What to do in the winter?

[BAtoo]

We usually keep our boat in for the winter & come out for a long weekend in the spring/early summer - tho ours is grp not wood. We take very little off the boat and generally dont have any problems. We shut the bot up tight & run a dehumidifier in the main cabin; a small fan in each cabin to keep the air moving & reduce "dead spots" which might promote mould; if its going to be cold a tube heater is left on. Wipe surfaces over with mould remover to "inhibit" further growth. Sails come off after New Year as we have rarely sailed it after then.
I think the boat is possibly even safer in the water than ashore in a blow and we rig extra mooring lines for the winter - some of the hard standing places at Lev are pretty exposed. Ashore you cant always get electricity @ Lev tho' they are gradually putting more in. We dont have osmosis - & you certainly wont!!
Keep it in & sail it - you know you want to!!!

 

[EASLOOP]

I have a wooden boat and if finance would permit I would leave her afloat in a protected marina for the winter months. As it is I have to come ashore. The problem with wooden boats is that they dry out all too quickly. The seams open up enough to crack the paint, the framing gets stretched and shrunk continuously and when you go back in the spring you have to give them 24 hours to take up. If she were in the water all the time those stresses would be virtually eliminated. When I eventually move back to Plymouth I will be leaving her afloat in a sheltered mooring all year. All I will need to do is put her on a drying grid for two days to scrub and re-antifoul.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Blueboatman]

Definitely treat it as an experiment/experience and try one winters sailing.An electric blowheater will take care of the crew at weekends,an oil filled electric radiator will take care of those weeks when you sail back all damp and salty and have to leave the boat in such a damp state.
And then you can honestly report back in the spring-or could do an article on the benefits/drawbacks for Classic Boat? Boaty photos can look fantastic in winter sunshine...
As a kid I remember sailing through to December every year,then lay up afloat until March,ongoing refit through the Spring whilst sailing too.As a wooden boat owner later on myself it seemed perfectly sensible to me too.

 

[Mirelle]

Hmm. Boat is teak, so does not dry out when left ashore. I used to keep her in all the time, but have come to think that three or four months out of the water is a good plan - the wood does not mind being wet, but the metalwork may not benefit from six months of stray currents in a marina, and its much easier to paint through the bilges, etc.

I laid up in December, last year, November the year before, but was wondering about sailing in January to March.

Sounds as if I would not get much sailing done, and what I did get would be at a high price in terms of wear and tear on sails and rig from the weather, plus everything getting sodden down below - much maintenance later!