haul out? or need to?

[Johnboy2004]

bought my first brand new yacht may gone by.......whats the story with winter storage........the boat is on a marina berth.........do many leave the boat in the water over winter or is it better to take it out??

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[ex-Gladys]

Depends on lots of things.... You will have to haul out at some point to antifoul etc. Some think that a few months out over the winter helps delay the onset of osmosis. Also, if the marina is exposed you may get more damage in the winter if left afloat. See what others do and maybe try leaving it in... You can always get it out later.

<hr width=100% size=1>Larry Botheras

Anderson 26 "Amber"

 

[MIKE_MCKIE]

Do you want to sail over the winter? If yes, then a day on the scrubbing grid will sort out the anti-fouling and will undoubtedly be a lot cheaper than a haul out, storage ashore & refloat next spring. Just depends what you want to do with the boat. Damage on the mooring is unlikely if you are moored correctly, & it is really nice to be able to go for a sail on those (albeit rare) occasions when the weather is nice and everyone else is safely ashore out of your way! Gives a feeling of great moral superiority as well!! As to the onset of osmosis, my boat is 30+ and was epoxied about 10 years ago. Shows no sign of the "O" word, and as many people have said on this forum, no boat yet has sunk from it! If you want to go sailing, keep the boat in the watter!
Brgds
Mike

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[simonfraser]

leave it in till Xmas, put back end of march, that gives you a few weeks to do essential jobs out of the water.
probably too cold to go out those times any way.
Osmosis, i agree, your boat won't sink, do you want to sail it or store it ?

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[jonjo]

Re: high class hull

> my boat is 30+ and was epoxied about 10 years ago. Shows no sign of the "O"

As you have a Bowman (Rival?) hull we cannot all model our in/out annual regime on your good fortune.

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[jonjo]

Are you looking for long-term advice or an excuse to have an extended first year on your new yacht?

I doubt an 11 month season in the hull's first year will have much effect on osmosis risks over 30 years.

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[pvb]

Leave it in...

Don't worry too much about what other people do, because most boat owners slavishly follow tradition without really looking at the alternatives. Your boat won't come to any great harm left afloat over the winter and, as others have said, there are some great days for sailing when most boats are stuck on dry land. The "osmosis prevention" argument for taking the boat out over the winter doesn't in my view make sense - I can't see that a GRP hull will dry out much in 3 months in our winter weather conditions.

My boat is marina-based, and I leave it in the water every winter. Every 2 years, around July time, I take advantage of the marina's Half Price Summer Scrub offer and get the boat lifted, pressure washed and cradled for a few days. This enables me to wash and polish the topsides without developing hypothermia, and put 3 good thick coats of Micron on the bottom. Believe me, it's much more pleasant doing these jobs in summer, and you'll only lose a weekend's sailing. What you'll gain is a big reduction in lift-out costs. Worth considering.

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[pvb]

Or is it??

Is it a high class hull? Mike's boat is probably very solidly built, but remember it's 30 years old and that GRP technology has advanced considerably in that time.

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[MIKE_MCKIE]

Re: high class hull

Yes I have a Bowman, but NOT the Rival/Bowman. Mine was built by Monachorum Boatyard in Dartmouth in 1970 ish. The design was by Ian Anderson, and was the forerunner of the many well known Hurleys. It is actually the Daddy of the Hurley 27. It is however built like the proverbial, and when I put a new log in 18 months ago, it took me forever to cut the hole, with a new holesaw & large power drill. Even the professional shipwright working on the boat next door was impressed. They dont build them like that any more, all down to the pennies (and of course a better knowledge of the strength capacity of GRP).
Doubt very much if I could afford a mainsail for a Rival, let alone the boat, but I would bet that my hull is every bit as good. Just a pity that the owner is not in quite as good condition!!
Cheers
Mike

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