summer weekends, a same day request through SpeedyDock is usually fine. For a Saturday in July, book the evening before to get the time you want.
Want to know if there is rack space, or whether your boat fits? Ring 615-452-9876 and ask for dry storage. You will find more answers on our FAQ page.
Talk to the marina that fits your boat.