Surviving a 1 year hiatus without destroying the boat

[crankysailor]

Hi everyone, so after a successful first season last year I put my beloved sailboat on the hard for the winter in Spain and hoped to return to cruising around this time. However.. life has blessed us with a baby scheduled for arrival in a couple of months which in itself is of course a joyous event but it does throw a wrench on the sailing plans this year.

Selling the boat (to get something bigger and more family friendly) is an option but to be honest I am not ready to part with my boat. So until I clear this up I need to figure out how to deal with ownership this year.

So the boat like I said is on the hard and I am thinking I will put it back in the water and sail it for a couple of weeks and then maybe leave it parked for a month or so.. Come back to it and sail it again a bit.. All in all maybe 6 weeks this year or so. I am just worried about the boat suffering from non use.

So the question to to the group is.. Am I worrying unnecessarily and I should just let it be and after sailing it a bit just put it again on the hard for a year and don't worry too much about the regular exercise of the systems? My instinct tells me a year of not being used regularly won't be good for it. Opinions, ideas or tips welcome!

Thanks!

[seahag]

Well, congratulations, and as for the boat, it depends on the boat itself, the climate and if you can find a reliable person to keep an eye on her. Getting a call from the marina saying "your boat is sinking, on fire" etc is not good enough warning. Our boat watch people make on board inspections once per week to check for excess humidity, bilge, battery levels, remove snow, and general overall situations. They live onboard at a nearby slip and keep watch over her too. We pay 35-50$ per month for this and only live two hours away. If I were you I would consider having someone to do some cleaning and maintenance too although if you get there twice a year that should be ok if you want to spend the time on your trips doing it. Good luck!

Oh also you may want to refer to some of the historic posts here about stuff that happens to boats while they sit, like bugs and critters blocking thru hulls, barnacles and other stuff messing with cutlass bearings, seals making homes in the cockpits/swim platforms, etc. I'm sure the possibilities are fairly endless.

[crankysailor]

Thanks.. Yeah I am more worried about things like the engine not running for a year etc.. The question is if it is best to just winterize everything and leave it alone for a year or run things every N months or so a bit (at a cost in time and effort since I live in Germany and the boat is in Spain :-S)

[Dockhead]

A lot of boats are used six weeks out of the year and sit idle the rest of the time.

It's not exactly good for them, but they will usually survive such treatment.

Just a couple of remarks:

1. Remember that a lot of systems deteriorate not by hours of use, but by time. So don't expect the boat to be frozen in a time capsule while you're not using her. Whatever you used to budget for annual maintenance, replacements, amortization -- don't reduce it just because you're not using the boat.

2. Take care to lay up and store different systems, in an optimal way. Outboard motor for the dinghy should be flushed with fresh water, fogged, stored in a dry place. Just as one small example. As to the diesel engine -- these are generally ok in storage. Flush out the sea water side of the cooling system and do anything else recommended by the maker.

3. Mildew is hell on stored boats, and can actually destroy them. In Spain maybe better because of the dry air, but still take care. Dehumidifiers, positive air circulation, getting stuff out of lockers, bedding stripped and pulled up so that air can circulate around it, etc., etc., etc. And needless to say -- if you have any kind of leak, it will destroy a boat not being used, so take care of it.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by crankysailor

Thanks.. Yeah I am more worried about things like the engine not running for a year etc.. The question is if it is best to just winterize everything and leave it alone for a year or run things every N months or so a bit (at a cost in time and effort since I live in Germany and the boat is in Spain :-S)

You can do either.

FWIW, my own experience. I lived 2000km from my boat for the first four years of ownership. I never "mothballed" her. I preferred to leave her in the water and use her throughout the winter, and I was able to arrange my life so that I could be with her at least once a month or so. I think the longest I left her idle was about two months, and I didn't feel too good about that, but I don't think there is objectively anything all that bad about it.

It's a good excuse to go sailing -- "Honey, I've been away from the boat for a month now, I really need to go down there . . . "

I, personally, love sailing in the winter and just being on the boat in the winter. In SPAIN, which is a bit warmer than the UK, that seems like a no-brainer to me. Don't you have dirt cheap flights from wherever you are in Germany?

[rpjn59]

One of most detrimental issues I ve seen in stored boats is leaves clogging the cockpit scuppers. Rain water then fills the cockpit enough to run into the cabin thru the companion way and starts to rot out the flooring...

[patprice]

My boat in Tasmania is left for nearly 6 months each year with no problems. But my fridge is not working and my guess is the dreaded compressor seals have suffered but I cannot prove this.
Does anyone have evidence that not using the fridge for long periods is a bad thing, ie gas lost.

[JPA Cate]

We have left our boat a couple of times for 7 months. No known problems arose from it. However, both times, we had a friend who'd come and check on it, open the hatches, and run the engine for a while.

One note, we used to leave all the through hulls closed, but it turns out that rain water drains into the shower sump on our boat, so that that through hull fitting needs to be left open so the water can pump out. It's not a perfect solution, but it has so far (14 yrs. of ownership of this boat) been okay.

Ann

PS. it is wise to put chafe gear on your dock lines where they go around the fittings on the dock. One of our 3 strand lines chafed through one of the 3 strands. But it was okay, because the boat was being checked by someone we trusted, and we told him where to get a replacement line out of. In retrospect, I think it would have been wiser to have doubled all the lines from the beginning. 20/20 hindsight.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by patprice

My boat in Tasmania is left for nearly 6 months each year with no problems. But my fridge is not working and my guess is the dreaded compressor seals have suffered but I cannot prove this.
Does anyone have evidence that not using the fridge for long periods is a bad thing, ie gas lost.

No, most all Adler Barbor type of compressors are sealed, even the ones like automobiles have that are externally driven seen to store well for months at a time.
There are any number of reasons your fridge is not working, but before you add even a smudge of refrigerant I would be real that there are no other problems.
I say that as some type of systems it's very difficult to get the refrigerant amount correct and most end up over charged which may be worse than under charged

[patprice]

Thanks A64pilot...it is time to get the fridge man in. Mine is a Alder Barbor type it seems.
A small Waeco Cold Machine.

[a64pilot]

I think that is a fixed orifice and refrigerant level is very critical. So much so that I don't think you can really go with gauges, an ounce one way or the other is too much I think, so be darn sure before you touch refrigerant level if I'm correct.
There are at least three fridge experts on the forum though I'd seek one of them out

[patprice]

Thanks A64pilot. The fridge was installed in Tasmania and we then travelled into the Pacific...read hot. A couple of mechanics meddled with it in Savu Savu and Nuku'Alofa to no gain. Maybe best now to drain the system, vacuum and refill with correct gas/oil amounts.

[Stu Jackson]

Neglect is one thing.

Proper storage is quite another.

[MarkusK]

Our boat was on the hard for 5 years before we bought it. No real problems.

What the PO did well:
-kept the fuel tank full…to avoid condensation.
-tarped it…to prevent cockpit from flooding, provide some sun protection, etc.
-I’m guessing he started the engine once per year because the Yanmar 3GM fired up right away during the survey.

What he did not do well:
-kept the cushions and curtains inside...can you say mold? I would remove anything that can harbor moisture.

Congratulations on the baby and good luck with whatever you do.

[indiana_ct]

Take the baby with you. They pack up small enough and don't escape much until they are walking.
I was taken travelling at 6 weeks old to the South of France and Spain together with three siblings. It was the start of a life of travel I have loved