Haul out list help needed

[SailingTerrapin]

I'd like your input on what items need to be done in an effort to prepare for a 3 month haul out. Seems like everyone you ask has different ideas of what needs to be done before putting a boat on the hard for a few months in Mexico, July-September.

Anyone have something in a PDF they can share? Or some of the "must do" items?

Thank you.

[Vasco]

It might help to know where you're going to haul out. Climate and weather have a lot to do with what one has to do when hauling out.

[SailingTerrapin]

Thanks...I forgot to put in Mexico from July-September...makes a huge difference.

[skipmac]

Make sure deck and cockpit drains are clear.

Make sure all hatches, ports and other points of water ingress are closed.

Set up some kind of ventilation to keep the interior from mold and mildew.

Turn off all electrical loads, except possibly bilge pump and alarm system if you have one. Bilge pump on or off will depend on whether or not you have a sump drain and/or how leak free the boat is. Bottom line, don't want the chance of the bilge filling with rain water and flooding the interior but also you don't want the bilge pump to cycle and kill the batteries.

Top off batteries

Mexico so no need to anti freeze water or cooling systems.

Remove expensive, portable items and take them with you or store in a secure location.

[Vasco]

Empty FW and holding tanks.
Treat all fuel that's to be left (diesel, OB gas )

If possible box (in Rubbermade tubs) all guides, books, charts, etc.
Empty and clean fridge, freezer, leave doors open.
Remove all perishable food
Put all upholstery on end
Open all cupboard doors and head doors

We hang about ten formaldehyde bags (Sunpacs) so there is no mold or critters aboard when we return.

Make sure propane is shut off.
Remove sails and stow down below.
Remove all canvas and stow.
When hauled plug all through hulls with old rags

If your boat is prone to leaking install a garboard strake plug and leave open.

[DeepFrz]

Get some Tea Tree oil to help prevent mold and mildew as well as ventilation. Here is one source but probably can get it at Wal-Mart or Home Depot. I think they have stores in Mexico.
Forespar's NEW Tea Tree Powerâ„¢ Mold Mildew & Odor Eliminator

[exMaggieDrum]

Use bug screens on ventilation to keep bugs out. Don't hang stuff over the side so that mice/rats can't run up and inside. Remove all sails (just for emphasis) and any other items that have windage, like lee clothes for the cockpit. Top off diesel in tank.

[dkroar]

Leave The Boat on the Hard Checklist

This might help.

[Mithril Bham]

All good suggestions but, also, supply photo of bottom, rudder and steering post position and be pro-active to make sure the slings are positioned correctly. Good idea to mark rudder post position on hull permanantly. I just had my boat hauled and the rudder post was damaged. Should have known better but made the mistake of trusting the yard since I had provided photos. Now am in dispute mode and will, no doubt, be labelled as the bad guy.

[Scrimshaw4]

Some additional thoughts. Get some SS scrubbing pads and stuff them in your hawse pipe to block criters from entering the chain locker. Make sure the boat is hurricane proofed as much as possible: secured on extra stands and staked for high winds, on high enough ground to withstand storm surge, etc. Remove all valuables and strongly secure the companionway.

[capngeo]

You never mentioned, but most seem to think you are leaving the boat. In my live aboard days, I stayed aboard when on the hard. My biggest concerns were air conditioning and waste disposal.

I bought one of those room type Hose-in-the-window A/C's.... Trying to sleep aboard on the hard without it was unpleasant at best!

Visit a camping store/site and buy those bags for human waste that turns a bucket into a porta-potty.... Use it in your head bowl and take the waste to the dumpster!

[Hudson Force]

Many like to close the Kinston valve (raw water engine intake) before the rise in the sling so that the impeller stays wet and ready for the future restart, but make sure you post a note to open it again at launch.