Laying up for a year

Tintin

Tintin

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What with Covid, and a change in home circumstances that sees me looking after a family member full time for the next 6 to 12 months, I won't be able to go sailing or even get to my boat which is 11 hours drive away.

I'm gonna lay her up in the yard where she is.

The mast is already unstepped as it was due to have new standing rigging.

What other jobs would you have done?

Am thinking...
- sails and canvas off and stored in the dry at a local sail loft
- engine belt off, water drained, impeller out, exhaust blocked - what about oil?
- diesel topped up and treated or drained?
- batteries can be left on trickle charge with shorepower on
- water tanks drained
- leave the dehumidifier on (yard will check weekly) which I am thinking could mean I leave the cushions on board (there's a lot and I have nowhere to store them)
- all running rigging off
- hatch and port lights covered (she came with canvasses for this)

Would you get her polywrapped - she's an Ovni?

What other jobs would you have done?
 
First of all, I’m sorry to hear about your situation.

thoughts off the top of my head!

Fogging oil the intake and seal it (cling film works pretty well) on the engine. Best to renew the engine oil and gearbox oil before leaving. And spray it down well with your favourite water deterrent product (duck oil is my preference but i think I might be a swarfega addict looking at the workshop shelf!)
I would also consider flushing and draining the raw water side abs if your somewhere cold then fill with antifreeze (don’t forget the water lock also collects water)

I think cushions will likely be fine with the de hum in there but I would turf them up so they aren’t sitting where it can condensate behind them.

a wrap would keep the uv off and the water out but they are also quite expensive and I’m guessing you wouldn’t have had that done normally. You could have a cover made in canvas that you can reuse in the future instead

clean your lockers out and wipe out with a weak bleach or disinfectant now to prevent mould growth and leave the locker doors ajar to let the air circulate


Ps if you can’t get there is fairly easy to make a small logger, with a raspberry pi and a BME280chip you can log humidity and temperature which you can access remotely though a VPN. That way you’ll know if the de hum stops working! - you can also measure voltage/current in a number of ways. (If you have victron gear you can plug that right in!)
 
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Our boat is laid up for the 6 winter months each year.
I take the cushions out but leave the curtains (yes, we now have curtains) in place. I have space otherwise the cushions would stay too.
I rig a cover using blue water pipe hoops, a timber ridge board, secured with cable ties, reusable, the white tarps last about 3 years and cost less than £100. Open at bow and stern to encourage ventilation, plenty of light throughout. In two pieces so easy to fix in place and remove. Enough headroom to work under and encourage air movement. Hatches are all a crack open.
No dehumidifier, I was very lucky that I was present when the last one caught fire.
No longer drain the calorifier, the yard is by the sea so temps below 0 for 24 hrs are now very rare.
Good light and fairly even temperature maintained by the cover so everything stays dry.
The raised through ventilated cover is the answer, using it I do not really need to clear the boat out at all and this is W. of Scotland.
 
The key to longer term laying up is, as Quandary says, a cover. This keeps the elements out and allows you to leave hatches or windows open for ventilation. Damp, stale air is the enemy. Remove soft furnishings if possible and open lockers to keep air flowing. If there is a serious possibility of prolonged sub zero temperatures then draining the fresh water system including calorifier is wise. Leave the engine fresh water coolant in but drain the seawater circuit by taking the impeller out.

As I recounted elsewhere I laid up my boat for 9 years, only taking the covers off for one summer while I worked on the deck. Even though the boat was wood there was no significant damp or mould. The engine started instantly after a change of oil and filters. The coolant was still active!

The cover and support was similar to Quandary's, wooden ridge then over the guard wires and stanchions (protected with foam and caps) down to below deck level then tied under the hull. Heavy duty white tarps that just about made it to the end, but the location was fairly sheltered.

If you can't get to cover then a dehumidifier makes sense if it can be monitored. A tube heater may also be worthwhile.
 
Drain the exhaust.
Remove anything that's easily stolen.
Get every surface spotlessly clean.
A bit of lube on any blocks etc? Any moving parts which you'd think might gain from it, like morse cables/controls, locks, locker catches, any stainless-meets-ally moving parts? Any fasteners prone to corrosion?
Oil any outdoor teak?
Wax polish the shiny bits?
 
I would get her polywrapped over frame. The objective is to stop deterioration of the vessel due to weather etc and your situation may go on longer than you think. Keeping rain, wind and debris off the vessel and keeping her dry will be beneficial when it comes to recommission her. This would be an opportunity not to run the dehumidifier but allow heat and draught from the air flow to keep her dry down below.

Take the anchor chain out and leave on a pallet and dry the anchor locker off and wipe down with a disinfected cloth (the locker). There are products you can buy and place in electrical switchboards that emit a vapour to keep the connections to dry. The lights on the mast and say bi lanterns on the bow can tae a hammering in hot and cold, dry and humid environments, filling with water. I would recommend covering them and isolating from the environment.

My own boat, laid up for almost 3 years, outside, was filthy at the end of it, hence if doing this again, I would absolutely cover the boat.
 
My tuppence worth:

Comrade Red said:
- sails and canvas off and stored in the dry at a local sail loft - Yes
- engine belt off, water drained, impeller out, exhaust blocked - what about oil? - Yes for belt & impeller. I would try and get some preservation oil, or at least change the oil & filter. Fog & block inlet & exhaust. Fluxh raw water system with antifreeze mix or drain fully (ideally both)
- diesel topped up and treated or drained? - In an ideal world, diesel drained as modern E10 does not last as long, but topped up and treated if that's not an option (you might be able to sell it to a neighbour).
- batteries can be left on trickle charge with shorepower on - I would remove batteries and bring them home where they can be stored and maintained. Left on trickle charge is not good long-term.
- water tanks drained - Yes
- leave the dehumidifier on (yard will check weekly) which I am thinking could mean I leave the cushions on board (there's a lot and I have nowhere to store them) - For that length of time, I would not run a de-hum (it will eventually stop for one reason or another). My preference would be to remove the soft furnishings.
- all running rigging off - Yes
- hatch and port lights covered (she came with canvasses for this) - Yes

Would you get her polywrapped - she's an Ovni? - I would, you can have a 'door' fitted in the shrink-wrap to access if needed
Click to expand...

As others have mentioned, I would also remove anything that can be stolen and clean out and prop open as many lockers as possible.
I would also take the lines home and clean & store them there
I would also may a local shipwright / engineer / maintenance company to check the boat once per month and send pictures.
Something I saw yesterday from a Swedish sail loft was the advice to wash & dry the spars, then coat them in wax (a heavy car wax) but leave it on. The dust & dirt sticks to the wax. When you are ready to re-use, wash & re-wax again. The dirt comes off with the wax and the extra wax coat means the spars stay cleaner for longer. Good tip!

Good luck.
 
Apart from the above I would take the batteries home and look after them there. I'd drain the engine oil and fill with some very cheap new oil, changing it again when back in use.
 
The key theme has to be to remove straight water from systems, motor and drinking, for obvious reasons. Refilling engine passageways with an antifreeze mixture - both raw water and cooling - is highly desirable for preservation purposes as well as protection from frost.

Engine oils and all filters to be replaced.

Upholstery in the open is vulnerable without dehumidifying, as you suggest, but it need not be run during warmer months if there is good air circulation. Otherwise putting the upholstery in large sealed plastic bags with dehumidifier packs will preserve them from mould.

An overall cover will add protection and I follow this routine every winter using heavy tarps, which will withstand wind if properly secured. Beware, if you follow this route, that chafe will exceed your expectations, and securing lines will need the yard's supervision or the covers will be wrecked, even the heaviest grade. Covering means removing stanchions etc - not a great burden but necessary. If the boom is supported and secured it forms a good ridge pole - as I find.

As the news unfolds, I guess a lot more sailors will be tempted to give this year a miss. Storage afloat might have certain attractions, but I would get ashore, take the lower yard tariff and spend the savings on interior preservation measures.

Good luck

PWG
 
Tranona said:
The key to longer term laying up is, as Quandary says, a cover. This keeps the elements out and allows you to leave hatches or windows open for ventilation. Damp, stale air is the enemy. Remove soft furnishings if possible and open lockers to keep air flowing. If there is a serious possibility of prolonged sub zero temperatures then draining the fresh water system including calorifier is wise. Leave the engine fresh water coolant in but drain the seawater circuit by taking the impeller out.

As I recounted elsewhere I laid up my boat for 9 years, only taking the covers off for one summer while I worked on the deck. Even though the boat was wood there was no significant damp or mould. The engine started instantly after a change of oil and filters. The coolant was still active!

The cover and support was similar to Quandary's, wooden ridge then over the guard wires and stanchions (protected with foam and caps) down to below deck level then tied under the hull. Heavy duty white tarps that just about made it to the end, but the location was fairly sheltered.

If you can't get to cover then a dehumidifier makes sense if it can be monitored. A tube heater may also be worthwhile.
Click to expand...

Netting can work pretty well to assist a tarp from lifting in the wind. - Old boarding ladder nets are pretty good
 
Really sorry to here you will need to become a carer. All credit to you.

There is plenty of advise in all of the earlier posts. I cannot add to them

I second the idea of taking the chain our of the locker, laying, neatly, on a pallet (under the hull) washing with freshwater and leaving on the pallet for the duration.

However you are going to have some spare time or a very tough time.

To get your mind off caring have you some task)s) you would like to complete on the boat - making a new saloon table, sanding and varnishing an old one, splicing all your lines - making a new Bimini. Take the measurements now, take the offending article home, now. You will curse in 6 months time if you think - I could be polishing the.....? or even - making soft shackles. You and the one you are to care for will probably benefit if you have a distraction -

- Carers need care as well.

Good luck

Jonathan
 
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