38-POINT LAY-UP CHECKLIST
Whether your boat is coming out for the winter or remaining on its berth, there are plenty of jobs that need doing to reduce the likelihood of winter taking its toll, says Ben Sutcliffe-davies
AFLOAT BELOW
■ Remove as many items as is practical, focusing on ‘soft’ items such as sails, cushions, curtains, clothes and bedding. If you are out on a swinging mooring then it is often worth heading to a pontoon to cut down on tender trips. If you can’t remove the cushions try and store them on edge, which will help.
■ Leave lockers, bin lids and sole panels open.
■ Remove all food
(even food with a very long shelf life should be chucked out).
■ Empty and disinfect the fridge and leave the door wedged open.
■ Empty 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 deck drains. Use a grating, or upturned seive to prevent leaves or debris blocking them, risking flooding water below decks.
■ Burn off any gas in the pipes and turn
it off at the bottle.
■ Disconnect, clean, copper grease and reconnect battery terminals. Disconnect any unnecessary cables to avoid any hidden power drain.
■ Ventilation is essential if you want to keep the boat free from damp and mildew. If you don’t have all-weather vents on hatches, fitting them will make all the difference. Anything you can do to keep your boat watertight yet able to have some airflow will be a big help. ■ Take flares and other safety equipment home to dry-store and check replacement or servicing dates.
■ 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.
ON DECK
■ Check and clean navigation light terminals and grease them with silicone grease to prevent poor connections.
■ If the mast is staying up, check the rig. It’s safer to send someone aloft when the boat is in the water.
■ Ensure your mooring lines are not
going to chafe.
■ Make sure deck plugs are water tight, cleaning mast socket deck plugs for wiring and protecting with a silicone spray grease before reconnecting it.
■ Clear cockpit and deck drains.
■ If you need some power on board to run an automatic bilge pump or similar it is well worth fitting a wind generator or good solar array to keep the batteries topped up.
■ Flush out headsail furler swivels with fresh water. Flush out any other deck gear like clutches and cam cleats too ■ Disconnect the mast wiring. Clean it, coat it with silicone grease and reconnect it. ■ Remove all running rigging, wash in fresh water, dry and hang below or at home. ■ Remove all sails from spars and furlers. ■ Remove any external navigation instruments, such as chartplotters
(if possible) and store inside the boat, or at home – same for other loose items, such as winch handles.
■ Top off your fuel tanks to avoid condensation and prevent diesel bug contamination. Add a diesel bug killer into the tank at this stage.
AFLOAT WITH POWER
■ Ensure shore power lead has an integral protection breaker and preferably fit a galvanic isolator to protect you from stray earth issues.
■ If your boat is ashore then its likely you will not require any 12V supply. Disconnect and take your batteries home to clean and to check their condition. If they can be topped up, do so, and top up their charge once a month throughout the winter. Most modern batteries are sealed and benefit from charge-discharge cycle.
■ Place a small oil-filled heater on board with a thermostat and set to low. Fan-type heaters are best not used while you are away from the boat as there is a risk of fire. They do offer a dryer heat though if you are at the boat doing work on her over the winter.
■ A dehumidifier is useful if your boat is particularly damp, but otherwise a little heat and good ventilation will keep her sweet.
ASHORE
■ Watch your boat being hauled out to see how well your antifoul has performed. Check for weeping at the keel join as she grounds – a sign that the keel bolts may need tightening.
■ Give the rudder a shake to check for any
play in the bearings and in the prop shaft ■ If ashore, check the craft is level and upright, deck drains are freeing water and no pooling is possible on deck. ■ Service and shut seacocks. Some like to leave them open for added ventilation but this can be unwise as there is a likelihood they might be forgotten when you come to re-launch.
■ When the weather turns wintery, I’m a fan of going back 30 years and having the mast unstepped. If it’s not practical every year then it should be done at least once every five. This is also a good moment to check the standing rigging, grease all rigging screws and replace all split pins.
■ Remove as much weight as possible from the very ends of the boat, furthest from cradle support in order to reduce any possible hull distortion.
■ It’s important to protect all raw water systems. Running the engine briefly with a mixture of some non-toxic propylene glycol antifreeze can help protect the systems. Don’t forget to drain the system when you’ve finished and remove the pump impeller.
■ Most engineers favour an oil change before winter. Run the engine to warm through and then drain down the oil. This helps any contaminants to become suspended.
■ Sometimes an engine flush before refilling with clean oil is a good move too. I often use a magnet to see what sort of metal filings are developing to give an indication of wear).
■ Spray an inhibitor into the air intake and then if the atmosphere is dry, seal the air intakes and breathers to prevent moisture ingress into the engine.
■ Use a spray grease on all moving parts,
such as gear shift and throttle body.