I have a 10x30 spot on the side of the house that I'd like to use to store a boat. There's not currently much grass there, and I'd like to keep it that way since there is no grass behind the fence anywhere on the lot (backyard has a pool, a shed, and pavement most everywhere else). Does anyone know any good ways to build a fairly stable surface that won't see any traffic other than moving the boat in and out? The ground is hard, flat, and fairly well drained, so I was thinking about just killing anything alive, laying down landscaping cloth, and filling it in with 3" of pea gravel, but I'm worried about it moving too much. What about mixing portland cement in with the gravel, hosing it down, and vibrating it?

pea gravel SUCKS as a surface.  pea gravel is round, they never compact.  It's always squishy underneath.

You want to use squegee.  It looks like pea gravel, but it's made from granite, so it's angular, it compacts and sets up.
3/4 granite will work also.

I like to use for roads a 3/4 granite, road base mix.  That compacts really nicely.

Lay down 4 inches of crushed granite gravel with fines (the dusty stuff). Thoroughly soak with water and compact with a vibrating tamper (about $40 a day from the rental yard). It will compact to about a 2 ½ inch depth. Make sure it is laid down uniformly. It will provide a very firm surface that can be groomed if needed.

Before hand, spread some granular herbicide underneath the weed barrier cloth.

I did one of my drives this summer and it looks and performs great.

Thanks for the ideas guys. With the granite, will weed cloth still work, or does it need to be in contact with the ground to be stable? For the time being I'm going to just mow what little grass is there so I don't have to leave the boat in the driveway (HOA will have kittens over that, so once it's here I have to move it behind the fence ASAP). Then in the spring I'll work on making it right. Until then I'll put 4 12" pavers under each wheel and another under the jack. And just to make sure it stays where I leave it, I'll be digging a 3' posthole, dropping in the biggest chain I can find leaving about 3' hanging out, and fill around it with concrete. Now I just have to figure out how to move the boat through the front yard without the truck. Hopefully I'll be able to push it around on a trailer dolly. Worst case I find a riding mower cheap, pull off the deck, and put on a ball.

Quoted: weed cloth works fine. just make sure the base is solid, or add more granite to make it work. Shoot, the boat is insured, you'll probably get more money if it's swiped than if you sold it.

Cool, works for me. The ground is rock hard, I'm lucky to be in an area that didn't have to be built up to get away from the flood plane. I'm going to measure the grade tomorrow and see how flat it is. I haven't paid enough attention to it since it's been a mostly useless part of the yard until now.

But I don't know about that insured value thing. 14' jet boats go for a fortune around here. If I get bored with it and decide I need something big and evil with more power I'll be able to get everything I put into a 14' back plus some