Drying out v Staying in

[Chris_Stannard]

In view of post below, 'when are you going back in' what are the views on whether to leave the boat in all winter and come out for the shortest time to antifoul. Or do you lift for say three months to dry out?
A friend of mine had a Beneteau for 17 years and only came out for one tide to antifoul. When he sold it last year the survey showed the water content in the hull to be average for the year and builder. He always thought that leaving boats standing sround on a few pressure pads and their keels caused distortion with all the associated problems.
Has anyone got any views that can proved or at least shown to have some measure of truth

Chris Stannard

 

[kidnapped]

There is some truth in 'the slight distortion' story. I know of one yacht that has trouble with cabin doors when on the hard ... all returns to normal when she's back in the briny!
PS Are you going to Port Solent April 13th? Might see you there.

 

[Chris_Stannard]

Looking forward to it. Boat is called Norrsken. See you there

Chris Stannard

 

[cgull]

My boat (bilge keeler)comes out (so to speak) for 3 months,this winter we ran a dehumidifier inside and collected a lot of water. When it is in the water it is usually dry in the bilges, cant really work out where the water comes from as it doesnt appear to come in from hatch or windows

 

[RobertMartin]

In ozz we leave boats in all the time, only come out for repair or anti-foul, never have any problems.... Boats belong in the water.. My boats 12 yrs old, always been in, no problems...

Bobby aka Seawolf..
Freedom is the song of your soul..

 

[gunnarsilins]

I´ve left my boats in...

...for more than 10 years now, in Sweden where the water freezes every year (one year over 70 cm of ice). But I do an epoxy treatment as a precausion.
Absolutely no problems.
If I were living in UK, I would without doubt leave her in - when sailing is possible all year around!

 

[billmacfarlane]

I've done both over the years. When I did get the boat lifted each year , usually in November , I realised that it just stood there until mid February when I started to think about replacing anodes and antifouling. I'm coming round to the idea of leaving her in each winter and antifouling her in summer. As a bonus you can have some quiet winter sails.

 

[pvb]

Leave it in...

There are lots of compelling reasons for leaving the boat in the water over the winter in the UK. Firstly, it's a lot cheaper to get the boat out for antifouling in the summer, when most marinas offer cut-price liftouts. Secondly, it's much more pleasant antifouling the hull and polishing the topsides in the summer. Thirdly, there are often some good sailing days in the winter. Fourthly, the boat is likely to come to less harm just sitting in the water.

My boat is lifted out every other summer, for a week. I give it a good polish and apply 3 coats of Micron by brush, and find that this lasts a full 2 years.

 

[LadyInBed]

Re: Staying in

When I had a mooring in Portland Harbour I had to come out for the winter. Insurance and weather conditions would not allow the boat to stay in.

Now I am safely tucked away up a river the boat stays in all year. I beach her in April and September for a scrub down. I have given up on the anti-fouling as, on the mooring the hull gets a 50/50 wash of salt and fresh water, so I only get a bit of slime on the hull and some weed on the waterline (on the shady side) which I have cured by using boot-top four inches above and a foot below the waterline.

With the hull in water, that percentage of it is not subject to frost, so the boat stays warmer, I think that is why I get very little condensation.

As the mooring fee is for twelve months, and I don’t have to pay for lift out, storage or anti-foul, I save a considerable amount, and get the winter sailing.