Winterising your Boat

Written by: Duncan Kent, Sailing Today

It's that time of year again folks when you need to think about how you're going to get your pride and joy safely through the freezing winter months and ensure she's ready to make hit the water at the first opportunity next Spring.

The following is a brief summary of the essential tasks that should be carried out when de-commissioning your boat, to make sure she is well protected during the depth of winter.

Extra Tips from Premier's Marina Managers!

"We always suggest that berth holders leave us access to a spare warp during the winter months..." Dan Hughs, Port Solent

If you've got any advice to add to this - why not leave a comment on our forum?

LEFT AFLOAT

Motor & Sail

• Ventilation is essential in keeping the boat free from damp and mildew. Create or install a few weatherproof, secure vents. If you don't have all-weather vents on hatches, then fitting them will make all the difference.
• A dehumidifier is useful if your boat is particularly damp, but otherwise a little heat and good ventilation will keep her sweet.
• Remove as many items as you can from the boat to prevent mould and mildew, including cushions, curtains, clothes and bedding.
• Leave lockers, drawers and bin lids open.
• Place a small, oil-filled radiator on board with the thermostat set to low.
• Remove any fresh food, empty and clean the fridge and leave the door wedged open.
• Pump the toilet dry after flushing with fresh water.
• Deodorise and clean the holding tank if you have one, then leave it empty and dry.
• Empty all water tanks (don't forget the calorifier if you have hot water) and run the pipes and pumps empty.
• Empty and sponge out the bilges.
• Clear cockpit and decks drains.
• Turn the gas off at the bottle and burn off any gas in the pipes.
• Shut off the boat's power on both engine and domestic battery banks.
• Disconnect, clean, grease and reconnect battery terminals.
• Disconnect any unnecessary supply cables to avoid any unnecessary power drain.
• Keep your batteries fully charged by fitting a multi-stage shore power battery charger with a maintenance mode.
• Take your flares home to dry store.
• Take off any removable external navigation instruments such as chart plotters and store inside the boat or at home.
• Change the engine oil and filters to prevent any acidic traces in the old, contaminated oil from damaging engine parts.
• Top off your fuel tanks to avoid condensation forming and thus help to prevent diesel bug contamination.
• The element that most damages boats and their equipment is ultra-violet light. Cover compasses and other plastic items to prevent cracking and fading.
   

Sailing Yachts Only

• Flush out furler swivels with freshwater.
• Disconnect, clean, grease with silicon and reconnect mast wiring.
• Remove all running rigging, wash in fresh water, dry and hang below or at home.
• Remove all sails from spars and furlers.
   

STORED ASHORE

Motor & Sail

• Stuff rag up all your through-hull fittings and exhaust (leave an obvious note to ensure you remove them before launching).
• Remove fenders to stop them scratching the topsides in the wind.
   

Sailing Yachts Only

• Grease all rigging screws and replace all split pins.
• Un-step the mast at least once every three years and check thoroughly.
   

WHAT THE INSURERS SAY

Firstly, it's most important not to let cover lapse over the winter period. There are no days of grace in marine insurance and claims arising whilst ashore from a whole host of possibilities, including theft, fire, vandalism, damage by vehicles, storm damage or being blown over are more likely to occur during the longer nights and more extreme winter weather conditions.

If there's a stipulation on your policy that your vessel is ashore by a certain date, then that condition must be complied with, or you risk invalidating your entire policy. If a lift-out date is put back due to weather, tides, or crane problems it's important to advise your insurers and try and get an extension in cover; remember to plan ahead if your lift-out is scheduled for a weekend because most insurers are only open during the week

With increasing reports of metal and outboard motor thefts, it's more important than ever to remove such items or adequately secure them. Rising costs have also increased the risk of fuel theft (which isn't covered by most policies) so, as well as emptying main tanks, portable fuel containers should be removed as well.

If your boat has a trailer that has been left standing it should, of course, be thoroughly checked and serviced if necessary; it is often a policy condition that it's kept in a roadworthy condition.

Once ashore reducing windage and ensuring cradles are properly secured will help protect against gales. Removing all valuable equipment and leaving drawers or cupboards open should also reduce the temptation to thieves and therefore the likelihood of break-ins. Canopies, dodgers and sails split by the wind is a common exclusion on most policies, so it's advisable to remove them to a safe, dry environment.

If you take your sailing yacht ashore in an exposed location always try and have the mast taken down. Indeed, you may find some yards insist on it (not normally without good cause). Not only will it reduce the risk of vibration fatigue - it will also provide you with an excellent opportunity to thoroughly inspect the rig.

Take particular care if you leave battery chargers or dehumidifiers running over the winter period. A number of devastating fires have occurred as a result of electrical faults on shore-powered devices. Naturally, keeping your boat dry over the winter is sensible, but you need to be sure that dehumidifiers are well secured, have clean filters and adequate drainage facilities.

You should also remember that you must still check on your boat periodically or pay someone to do it for you. If you ventilate the boat you may just end up heating or drawing moisture from the atmosphere. If you plan to have a heater running as well, be sure that you're not overloading the circuits and that you have the right type because the wrong choice could significantly increase the risk of fire. Check with your local yard or boat surveyor to make sure. You could also consider temporarily mounting an automatic fire extinguisher alongside it.

LOOKING AFTER DECK GEAR

When laying up, many owners forget their blocks and deck hardware. Not only is it worth checking and cleaning them; but also you should wash through, dry and stow away non-essential halyards, sheets and lines.

For Blocks and Sheaves

Flush through with fresh water to help dislodge and remove salt crystals. You can also clean them through with a mild detergent and water, as long as it's ecologically friendly. Don't use oil or grease because it attracts abrasive dust and grime that can build up over the winter.

Check the sheave rotation. Excessive movement on the bearing would suggest it's worn out. Also check for signs of elongation around the fixing holes and shackle at the head of the block, which would suggest overloading. If you're in any doubt, replace it with a higher load block. This especially applies to masthead blocks, which are less easy to inspect.

Look at the block side plates for wear on the inside edge. Excessive wear suggests a foul lead so you may need to replace with a swivel head for better articulation before the new season.

For ball-bearing blocks, the sheaves should spin freely. Again, flush through with fresh water. Any graunching or unevenness as it spins after flushing would suggest the block has been overloaded. Ball bearing blocks are unsuitable for high static loads because the bearings will distort. Replace with a plain bearing block or one with a higher rolling load rating.

Mainsheet traveller - Rinse thoroughly with a hosepipe and fresh water, especially the underbody where the ball bearings run in the car and along the track. Once again you can use a mild detergent solution for stubborn salt deposits - it won't harm the anodising. Take time to look at the end fittings on the traveller. Crash gybes are usually the cause of fractures so add spare end fittings to your 'to do' list. You'll need to remove the traveller car to do this so be sure to seek out or source a short length of track on which to transfer the traveller car for repair. By taking it off now you'll remember it needs attention. Flush through your control line cam cleats with water under pressure. The cams should open and return freely but a loose cam would suggest a broken spring. Unbolt the cam cleat and pop in a bag with a note to buy some spare return springs. If you leave it fitted you'll forget to do it in the spring.

Genoa cars - Flush through with fresh water, then let them dry and remove them from the deck for storage. These are expensive items to replace and easy to lift from the boat.

Rope clutches - Flush through with fresh water and let dry. In the spring apply a silicone-based grease for the handle and cam pivot points only. If the halyard or control line is slipping, try and look at the cam face inside for wear. The handles can also fail on older rope clutches - tell tale signs are fractures around the pivot point. Repair or replace as necessary. The best rope clutch manufacturers will offer spare handles and cams for you to install.

Make sure your lead deflection into the rope clutch is within 10 degrees. Any more is putting excessive side load on the unit. You may need to buy a deck organiser to fit over the winter to sort this out.