Boat standing idle for 8 months .....

[Lisa&Paul]

Hi , after purchasing our Beneteau Antares 30 fly back in January due to lockdown we have been unable to visit/start or do any checks as she is moored in salt water in a marina in Cyprus .
What if any , when hopefully we can finally get to her in early August checks should we do before firing her up . She has been on shore power the entire time and we have received lecky bills from the marina for 2 to 3 euro's a month . The antifouling issue will need immediate attention as a small beard was apparant back in January . Also an annual service is due for the Yanmar diesel engine and an obvious priority . She has done 500 hours , approaching 10 years old and came with full service history from an approved Yanmar specialist .Would the diesel need draining ( she was low on fuel so would replenishing the tank suffice ? We are new to boat ownership having had a jetski for 10 years ( and know it's a big step up lol ) , but having done my RYA day skipper and Power boat course are not complete novice's , having picked up vital tips on here seacocks seem to be a priority on a check list and anodes , but would hope a service may cover this . Also i am reasonably competent at DIY but don't want to cut any corners on safety and reliability with our new addition to the family .

Any help , tips or advice appreciated ,

Paul & Lisa

 

[simonfraser]

don't assume / hope for anything
you'll need to let the forum know what engines / legs etc

fuel can get contaminated, various bug killers are available and they appear to work
if there are no signs of filters getting contaminated / blocked personally i would not be too concerned

 

[Portofino]

Ask marina office for details of the local diver .
To jet wash it off ....yep while it’s still at its berth underwater .Change any anodes , shaft , prop , tabs and B thruster .
They will jet wash out the skin fittings particularly the engine intake .
€200 ish saves a lift out assuming ( I doubt it ) yard space .

Then do any engine anodes yourself ....thinking coolers if any ?
As far as oil service it’s not a binary thing , but do that later .
Get it scrubbed up before firing it up ....water intakes etc .

As far as fuel should be ok .I dose mine regularly with anti bug stuff .....no particular brand what’s ever available.
Yes top up and go .
You might drain off any if you can ( dont know your set up ) .
A racor centrifugal filter might be a good investment going Fwds in your boats susceptible to long periods of lay ups ?
You can visibly see the bowl and it’s got a tap .
You can get them with Water In Fuel ...WIF alarms ......a nice Rolls Royce solution .
We have the above and even accessible down taps at bottom of the main tanks .Thats a builders thing thought not standard fit on many high vol production brands .But as said a simple Racor 500 g upgrade + WIF might be worth you thinking about .

Dose your water tank ( any proprietary product from the marina shop ) and run all the faucets .
When out at sea flush a few bucket loads of seawater through the bog and run the black tank pump .

Exercise all the seacocks .....take care not to jam any .
Don,t know what state you left them in ....open or closed.Obviously the main engine (s) need to be open .If they are stuck closed you have a problem requiring a lift out .....with zero yard space as they all have a huge backlog of work + tons of theses “ neglect “ little jobs s .

 

[julians]

8 months is not that long.

Just get any fouling cleaned off, check engine oil level and start her up. Before you leave the berth check everything works OK, so steering full lock to lock, trim tabs up and Down, drive trim tilt if you have an out drive. Put in forward and reverse just to check it goes into and out of gear OK. Bilge pump test.

 

[oldgit]

8 months is not that long.

+1

If boat was serviced prior to the 8 month layup , would not have any great worries about anodes or fuel contamination.
A quick general check over and a lift and hold/jetwash if you must, should see you to end of this season.
My boat had not been out of the water for 14 months.Anodes were half gone and coating of small barnycules and weed.
Replaced the engine heat exchanger pencil anodes, not much left but they had been in there for 4 years.

 

[johnlavery]

My boat in similar situation. Engines have not been fired up in 9 months. She has been on the hard since Oct 2019. Hoping to start the engines tomorrow morning. Changing the anodes and finish antifouling. Then launch sometime this week.

 

[Lisa&Paul]

Hi , Thanks for the replies and valuable input . The engine is a single Yanmar 6 LY3 UTP Diesel shaft drive , we do have one free lift out a year for antifouling included in the berthing fee's so perhaps any below water checks , prop , anodes etc can be done in conjunction with this , i am guessing the engine service would need to be done while the boat is in the water ? Any other help re useful checks that can be done while on the hard would be helpful . Also last service was done July 2019 but has had little use since then , which i presume maybe is not always a good thing .