Over-winter: Take-out or Leave-in? Poll

Leave-in or take out for winter?

  • Leave-in: No facilities to take-out

    Votes: 2 1.6%

  • Leave-in: Convenience/winter use

    Votes: 57 44.5%

  • Leave-in: Cost saving

    Votes: 20 15.6%

  • Leave-in: Better in the water than on the hard

    Votes: 36 28.1%

  • Take-out: Better/safer out-than-in

    Votes: 14 10.9%

  • Take-out: Cost no problem

    Votes: 1 0.8%

  • Take-out: Convenience for winter access/work

    Votes: 32 25.0%

  • Take-out: Everyone else here does

    Votes: 6 4.7%
  • Total voters
    128
I usually take my boat out for the winter; my club has a hoist and we all go in or out of the water over a few days, it's friendly, amenable and cheap.

The club has shore standing for the boats with power & water ( + a bar ! ) and there are always jobs to do; anyway I find sailing a cruiser in winter a miserable experience, with the cold and long nights.

If sailing over winter I'd usually rather do it in short bursts in a dinghy where the adrenalin keeps one warm.

I have kept her in marinas over winter a few times over the years but got little sailing in, just used her as a weekend cottage.
 
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I take my boat out in October and put her back in in April. Have you left her in before over the winter and, if so, how many days did you go winter sailing?
I have thought that possibly in the future I may be tempted to leave her in but that would be in the marina in Inverness and would be combined with a trip over the top and some sailing in the Moray Firth before returning west the next spring.
 
I leave her in over winter as I live aboard plus like the odd bit of sailing when winter visitor rates are cheaper! I then have her lifted for two to three weeks in the spring when the weather is better to antifoul and any other jobs that need doing.

J
 
Trop Cher said:
I take my boat out in October and put her back in in April. Have you left her in before over the winter and, if so, how many days did you go winter sailing?
I have thought that possibly in the future I may be tempted to leave her in but that would be in the marina in Inverness and would be combined with a trip over the top and some sailing in the Moray Firth before returning west the next spring.
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I bought Khamsin in 2010, craned her out and brought her to the house that winter to "go over her". VERY expensive, but nice and convenient to have her in the drive! Nice pics of snow on her.
Took her out 2011/12, bought a heavy trailer and dragged her onto the hard for "servicing work"
Left her in, 2012/13 on swinging mooring by Isle Ewe. No problems/worries but only sailed twice!
Last winter, 2013/14 trailered her out for major work: engine, wiring, new "stuff". Only put her back mid June.

How would you get to Inverness Marina? The Canal, or "RTT"?
Sounds a big task/cost for some East coast sailing?
 
Robert Wilson said:
I bought Khamsin in 2010, craned her out and brought her to the house that winter to "go over her". VERY expensive, but nice and convenient to have her in the drive! Nice pics of snow on her.
Took her out 2011/12, bought a heavy trailer and dragged her onto the hard for "servicing work"
Left her in, 2012/13 on swinging mooring by Isle Ewe. No problems/worries but only sailed twice!
Last winter, 2013/14 trailered her out for major work: engine, wiring, new "stuff". Only put her back mid June.

How would you get to Inverness Marina? The Canal, or "RTT"?
Sounds a big task/cost for some East coast sailing?
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Poll far to complicated - but just reflects the fact that there is no hard and fast rule. Depends on what you want to do and the facilities available to you. Our club has a very sheltered marina, so safe, the mooring licence is year round and very limited (and expensive, relatively) on land storage so most people leave their boats in year round. Those with swinging moorings either move inside to take berths where owners have hauled their boats elsewhere or take them to other yards for the winter. Few leave their boats on swinging moorings in the winter because they are very exposed to the SW and E making insurance difficult to get.
 
Robert Wilson said:
How would you get to Inverness Marina? The Canal, or "RTT"?
Sounds a big task/cost for some East coast sailing?
Click to expand...

Certainly I would like to go over the top at least in one direction if not both, and could be combined with visiting Orkney which is something I plan to do. I'd also be happy to go via the canal which I've done several times before and always enjoy it. Cost wise, I don't think it would cost much more than overwintering ashore, as I won't have the lift in/out costs.
It would also give us the opportunity to have a couple of nights out in Inverness without the drive home! :)
 
Trop Cher said:
Certainly I would like to go over the top at least in one direction if not both, and could be combined with visiting Orkney which is something I plan to do. I'd also be happy to go via the canal which I've done several times before and always enjoy it. Cost wise, I don't think it would cost much more than overwintering ashore, as I won't have the lift in/out costs.
It would also give us the opportunity to have a couple of nights out in Inverness without the drive home! :)
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Ah, the bright lights and wild partying of Inverness!;)
 
Tranona said:
Poll far to complicated - but just reflects the fact that there is no hard and fast rule. Depends on what you want to do and the facilities available to you. Our club has a very sheltered marina, so safe, the mooring licence is year round and very limited (and expensive, relatively) on land storage so most people leave their boats in year round. Those with swinging moorings either move inside to take berths where owners have hauled their boats elsewhere or take them to other yards for the winter. Few leave their boats on swinging moorings in the winter because they are very exposed to the SW and E making insurance difficult to get.
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I'm sorry to complicate the poll, but I thought it would be a good way to get ideas on a spread of opinions/habits.

Thanks for responding all the same.

Before I "left her in" previously, I seem to remember someone saying that boats "floating in their natural medium" are better-off than on their keel/in cradles with the un-natural forces impacting. (for an extended length of time, of course)

P.S. My insurers provide me with "12 months afloat on a swinging mooring" insurance. I only have to tell them if I take the boat out of the water!
 
Leave mine in for a bit of winter sailing and to use a caravan sometimes for a ON at a WE. Mine comes out in about March, back in April for maint etc. I have tried taking her out in the real winter months and it was so cold to do the work, I leave it until Spring now.
 
Leave it in - and use it as much as possible! They are expensive things to buy and run - certainly too expensive to restrict to six months of the year. I guess that being in a marina makes a big difference - plentiful supplies of energy (both fuel and electricity) to keep it warm and dry, and no pressure from the insurance company to lift out. It's very rare that we spend the weekend in the house - the boat is peaceful and relaxing.
 
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I am with Ripper and Maby on this one...

A boat is to be sailed, had some cracking winter sails :D

Not in a marina, on a mooring with no power but no issues then I do not have acres of soft furnishings or much in the way of electronics to go wrong...
 
maby said:
Leave it in - and use it as much as possible! They are expensive things to buy and run - certainly too expensive to restrict to six months of the year. I guess that being in a marina makes a big difference - plentiful supplies of energy (both fuel and electricity) to keep it warm and dry, and no pressure from the insurance company to lift out. It's very rare that we spend the weekend in the house - the boat is peaceful and relaxing.
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The first Friday night spent at home in months this week (not through choice!) and I discover my next door neighbours are 3.00 - 4.30 am noisy buggers!

I did wonder why nobody seems to like them..... Luckily they're moving out in a few weeks....bye!

We use our mooring from April to the end of October and then see who's got a winter deal on (sadly MDL Chatham aren't interested..) to use the boat as a Winter holiday home. We prefer the mooring during the warmer months but can't be dealing with dinghying about in sub zero darkness.

The more use you get out of the boat, the cheaper the £/smiles ratio gets.
 
We stay in all year, and just come out for a weekend every couple of years for new paint and anodes.
 
I take boat out every 4th winter for 6 months to do any work and to dry her out. It depends on the how bad the winter is. Last winter we had endless gales and rain, but fortunately last winter was my winter ashore. You can get really nice weather in winter but its those cold, clear, frosty days, sometimes lasting for a week or more is what i want to be going out in. As long as you are prepared with the proper gear, its no problem. As soon as the sun goes down it gets very cold very quickly on the water.
 
Old boat always came out for several months each winter. The rig needed to be dismantled and the spars varnished, for one thing.

We've only had two winters so far with the new boat, and both have involved her being out of the water from November to New Year for professional paint and fibreglass work. She then went into the water in January and, after moving to our home berth, was laid up afloat for me to do all the other refit work.

We have the volvo prop with the tiny anodes, so we need to get at the underneath of the boat at least once and preferably twice a year. The plan in future is to do this on the Sealift, or a quick lift-and-hold, and we'd time this to get the maximum benefit from the scrub-off at the same time. The plan is to stay in the rest of the time - initially laid up afloat while I finish the rolling refit, then staying in commission all year round for some winter sailing. I really like the idea of instigating a Boxing Day sail.

Pete
 
After seeing a boat go over on the hard last winter, we're happier leaving her in. She also got grottier far faster (leaves, germinating seeds, bird droppings and a wasps nest!!!) when we took her out for some spring maintenance than when at her berth.

But we are in a marina and can use her as a caravan when we can't sail. However, we had some fantastic sails over the 'off' season, including a beautiful sunny afternoon day sail in January. I have no doubt we'd have done more if we hadn't had quite such a stormy winter.
 
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