Long Term Storage of a Yacht

[Martin999]

Hi I'm looking for some advice. I have a 2007 11M yacht on the south coast which is my dream boat, and it now looks like I will be moved to work in Sydney for 2 years. I'm sure I'll get plenty of sailing while away, but what to do with my boat. The cost of transportation to Australia is prohibitive and then there's some local duty and taxes to pay on its current value! I don't want to sell it, so I'm considering having her wrapped in plastic and stored ashore for 2 years having dealt with stuff like the engine and batteries.

Question is, what are the downsides to this...I am likely to come back to a boat that will have deteriorated badly during that time?
Many Thanks

 

[Tranona]

Not an unreasonable idea, given the poor market which makes the sell and buy later idea less good. No problem physically doing what you suggest, but you may well find it pricy unless you move to a remoter, low cost yard. You are looking at £1500-2000 pa plus lifts and dropping mast. Budget for substantial cover if you want it to last 2 years.

 

[prv]

Budget for substantial cover if you want it to last 2 years.

I assumed he was talking about shrinkwrapping rather than a conventional cover. There have been a couple of boats shrinkwrapped in our yard from time to time and it seems to last OK. The key is that the tightness of the plastic prevents any flogging in the wind, that's what rips most of the normal half-arsed covers and tarps here to shreds every winter.

There's a fairly large yacht which has been stored on a drying pontoon berth the whole time we've been here, so at least five years. The hull is uncovered, but it looks like they've built a wooden frame over the deck (no mast) and then shrinkwrapped that. Interestingly the frame incorporates a standard door-frame and door, with the shrinkwrap secured all round the edge. So somebody could unlock the door and get in and out for maintenance and checking without having to disturb the wrap, though I've never seen any sign of anyone doing so. Most shrinkwrapped boats don't have the door.

Pete

 

[Aja]

I don't think the cost of storage would be an issue. If you were to remain in the UK you would still be paying Marina/storage fees.
I think you would be OK to winterise and drain everything removing as much as possible (mast down etc) into storage and wraping in plastic. I've seen boats languishing in marinas untouched for far longer needing just a cosmetic wash and brush up.
Regards
Donald

 

[sarabande]

consider a caravan store or a farmer with a big barn. I'd charge about a £5 a week.

 

[Wansworth]

I leave my boat in a yard for a year at a time as I dry sail it.The key is proper ventilation and stripping superfluous stuff out of the cabin and off the decks.Whilst your away the wind and rain will attack it and unless you can rely on somebody to keep an eye on it the best is just leave it without covers or plastic.A box over the fore hatch will allow the hatch to be kept partly opened and a copy of the washboards with vents in will allow for ventilation.PROPER steel cradle a must......... when you thousands of miles away you need to know that nothing will come undone or shake loose or let water in.... other wise its a worry when you here the forecast.

 

[pvb]

One of my marina neighbours had a 2-year stint in Australia. His boat was lifted out and stored in a cradle, mast up, sails off, and left uncovered for 2 years. It got rather dirty, but cleaned up fine on his return.

 

[longjohnsilver]

If leaving it I'd suggest a good clean inside to remove as much salt as possible; that's what attracts the damp and ultimately mould. And take off all soft furnishings and store them somewhere dry. It should be fine, even better if a friend could take a look every now and again.

 

[Martin999]

Hi Many thanks for all the replies, its good to hear that others have left their boats this long and they didn't come back to a mess. fortunately I have a dry well ventilated loft at home so I will remove all the soft furnishings (I was going to leave them on) - a friend has said they will check the boat very so often so I will arrange for a door to be put into the cover as well...thats a good idea. It will be going onto a steel cradle. I'll be coming back right at the start of the 2018 season, so hopefully the weather will have calmed down a bit by then.

 

[BurnitBlue]

A sail boat here in the one of the Aktio yards used a normal plastic cover over the whole boat for winter lay-up last year. Unfortunitely the cockpit area did not provide any support so the cover drooped into it. Weight of water in the droop holed it. Cockpit drains were closed. The wet winter of 2014 / 2015 funneled all water beöw to a depth of 3 feet. Engine wrecked electrics a mush, wood interior not de-laminated but had to be completely removed dried, cleaned and varnished. Insurance claimed for may thousands of pounds. Consensus was that the insurance were not liable. Not to worry you because this accidant was avoidable with rgought beforehand. Not me by the way-

 

[GrahamM376]

Don;t forget to lay the engine up properly, 2 years without turning over may lead to stuck rings otherwise.

 

[yoda]

A sail boat here in the one of the Aktio yards used a normal plastic cover over the whole boat for winter lay-up last year. Unfortunitely the cockpit area did not provide any support so the cover drooped into it. Weight of water in the droop holed it. Cockpit drains were closed. The wet winter of 2014 / 2015 funneled all water beöw to a depth of 3 feet. Engine wrecked electrics a mush, wood interior not de-laminated but had to be completely removed dried, cleaned and varnished. Insurance claimed for may thousands of pounds. Consensus was that the insurance were not liable. Not to worry you because this accidant was avoidable with rgought beforehand. Not me by the way-

leaving the log impeller (or similar) out avoids any chance of major damage in this kind of event. Can't see why you would shut cockpit drains anyway.

 

[G12]

I'd install a dehumidifier too, they're cheap to run and it can drain out of the galley sink or similar. I find this reduces mould massively.

 

[JumbleDuck]

One of my marina neighbours had a 2-year stint in Australia. His boat was lifted out and stored in a cradle, mast up, sails off, and left uncovered for 2 years. It got rather dirty, but cleaned up fine on his return.

I left my last boat, a wee Westerly, unattended in a boatyard for five years at one time. When I wanted to recommission her the yard gave her a damn good pressure washing and that was that. No mould inside, even though all the cushions were there. She had pretty good ventilation.

 

[Daydream believer]

A Maxi near me has been left for 2 years now. The owner has had a smart canvas cover made which is stretched very tightly across the boat & sits tight to the cabin top. It is lashed to the aluminium toe rails. Everything seems Ok.
If it were me I would empty the boat of everything & leave he with a little ventilation. I empty my boat every year & it always amazes me how much superfluous junk I seem to collect over just one season. Emptying the boat does help to get it all removed rather than let it build up.

Whilst a de-humidifier is a handy tool I would not want to leave one switched on for 2 years without regular visits. To reduce mould I wipe all the surfaces with flash wipes ( actually I use wipes in the plastic cannisters with a bit of extra flash for luck so they are well soaked)& do not dry afterwards . I think the tiny film of Flash seems to kill any mould spores before they can develope

Beware of covers that can flap. I had a wooden boat & painted the hull at the end of the season thinking I would have a head start next year. The cover came right down the sides & was held down with hanging weights.
When i uncovered it at the start of the season I had to re paint the sides again due to the cover constantly rubbing the hull

 

[Martin999]

fortunately my yacht has a semi open transom that I cane leave permanently open so water in the cockpit shouldn't be a problem. I have a dehumidifier and as I have someone who will check the boat regularly I may well have that connected during the winter. Thanks for the advice on making sure the cover doesn't flap and damage the topsides, something for my friend to check, I've spoken to a Volvo engineer I use and he says he has mothballed several engines over the years, mainly on motor boats. Actually my boat is a Maxi as well so its good to know one survived! My idea is that as I return right at the start of the season I really want minimal work to get it back in the waters I will defiantly keep her covered. Thanks again for all the advice.