Laying up checklist

[telford_mike]

Hi all,

I've recently bought a share in a small syndicate. The boat is a Bavaria 34 and it spends its winters ashore at the Aktio yard. To keep costs down there is a division of labour between the shareholders, and the gent who's share I bought used to be responsible for laying up at the end of the season.

Whilst I know nothing about what laying up might entail, I have volunteered to keep up this arrangement, as the idea of a nice long cruise starting the Last week in September is quite appealing - nobody else will want the boat during October.

I assume the boat needs to be back at the yard a couple of days before lift out to allow time for laying up, but what exactly is involved please?

Cheers,

Mike.

 

[charles_reed]

Many have either more exhaustive or less, depending on how obsessional.

1 Hull

1.1. Wash down topsides and pressure wash underwater profile when out of water.
1.2. Put blanking plug into log paddle wheel transducer, (unless you want it to be antifouled immovably), stuff every through hull with SS wool (or find the boat a breeding ground for insects and all through hulls blocked)
1.3. Stow liferaft and deflated inflatable below.

2. Masts and sails

2.1. Remove and wash roller genoa, dry, fold and stow below - unless an in-mast roller main do the same for the mainsail. Check condition of uv strip and replace if necessary.
2.2. Remove all halyards and control-lines, leaving mouse lines, wash them and stow hung up. Wash and hang up all sheets.
2.3. Wash down foresail track, boom, spi-pole and mast, polish the three former.
2.4. Empty onto a pallet, the chain and anchor, so that they're washed by the rain and don't sit in a damp, oxidising heap in the locker. Wash out the locker. If the pong is overpowering use oxalic acid or bleach to clean out, always remembering to rinse it away.
2.5. Strip and lubricate the anchor winch (as the maker's instructions) and leave bagged away, inside plastic bag and tape.
2.6. Strip, clean, lubricate and bag away all sheet and halyard winches. Best done out of the water as the internals of many winches have a variant of Mexican jumping bean disease.
2.7. Do take down courtesy and association flags and ensign (unless French-registered).

3. Interior
3.1. Vacuum and dust all surfaces - you may like to wash curtains and covers, whilst Aktio have a washing machine, I'd advise against it as the covers always seem to change shape - at least check, lubricate and operate all zips.
3.2. Clean all shower trays and polish heads compartments, leave some dilute bleach in the sea-toilet after thorough rinse in fresh water.
3.3. Empty all clothes lockers and vacuum-bag contents and all washed, clean bedding.
3.4. Clean out all food lockers, sprinkle some boric acid crystals on the bottom (ensures you don't entertain the merry Aktio roaches), only retain hard-packaged foodstuffs.
3.5. Defrost, dry out and leave open the fridge - probably needs a careful wipe-down with sodium hypochlorite solution after defrost.
3.6. Turn off all switches @ the main board, disconnect batteries after a full charge and top-up after charging, (if you have PV panels) leave them connected and on.

4. Engine
4.1 Fill tank (probably apocryphal but supposed to prevent condensation and thus the bug) makes life very much easier for the re-commissioner.
4.2 Run engine for 20' with fresh water from a hose into a bucket with the raw-water intake. Clean raw water filter, check and lubricate raw-water seacock - if not changed in the last 7 years consider replacing. No need for antifreeze @ Preveza but you might like to recycle dilute sulphamic acid through the raw water system - you need 3 buckets though. Ideal for silicon aluminium and SS heat exchanger but not so good for cast iron.
4.3. Unless a recent oil/filter change, at least replace lube oil with clean.
4.4. Some will recommend removing and storing the impeller out of the pump - my experience is that removal and replacement by eager amateurs is more likely to end in premature failure.

I know I've forgotten many things - but I'd hate for you to feel you've drawn the short straw - that lot usually needs 3 full days for two.

 

[Hadenough]

Do livaboards layup?

 

[AndrewB]

Many have either more exhaustive or less, depending on how obsessional.
.....
I know I've forgotten many things - but I'd hate for you to feel you've drawn the short straw - that lot usually needs 3 full days for two.

Good list. Few things I'd add,

1. Drain down fresh water system if there's any risk of freezing.
2. Wash dry and store dinghy.
3. Flush through outboard, change oil, empty fuel.
4. Lift and cover all cushions and bedding with a tarp (seems to keep mildew in check).

 

[sailaboutvic]

Do livaboards layup?

Most of the stuff Charles listed are done by most of us Liveaboard , not the removing of clothes or bung up of sea cock , but most will services there engine , remove sails , keeping deck clear is done thought out the winter , plus there always on going work to be done as we don't wait till the spring to to do them , we always service our engine not long after we arrive in the marina but alway have it ready to operate in case we need to start it and in our case as we do go out for sails at times .
What do shock me is the amount of people , Liveaboard and others who leave there sails on all winter ,

 

[telford_mike]

Thanks everyone, and Charles in particular, for taking the time to share your wisdom. It's not the size of the task that worries me so much as the possibility that I might miss something vital and have the boat disintegrate over winter.

So by the sound of it 90% of all this work takes place after the boat is lifted. I think I'll plan to get her lifted on a Tuesday and book a flight home the following Sunday, leaving 4 clear days to do the work. Mrs t_m will enjoy a few nights ashore in a Preveza hotel before we return to the horrors of the Shropshire winter.

As an aside, is there just as much work involved in recommissioning in the spring, or is this an easier job?

 

[Ravi]

I think I'll plan to get her lifted on a Tuesday and book a flight home the following Sunday, leaving 4 clear days to do the work. Mrs t_m will enjoy a few nights ashore in a Preveza hotel before we return to the horrors of the Shropshire winter.

Mike - Leaving 4 clear days is a good idea as there is always a possibility that lifting out might have to be postponed if there are high winds. More likely in the UK, not Greece.

I shall be winterising soon and will be plagiarising Chalres_reed's excellent list!

Here are some other things that I observed on a winterised charter company boat in the spring.
- Cover deck instruments with plastic sheeting and tape.
- Cover windows and hatches, likewise. ( guess that this is to precvent UV crazing.)
- Lift foam mattresses and cushions onto their sides to air.
- Put talcom powder on the dinghy / ropes. (????)

A couple of other things that I plan to do.
- Lift floorboards to allow bilges to air.
- Disconnect gas from bottle.
- Remove / cover tiller (probably, not applicable to your Bav!)

A couple of questions, I would like to add to the thread......
- Is it better to wash the sails / ropes in the spring to avoid the risk of them being stored damp over the winter?
- Is it better to leave the holding tank empty or filled with clean water ?and detergent? .

 

[charles_reed]

Re-commissioning takes rather longer - if you put on 2 coats of antifoul and polish hull and topsides - for 2 I'd allow 5 days. More if you're going to re-rig your main.

I did miss out instrument covers (I put those on automatically when not sailing or at anchor) or doing anything to the dinghy - the latter was forgetfulness, but last season I didn't use a dinghy at all. There are 2 schools of thought, one is to leave the washed, dinghy inflated but covered, the other to pack it away and lock it up. Having had 3 dinghies go missing I prefer the latter course of action.
I do have an acrylic cover for my tiller (most modern boats have wheels) and turn off the gas (but don't disconnect - the ball safety valve has been known to leak).
Bilges - I do mop mine quite dry, when the boat comes out, but don't lift the boards - some rain will always get in (round external locker lids) with Med downpours.
As modern textiles don't spoil if damp, I don't see any reason to delay till the spring, especially if you hang sheets up.
Sails, apart from a fresh water rinse, I usually send off for valeting. In any case the foresail UV strip needs replacing after about 5-7 years, due more to chafe than degradation. I have 3 roller foresails, a solent which is longer than the foil, two spinnakers and a genniker
Vic will be horrified to know that I leave my fully battened main on, under it's bag - taking it all off is one day's work and putting it back on again about two days and a lot of adjusting. Maltese rain does stain the main if you don't have a watertight bag.
Holding tank - if used - rinsed through with clean fresh water and then sterilised with Na Hypochlorite. I do try to avoid using it... Leave it empty, you'll still get marks from the breather.
One really needs one clear day to check out all electrics - continuity tests, current consumptions as well as bumbling around just checking volts - one of the reasons I hate sealed batteries is that topping up the cells and checking electrolyte is, at best, difficult and usually impossible.
It's amazing how many yotties find one or more batteries has gone down the 1st week into the following season's first cruise.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Tie that man down and whip him , I am horrified nothing horrify me much these days , I think I seen most thing . But Charles you can't Blane the Maltese for the sandy rain it not the fault it crosses their island as it blow over from the Sahara .
Oh by the way you just reminded me , we need to make a new sail cover as our seen to leak like as sif another job for the co skipper . While I drown a beer .

 

[sailaboutvic]

Tip on cleaning sails .
first give your dinghy a good clean , then full with fresh water , some sail cleaner , let sail soak fora while , rinse off with fresh water and hoist up to dry .
Folds and store away ,
it's a better way then just running an hose over them
You can then finish off by putting all your ropes in the dinghy and running rigging

 

[telford_mike]

Tie that man down and whip him , I am horrified nothing horrify me much these days , I think I seen most thing . But Charles you can't Blane the Maltese for the sandy rain it not the fault it crosses their island as it blow over from the Sahara .
Oh by the way you just reminded me , we need to make a new sail cover as our seen to leak like as sif another job for the co skipper . While I drown a beer .

This is all good stuff, thanks again. Would you remove an in-mast furling main?

 

[sailaboutvic]

This is all good stuff, thanks again. Would you remove an in-mast furling main?

We never have had an in mast main and so I hear there can be a bit of a job to get off , but yes I would , I sure some will say otherwise .
and before any one says , it too muck work , I just remind some , we also sail in the winter at time so we then have to do it all again when we come back . but the price of new sails , it worth it .

 

[BurnitBlue]

You probably know this already but haul-out in September is a busy time for the Aktio Yards. You need to book well in advance for the lift-out. This year, I had to wait 3 weeks for a lift out slot and not for a date and time of my choosing. Each of the three yards only have one lift out bay which is used for haul-out and launch so book at least a month in advance if you have a flight schedule.

 

[BurnitBlue]

Also be very aware that the Aktio yards were Swamp lands not so long ago. Do not leave the boat with anchor chains or tarp hold down ropes hanging over the side. The rats and frogs and other nasties will be grateful for winter quarters. Birds will also nest in the sails. Boat next to mine has a family of sparrows living in the boom of all things. Croaking frogs under his covers and god knows what else. Most folk bung up all through hulls with rags. I was told it was to stop a special type of wasp or other insect from cementing the opening.

 

[Carmel2]

Slightly off topic, why do people put plastic bags on their props when out on the hard for the winter?

 

[telford_mike]

You probably know this already but haul-out in September is a busy time for the Aktio Yards. You need to book well in advance for the lift-out. This year, I had to wait 3 weeks for a lift out slot and not for a date and time of my choosing. Each of the three yards only have one lift out bay which is used for haul-out and launch so book at least a month in advance if you have a flight schedule.

Ah righto, hadn't realised that.
Our plan is basically not to have a plan. We don't want to lay up until well into October, by which time the last of the Preveza flights will probably have dried-up anyhow. So we were planning to keep sailing until the weather turned, then get a haul-out booked. We'd then sort out the laying-up and find our way up to Corfu and get home from there somehow.
Unlikely to be practical?

 

[sailaboutvic]

Ah righto, hadn't realised that.
Our plan is basically not to have a plan. We don't want to lay up until well into October,?

Mike we all lost days and time when we are enjoying our self ,BUT just to let you know , Oct gone and we well into Nov

 

[telford_mike]

Mike we all lost days and time when we are enjoying our self ,BUT just to let you know , Oct gone and we well into Nov

Exactly - It was your pics that got us thinking Vic - would be a terrible shame to have to come home when the weather is still nice, bays quiet. We don't have any deadlines, and don't want to create any!

 

[sailaboutvic]

Exactly - It was your pics that got us thinking Vic - would be a terrible shame to have to come home when the weather is still nice, bays quiet. We don't have any deadlines, and don't want to create any!

Sorry mike , didn't mean to to send your plain haywire . We in Palairos to night and again to morrow then we prob go to Nirdi to find water , weds we will make our way up to Lefkas for a few days before going into the Marina to sort the boat out before my better half flys out for two weeks , so if your around this way PM me and maybe we meet up for. Beer . Give the girls some one else to chat to

 

[telford_mike]

Sorry mike , didn't mean to to send your plain haywire . We in Palairos to night and again to morrow then we prob go to Nirdi to find water , weds we will make our way up to Lefkas for a few days before going into the Marina to sort the boat out before my better half flys out for two weeks , so if your around this way PM me and maybe we meet up for. Beer . Give the girls some one else to chat to

Haha I have created some confusion This is planning for next year, but yes I'll buy you a beer if you're still in the Ionian! I didn't even get on board a boat this season - wife went without me - too much work. No more worries on that score though, retiring in February