First time haul out questions?

Nostrodamus

Nostrodamus

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www.cygnus3.com
Please excuse my ignorance here but it will be the first time we have had our boat hauled out which worries me and there are some stupid things that puzzle me.

1) The patches you cannot get to from the cradle legs when you are anti fouling. Do you try and clean them before it goes into the cradle or when they lift to put her back in do you clean them then and slap some anti foul on.
2) What do you clean the patches with?
3) If changing anodes do they often get stuck and if so how do you get them off. Do you put anything on the new bolts?
4) Do you leave all your sea cocks open or close them before or after lifting.
5) Is there some tool or equipment you always seem to need when hauling out?
6) I have a sail drive leg. Do you anti foul a folding prop or not? That rubber square around the ail drive leg. Do you anti foul under it?
7) Any tip or advice welcome.

I have the paints, (spray for the leg) anodes, prop grease, jet wash and tools.

Tell me it will be OK and the boat will not be damaged.

Sorry for the stupid questions but as an anti fouling virgin I want to get things right.

Thanks
 
1) Cradle leg patches - depends how fussy you are; some people move the leg & provide temporary support to clean the areas; most just get the yard to put a bit more on at launching- chances are next year the pads will be in a different place.....
2) Wet & dry or a heavy duty scouring pad - same as rest of hull
4) I leave the sea-cocks as they are.
5) Over time I have all that I need - which isnt much. Scourer, wet& dry; masking tape; small rollers (foam) & tray, gloves, boiler suit; screw driver, hammer. Polish & cloths. ladder and platform. Coffee, beer, occasionally some help. Oh & new annodes & whatever AF is going on (always less than recommended.)
6) Never had a sail drive
7) Dont put too much AF on. If its flaking then lift the flakes and slap some more on. If its flaking badly have it removed next year.
 
I can only answer some of those.

In my marina the boat gets jetwashed as it comes out - no jetwashing allowed on the hard so the hull is pretty clean. The patches from the cradle legs are antifouled by the yard as they lift the boat to put you back in - I usually leave them a bit in the tin and an old brush but failing that they use their own stuff. They are happy for me to be there and do it if I want to and to quickly do the bottom of the keel.

I have only changed the shaft anode - the hull anode has not changed in 5 years. I usually have to saw the old one off.

I open the seacocks once the boat is out (so you can see that they are working properly) but shut them before it goes back in.

My entire collection of tools, drills and bent wire coathangers seems to get to the boat even if I don't need them!

When you antifoul put the roller tray in a large carrier bag and pour the AF on that - when you finish then put your gloves, old paintbrush, roller and masking tape on the tray, turn the bag inside out and chuck. Presto - clean tray for time :)
 
Nostrodamus said:
1) The patches you cannot get to from the cradle legs when you are anti fouling. Do you try and clean them before it goes into the cradle or when they lift to put her back in do you clean them then and slap some anti foul on.
2) What do you clean the patches with?

Normally the yard uses a high-pressure hose to jet the fouling off while the boat is held in slings before being transferred (by trailer) to the cradle. So there is nothing left to clean, except the bits under the slings, which are quickly done with the said hose once the boat is on the trailer. The only thing before relaunch is how to antifoul the patches under the cradle pads: this is done once the boat is back in slings waiting to go back into the water, using the last of the tin and a paintbrush - which you won't have left on the boat, will you?

3) If changing anodes do they often get stuck and if so how do you get them off. Do you put anything on the new bolts?
They don't get stuck. You've got spanners or - better still - a socket set to undo the nuts.

4) Do you leave all your sea cocks open or close them before or after lifting.
It doesn't matter, but I leave mine open before hauling out to drain the contents (I double-pump the heads) and close them before relaunch.

5) Is there some tool or equipment you always seem to need when hauling out?

6) I have a sail drive leg. Do you anti foul a folding prop or not? That rubber square around the ail drive leg. Do you anti foul under it?
I grease the blades of my (feathering) prop with that super-sticky stuff that smells like bison-****, but I've forgotten what its called. I know nothing about sail-drives.

7) Any tip or advice welcome.

I have the paints, (spray for the leg) anodes, prop grease, jet wash and tools.

Tell me it will be OK and the boat will not be damaged.

Sorry for the stupid questions but as an anti fouling virgin I want to get things right.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hope this helps.
 
6. I use Trilux on my folding propeller. It seems to work fairly well. Make sure any antifoul you use on the leg is compatible with aluminium. Again I use Trilux. I was also advised to use it on the area of hull around the leg so I paint the rubber square and a few inches beyond. Apart from anything else it stops copper based antifoul dripping onto the leg itself whilst it is being applied. You can't get inside the rubber seal so you just have to let whatever wants to live there in the pitch dark get on with it.
 
Reference Anode screws. I put a dab of the NON permanent locktite on, can't remember the number.
While it's out, and if not done already make a mark or not something thats in line with the saildrive so when they put straps on they know where it is.
 
Nostrodamus said:
Please excuse my ignorance here but it will be the first time we have had our boat hauled out which worries me and there are some stupid things that puzzle me.

1) The patches you cannot get to from the cradle legs when you are anti fouling. Do you try and clean them before it goes into the cradle or when they lift to put her back in do you clean them then and slap some anti foul on.
2) What do you clean the patches with?
3) If changing anodes do they often get stuck and if so how do you get them off. Do you put anything on the new bolts?
4) Do you leave all your sea cocks open or close them before or after lifting.
5) Is there some tool or equipment you always seem to need when hauling out?
6) I have a sail drive leg. Do you anti foul a folding prop or not? That rubber square around the ail drive leg. Do you anti foul under it?
7) Any tip or advice welcome.

I have the paints, (spray for the leg) anodes, prop grease, jet wash and tools.

Tell me it will be OK and the boat will not be damaged.

Sorry for the stupid questions but as an anti fouling virgin I want to get things right.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Remember to remove your log impeller and put the blanking plug in - if the lifting straps end up on the impeller it can break. Others have talked about the rest.
 
Thank you for all the advice. It has helped a lot.
We are in France so communication is sometimes a problem.
They lift and put it in a cradle in the yard and you have to hire your own pressure washer. Hence the questions about the pads because you donot get to pressure wash before it is placed in the cradle.
 
Sail drive flap may require reglueing so worth checking you have correct glue stickaflex!
Even if the ring anode is ok or the split type remove the prop and grease the spline with VP grease and a s previously suggested use screw lock for anode fixing bolts and folding prop screws
Check the oil from the sail drive for water contamination worth having the shaft seals and o rings including the drain plug o ring REPLACE it EVERY TIME
Make sure you are using correct size of allen keys get the long ones if can don't use nearly fits as they will damage the screws
Watch when you remove the prop as there is a thrust washer at the front which often sticks to the prop just long enough to fall of when you put the prop down and you loose it don't worry if the line cutter is damaged as its not used any more
If you have a rope cutter it may replace the line cutter spacer but will require a modified ring anode.
 
Removing Anodes

Make sure you don't loosen the anode bolts when removing the external nuts (don't use excessive force, and don't leave too long to remove items else they may dry out becoming harder to remove) -- have someone else with a spanner/wrench inside -- it's all common sense and will be much more straight forward next time!
 
Purchase new Anode studs each time removing anode,note the square plate fitted to the stud and apply some sealant beneath the plate when refitting. Do make sure the engine inlet is clear of baby mussels, barnacles, clear with a screwdriver.

Check for any rudder bearing play whilst out of the water,in case the rudder needs to be dropped to renew them.

ianat182
 
Don't forget that the speed log impeller is easily damaged if the slings go under it. I always take it out and insert the plug before any lift.
 
All good advice. The only thing I can add is about saildrives. As this is the first time of lifting you may not have markers on the rubbing strake to show where the saildrive is. The yard should be aware of this but keep a sharp lookout, you do not want the strops on the prop/saildrive. And mark their position before relaunching.
It will be easier to drain the hydraulic oil from the saildrive while out of the water so this is the time to change it. Some saildrives can only be drained of oil whilst out of the water, mine is one of them (poor design but that is the way it is)
 
If you've got hair, wear a hat when antifouling. You will get it on your head.
If the anode bolts are just a bit rusty don't bother to replace them, they last for years.
Your list didn't include masking tape, the blue type allows you to leave it on for a couple of days if necessary. Don't try that with the normal light brown/white stuff, it will become immoveable.
 
Most has been covered already. The saildrive anode is easy to change as you have the split type. Ensure you put a dab of loctite on the fastening screws. Follow the servicing instructions on the prop - don't know the details of your particular design but guess it will involve changing the anode and greasing the gears.

Assume you are taking the opportunity to drain the ATF out of the leg and replace with engine oil as per the latest Volvo recommendation. You can get the oil out from the top, but if you are changing you need to drain the ATF out completely. The drain plug is a B to get out - make sure you have a spare sealing washer. Unlikely you will need to replace the seals as it is relatively new, but if you do, taking the housing off drains the leg nicely. No need to do anything with the gasket to the hull if it is still attached firmly. I use sprayed on Trilux on the leg and prop - worked fine with my old aluminium prop, dont know yet how good it will be on the bronze folder. Check the Delrin bearings on the rope cutter by squeezing the blades together - if they are worn the blades will touch. Details in the installation instruction or on the website.
 
Saildrive leg? what you do depends on what has been used before, (unless it is copper based antifouling). When my boat was commissioned five years ago, it was delivered from Finland antifouled but with the leg bare; the rigger who came up from the Hamble to get her ready convinced me not to ever antifoul the leg at all. After the first season I decided to use Propshield (lanolin wax) on both the leg and prop. After the second year I reverted to polishing the bronze folding prop but continued to use lanolin on the leg. I have just taken the wax of completely this winter for the first time and the original manufacturers paint finish is still shiny under it. In previous years I just touched up the Propshield, (smoothing carefully with a blowlamp) so I am just starting my second jar.
I use Loctite and put sealant around the studs on the leg and prop anodes to reduce the rate of depletion under the fixings, because I have a rope cutter modified leg anodes cost over £70 but I get about three years from them this way, the prop anodes only do one season.
 
Nostrodamus said:
Please excuse my ignorance here but it will be the first time we have had our boat hauled out which worries me and there are some stupid things that puzzle me.

1) The patches you cannot get to from the cradle legs when you are anti fouling. Do you try and clean them before it goes into the cradle or when they lift to put her back in do you clean them then and slap some anti foul on.

>> Just drop the cradle pad a couple of inches, clean and paint, do each one in turn until complete


2) What do you clean the patches with?

>> Jetwash, and scrub with scapper or scourer soap and water.


3) If changing anodes do they often get stuck and if so how do you get them off. Do you put anything on the new bolts?

>> Generally they unscrew easily and you put replacement nuts and washers on with new rubber as supplied with you anode, I put copper grease on the bolts and threads.

4) Do you leave all your sea cocks open or close them before or after lifting.

>> Open, so everything drains out

5) Is there some tool or equipment you always seem to need when hauling out?

>> no, the marina usually do the haulout and the power wash as part of the deal.

6) I have a sail drive leg. Do you anti foul a folding prop or not? That rubber square around the ail drive leg. Do you anti foul under it?

>> Not, No but around it is ok

7) Any tip or advice welcome.

>> relax and enjoy, Use all your antifoul, plenty of coats nice and thick.

8) I have the paints, (spray for the leg) anodes, prop grease, jet wash and tools.

>> good now all you need is willing helpers

9) Tell me it will be OK and the boat will not be damaged.

>> Wow, it must be your first time......hanky required and a scotch.



10) Sorry for the stupid questions but as an anti fouling virgin I want to get things right.

Thanks

>> it generally needs doing every year, so you'll get used to it. Get Jotrun Antifoul and bigger anodes and you will only need to do the lift out every couple of years.
Click to expand...
 
A useful tip.

If you plan to leave the boat out of the water for an extended time,it may be advisable to stuff small bits of newspaper into each seacock hull fitting,from the outside.
Otherwise some bees may decide to build a nest inside the heads compartment and set up home there for the forseeable future.
This can cause a great deal of inconvenience when you return to the boat,expecting to be able to get launched and away,whereas you have to spend a couple of days getting rid of the aforesaid beasties by any means ,eventually managing to locate a friendly local bee keeper who will entice them into his hive and taking them away.

Just don't ask.
 
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