Readying for winter...?

Greenheart

Greenheart

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...well, no, not quite yet. Admittedly I feel a total idiot for worrying about my sails last week when it was blazing hot...rather than fixing the many holes in my cover. Now that it's raining, I'll be sorry. But I'm still hopeful of some fine sailing weather before it all goes dark and grim for winter.

My sailing club is happy for dinghies to be left in the pound all year round. Which is very convenient, but I wonder if I know as much as I need to, about leaving the boat outdoors through several inclement months.

I believe my ropey old road trailer offers better support than the launching trolley she's been sitting on all summer, so I guess I'd be smart to place her on it, even though I can't possibly launch or move the boat singlehanded from the trailer, so any late-season sailing will be knocked off the agenda.

Other than the tendency for raindrops to run down the track in the mast, straight past the cover's tight gooseneck-collar and down, to gather in pools in the bilges, is there any structural reason why the mast is best lowered for the winter months? I mean, does it rest the mast-step and shroud/forestay attachments? Does the mast-step of a dinghy need rest?

If I can waterproof my cover and attach it snugly over the boat, with the bailers left open for any drainage necessary and a bit of ventilation, does a 40 y/o GRP boat suffer much from staying outside through the misery of a British winter?

Thanks for all thoughts.
 
It's lasted 40 years already.
Don't let water collect in the boat. Raise the bow by making a little trestle to go under the launch trolley or trailer. Open the transom flaps, (remember them?). Slacken the rigging a tad. put the rudder in the boat, on chocks so it doesn't lay in any collected water.
The main thing to avoid is the hull filling with water. This will cause the hull to smash where it rests on the trolley. I have bought and repaired dinghies that this has happened to. Your cover will stop leaves and dirt making a mess inside the boat.

Alternatively, if there is mast storage available, use that and just turn your boat upside down.
 
That's smart thinking Lakey, thanks. I can chain the mast on the fence and fit the rudder, etc into spaces at home. I guess the boat is fairly indestructible weatherwise, upside down.

Evidence of serious damage on the hull, in areas where it rests on the trolley, lead me to think your warning about rain pooling inside is exactly what occurred in my boat's history.

I've more or less decided to seal up the transom flaps. They were a bad idea, indifferently executed, probably by the same owner who let her fill with water, possibly as a way to prevent it recurring. I may retain a two-inch dia tube from the cockpit to the transom for drainage, but otherwise I'll return her to 'factory' standard layout.

I wish all my looney-tunes improvement ideas could be attempted in a warm dry garage during the winter months...or that if she must remain outdoors, she could be left ready to sail on those rare bright December days, Christmas-drysuit permitting. But mainly, I want to be sure she's no worse at the start of next year's season, than now. :)
 
Sorry Bob. Quite right.

I've been out so few times this glorious summer because of work and travel, I'll probably get more sailing done in the rest of the season, now that the water's warmed up a bit. :)
 
dancrane said:
...well, no, not quite yet. Admittedly I feel a total idiot for worrying about my sails last week when it was blazing hot...rather than fixing the many holes in my cover. Now that it's raining, I'll be sorry. But I'm still hopeful of some fine sailing weather before it all goes dark and grim for winter.

My sailing club is happy for dinghies to be left in the pound all year round. Which is very convenient, but I wonder if I know as much as I need to, about leaving the boat outdoors through several inclement months.

I believe my ropey old road trailer offers better support than the launching trolley she's been sitting on all summer, so I guess I'd be smart to place her on it, even though I can't possibly launch or move the boat singlehanded from the trailer, so any late-season sailing will be knocked off the agenda.

Other than the tendency for raindrops to run down the track in the mast, straight past the cover's tight gooseneck-collar and down, to gather in pools in the bilges, is there any structural reason why the mast is best lowered for the winter months? I mean, does it rest the mast-step and shroud/forestay attachments? Does the mast-step of a dinghy need rest?

If I can waterproof my cover and attach it snugly over the boat, with the bailers left open for any drainage necessary and a bit of ventilation, does a 40 y/o GRP boat suffer much from staying outside through the misery of a British winter?

Thanks for all thoughts.
Click to expand...

All of a sudden I am depressed. Winter is coming.
 
No! No! Oh God, what have I done?

No, dammit, there's nothing more cheering on a sunny midwinter day than to see sails gliding along just as if it was June. I'm going to fix my cover, keep the cockpit dusty-dry and get a drysuit so I can sail all year. :)
 
Keep boat on trolly as lakey suggested. Keep sailing through the winter...

One advise i have not seen here is tie her down! particularly if mast is still up, autumnal gales frequently move unprepared dinghies...
 
Dan's through tube to the transom would probably cope with draining any rain that got in as long as it didn't block up. To be fair, provided he pops down every couple of weeks to check, it would have to be very heavy rain to fill a dinghy from leaks into the cover.
Things like 8" of snow would be a worry if the cover is not in the best of condition. Upside down is a safest.
 
There are short and long splits in my cover. So far I've fixed it with duct tape, to variable effect. I'm wondering if I could find a 20x50cm piece of heavy polythene, maybe I could cover the damaged area, gluing the polythene onto the fabric, using...your recommendations, gents? Anything will be cheaper than sail-repair tape!

Or maybe I should sew eyelets along both sides of the split, lace them together tightly, then use the sail-repair tape to cover the eyelet holes?

A new Osprey cover costs upward of £150, so I can live with the cover looking tired as long as it's watertight.

I believe that heavy rain collects in the mast-track and channels down into the boat. I s'pose it's a question of packing the mast-groove with something and elasticating the mast-collar.

Part of my ongoing paranoia relates to the boat's own 140kg (rather more with oars, danforth and tools on board) pressing down on the narrow trolley-bar for weeks unmoved.

I take care to spread that weight with a wedge of foam under the keel line beneath the mast, and I prop up the overhanging eight foot behind the trolley, with a couple of motor tyres.

Would it be unnecessarily fussy to spread the trolley-bar's support-area using removable bits of thick ply, perhaps 30cm square? The trolley's support isn't more than about three inches thick - foam-covered of course - which is fine for launching, but I expect it feels like lying on a fence, sideways not longways!

She's quite a tough old boat, much abused even before she was introduced to my eccentric ideas...

...but I'm keen on the idea of some relaxed out-of-season dinghy cruising, so almost all available funds are going to go on a drysuit. I hope that's smart - I'm thinking that as the old saying goes, the boat can stand much more than her crew. :rolleyes:
 
Went to the boat today after several wet days and nights. Somehow, she was practically bone-dry under the very wet cover!

It was a surprise. I'd expected a good few minutes of bailing.

It occurred to me that a few bungees, hooked between the boom (which remains on the gooseneck) and the gunwale on both sides, will keep the cover supported from beneath, so there's much less tendency for pooling on the slack of the cover, over the cockpit.

It really started coming down while I was there. Made me think about making a boom-tent over the winter, for use next year... :rolleyes:
 
I'm busy preping the dinghy ready for winter but in the completely opposite way. Any worn blocks or sheets being replaced, sails checked over etc. Winter is when sailing the dinghy gets really fun:D Why anyone would want to layup a dinghy for winter I just dont understand. Sadly the First 32 will be out of the water from end october until march this year (only comes out every second year). Still, gives me plenty of time to do a full compound and polish job on her.
 
newbiedave said:
Winter is when sailing the dinghy gets really fun:D Why anyone would want to layup a dinghy for winter I just dont understand.
Click to expand...

Not sure I can enjoy anything more in cold weather than in warm...but I probably will have some useful practice-sailing this winter.

I know there are amazingly lovely sunny days with light winds in the depths of winter, and I always feel uplifted when I see a sail during the low season. Makes me feel as if the barman hasn't quite called 'time'. Or, that he's opened the door at breakfast next day.

Must put "drysuit" on my Christmas list... :rolleyes:
 
dancrane said:
I know there are amazingly lovely sunny days with light winds in the depths of winter,
Click to expand...
Those are not the conditions I look forward to. Give me the strong, more consistent winds any day. Dont care if its wet or dry as I'm going to get wet anyway. Thick wetsuit until temp drops below 8, after that the drysuit comes out.
 
newbiedave said:
Thick wetsuit until temp drops below 8, after that the drysuit comes out.
Click to expand...

I was going to say "see you out there", but on balance, I'll probably be on the forum with my feet by the radiator!

I'm serious about going out on what I call good days though...I lived by Chichester Harbour in the 'eighties and there were January days when there'd be a timid warmth from the sun and a steady force two, and all of the open water, empty but for a single sail.

It wasn't me, sadly, I'd have been standing on the beach dreaming of July. But maybe this year...
 
This thread reminds me, I must bring the Graduate home soon and put her upside down. Wayfarer all ready to go for winter sailing- no wetsuit required :)
 
I've sewn such a deep reef into my mainsail, I hope I'll be able to treat the Osprey like a much less tippy design, even when sailing alone and without a trapeze.

A few quid on ebay and I'll have a roller-furling headsail too...after which my una-rigged scaredy-cat-boat will be ready for some very slow, safe cold-weather cruising...

...or I could just get that drysuit. :rolleyes:
 
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