Preparing the yacht for the sailing season:
Are you ready for the sailing season?
When a boat is stowed away for the winter, whether a yacht, catamaran or monohull,
this is the best time to perform annual maintenance works and prepare the yacht for the coming season.
What maintenance works should we do to prepare the yacht?
Our recommendation is to concentrate the annual maintenance works of all the various assemblies of the boat at this time, when there is no time pressure.
Almost every system in the boat manuals have annual maintenance instructions.
From motors and generators, hydraulic systems, electrical systems, pumps, desalinators, cathode protection, etc.
This article covers systems that do not have specific manufacturer instructions
and provides you comprehensive information on preparing the yacht for the coming season.
Lets see what should be done as part of annual maintenance.
So let’s begin!
We will go over various topics to understand how to prepare the yacht.
Cleaning and preparing the yacht for the coming season:
Throughout the winter, the yacht should be kept clean and tidy, inside and ought.
Whether the yacht is in wet or dry storage, frequent cleaning will keep it free of stains, corrosion and mold that could occur.
Placing desiccant bags throughout the yacht:
It is recommended to spread desiccant bags in various compartments inside the yacht.
we do that to avoid accumulation of mold and damp that cause corrosion of metal / chrome lined plastic parts.
Routine care for desiccant bags:
Desiccant bags are to be drained of condensate and their filler replaced once or twice during storage. To this end, at the end of the season it is advisable to arrange with the marina / shipyard a professional to inspect the boat every week or two, whether in the water or on land.
If necessary, the professional will clean and inspect the batteries, desiccant bags, lines (if immersed), etc.
The yacht’s rigging, shrouds and mast:
In the previous article, we covered preparation for winter storage, freeing the gear up for maintenance works.
Maintenance services that we recommend are as follows:
Greasing of the yacht shrouds’ turnbuckles:
Once a year it is recommended to apply a designated grease type (usually white) on the vents’ turnbuckles to prevent corrosion. Usually, the shrouds and turnbuckles are made of various metals, rendering them susceptible to corrosion in the threaded area and resulting in the turnbuckle and threaded bolt snagging.
Image by ededchechine on Freepik
How it is done:
To grease the thread area, we must loosen the shroud slightly. This requires professional knowledge of rigging. Hiring a professional to perform this work and restore the mast to its former state is a good idea.
Sail maintenance as part of the preparation of the yacht for the coming season:
Because we recommended removing the sails for storage in the previous article, this is a good time to perform any sail repairs needed.
Electrical system:
It is advisable to call in an electrician once a year to inspect the boat thoroughly, with emphasis on main 12 / 24 volt connections, 220 volt sockets, corrosion on battery terminals, voltage leakage, short circuits, etc.
Seawater systems:
There are a number of maintenance inspections and actions that should be done on the seawater system:
- Inspection of pipes – making sure that clamps are tight
- Making sure that the valves work correctly
- Inspecting and replacing zinc bolts, if used
- Cleaning rust off valves – valves that often get rusty (such as ones made of brass) may be lined using transparent varnish spray to prevent corrosion.
- Seawater filters and, if necessary, heat exchangers (coolers) in various systems (motors / generators / air conditioner) are to be cleaned.
Boat bottom and hull:
The hull has a number of maintenance actions that should be undertaken to avoid later damage.
Winter is a good time for maintenance that we usually do not have time to perform during the sailing season:
- Hull, fiberglass and gelcoat repairs.
- Woodwork and teak repairs
- Replacement of zincs
- Inspection and if necessary servicing driveshafts – rudders, propellers, shaft packings and bearings.
- Renewing the bottom paint at least once every two years. Even if the boat is stored on land, the antifouling paint must be renewed before launching again.
Before launching the yacht at the beginning of the season, it is advisable to perform maintenance on and prepare the following systems:
Fuel system:
The system is to be drained of precipitates – usually after diesel fuel stands for a long time, precipitates such as fuel fungi / water accumulate.
Primary filter / water separator are to be drained of fluids and the fuel quality inspected.
Unclean fuel will cause combustion problems and could clog the fuel system.
Freshwater system:
The tank should be drained and the water in it replaced.
Navigation, safety and sails:
This is the time to put deck equipment back into place, reinstall the sails and check safety equipment for expiration.
Also, worn out equipment such as lines, flags and covers should be replaced.
It is desirable to replace batteries of lifebuoy lamps and make sure that they are properly secured to lifebelts.
Seawater system servicing:
System must be inspected for watertightness, particularly after works during storage. Inlet valves are to be opened after the yacht is lowered into the water, before assemblies are operated.
Cleaning the yacht:
It is advisable to perform thorough general cleaning, including bilges, to allow for careful monitoring of deficiencies such as leaks in the boat during the first voyages of the season.
General inspection of the various systems after relaunching the yacht:
After performing all the winter maintenance works and the yacht has been relaunched,
we inspect the condition of all the boat’s systems, including pipes and connections.
If the boat was stored outside the water, emphasis is given to the hull valves while the boat is still on the hoist slings but already afloat. This way, if we identify seawater ingress, the crane can hoist the boat out immediately to permit repairing the leak.
Ready for sailing season?
Summary:
Preparing a yacht or catamaran for the coming season is important and necessary. Some owners sail in the winter too, which is a good thing.
Many skippers decided to keep their catamaran or yacht stored outside the water or in a marina far from home.
One way or another, it is a good time to take a timeout and ensure that our yacht and the various systems in it are stored and serviced correctly.
Preparing the yacht for the coming season is important and we hope that we have provided you useful information. Of course, you are invited to contact the A.G. Yachting team, which specializes in ship management, maintenance and services.
Another article on the same subject: Preparing a yacht / catamaran for the winter
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