Why do people lift boats for the winter?

[Elemental]

This question has bugged me for a while - Why do people lift boats for the winter?.

Now, I can see that a leaky, wooden (or otherwise fragile) boat may do better out of the water for a period of time, but I cannot for the life of me understand why so many people lift their modern fibreglass, dry boats out of the (relatively) warm water and stand them outside where they are highly likely to be exposed to the current -9 freezing temps. Surely, my engine does better down in the bottom of the boat and in contact with the seawater.

My boat has overwintered for the last three winters in the water, coming out only when I consider it warm enough to sensibly work on her and then relaunching asap.

I drive over to the boat every now and again and crank up the diesel for a couple of hours (straining against the mooring warps). I can see no reason why the boat is more likely to sink in her berth during the winter than the summer.

Am I taking a big gamble doing this, or does lifting for winter increase the risks (as I am minded to believe) associated with freezing damage?

 

[SolentBoat]

I'm curious about this as well.

I feel my boat is much safer and more secure in the water than perched up out of the water. Also, if the boat's in the water, I can go sailing!

I do the same as you; two or three weeks out (or less) when the weather brightens up. Check everything over, antifoul if needed and change the anode and back in again.

 

[MoodySabre]

I think some of this is driven by the notion that plastic boats like to dry out - some hope of that in an English winter! I have left mine in for the past two winters and come out for a/f etc in the spring. The boat isn't likely to freeze in the water or blow over.

I have been lifted this winter so the mast can be unstepped for some re-rigging. I am less happy about the cold weather and winds (when they come) however. I don't understand the ritual either.

 

[Haven't-a-Clue]

I leave mine in for the winter, more to do with lift-out costs than anything else. This is her second winter in and as you have done, I occaisionally run the engine under load, by either going out for a good motor 'round or if not possible, run for 3/4 hour or so in gear against the mooring lines. All seems well and it's nice to burble out on a sunny (if cold!) day when there's hardly anyone else about. I have beached her at the Jolly Sailor for a clean, but I suspect I will have to lift out properly next year for fresh antifoul.

 

[armchairsailor]

We lifted ours because she was on a swinging mooring and therefore more prone to damage over the winter than something moored in a marina. Somebody overwintered on ours one year after we'd warned them the swivel was past its best: he ended up on the sea wall. However, from what I hear marinas come with their own risks - tangled rigging, mini tsunamis (Whitehaven) etc.

 

[fireball]

Reasons to come out over winter:

1) It allows ample time to do the underhull work - like changing anodes, checking Propshaft - pBraket or saildrive and doing the maint on them.

2) If you're on a summer swinger you need to vacate it for the winter anyway

3) A marina berth still comes with chaff - fenders & mooring lines - lifted out and chocked off comes with none.

4) Out of the water you can drain the engine & freshwater completely - you don't have to worry about freezing - or visiting the boat and straining against the warps.

Oh - we're still in - this winter ...

 

[VicS]

I prefer my boat to be safely ashore and covered up to protect it from the winter weather when there is not a chance in hell that I would use it.

I'd not sleep easily if was out on the mooring all winter... the insurance would probably not be valid anyway.

The mooring is only charged for Mar-Oct and for under £150 its nice to have it hauled out ( and re-launched), mast taken down ( and re-stepped) and all stored where I can access it any time I choose, regardless of weather and tides, for all winter inspection and maintenance tasks including scrubbing off and antifouling.

 

[flaming]

Of late I've become a fan of the exact oposite, only putting the boat in the water when you actually want to sail it.

Why have a boat sat in the water picking up fouling and corroding its anodes all season (let alone all winter) when it could be sat on the hard?

Ok, that wouldn't work for those who live very close to their boat and can use it at the drop of a hat, but many owners live a long way from their boat and so know well in advance if they will be using the boat. Many dry sailing packages offer a set number of launches per year, which is probably ideal for the half a dozen weekends and a 2 week summer holiday that the average cruising yachtie seems to get.

These packages are often cheaper than a berth in the same marina, especially when you take into account the cost of a spring haul out and antifoul.

Plus - had a little "incident"? Wondering if you've picked up something round the prop? No more worrying about it all week, the yard will ring monday morning and tell you!

 

[monkfish24]

I think what has been said about "plastic" boats not needing to dry out is a bit wrong.

Ours is 28 years old and the rudder had picked up a small amount of osmosis after it had been sat in the marina for 3-4 years by the previous owner throughout the year. A lift out for the worst winter storms early this year and another lift out this winter has helped dry out the rudder considerably and the osmosis has almost disappeared.

We take ours out regularly because we don't like the thought of leaving it on a swinging mooring through the winter. It also gives us time to do any work at a leisurly pace and to let us enjoy working on her by not making it an intensive rush. And hey, this is what it's all about, enjoyment in boat ownership.

We've just purchased a boat cradle designed for aboat much larger and so it is completley overkill. no chance of any damage from movement during the winter.

Flaming's dry sailing method is a good idea, as he said it's quite cost effective and on something such as a a racing yacht, it is vitaly important that you can keep a regular eye on the cleanliness of your bottom. If only I had the money to a) run a racing yacht and b) be anywhere near a marina to dry sail her

 

[Twister_Ken]

I think it stems largely from days of yore. Open mooring areas, wooden boats and then GRP ones that were osmosis prone. Plus moorings that themselves needed lifting and servicing.

Nowadays with epoxypolystyrenecarbonkevlar hulls, sheltered marinas and shore power, there's much less reason to haul out. A couple of weeks ashore should easily be enough to fettle the underwater bits, antifoul and give the topsides a good wash and brush up.

 

[johnalison]

Dry sailing is economically worthwhile where there are high marina charges but less attractive I suspect in cheaper areas. I planned to have a winter out about every third year and have stuck to this, largely on the grounds that although the bottom is epoxied, any purchaser would be happier if the hull had been dried occasionally, and maybe it will actually make a difference.

We enjoy having the boat in the water in winter and use it as our country cottage. The use of a dehumidifier on board seems more important when afloat, though in most years it has not been necessary to drain the fresh water system (I drained mine before the current freeze). Boat hulls are designed to be in the water structurally and though my hull is very strong I feel happier when it is in water. I leave a solar panel to charge the batteries and with the mains only powering the dehumidifier so I don't think I am adding significantly to the boat's corrosion.

 

[BrianH]

I would like to be able to afford to winter ashore but instead stay afloat all year because the minimum marina contract is a year and I would have to pay extra for a hard standing.

The reason is that I have a suspicion that the adage about all GRP boats eventually develop osmosis, it's just a matter of time, has some truth in it and a few months to dry out can only be beneficial. Any material will inevitably absorb water over a long period of time and polyester resin is no exception.

Perhaps epoxy-based resins are less prone to such pessimistic thinking but my boat is from 1981 when such expensive options were just not there.

 

[Ubergeekian]

Jumblie is out this winter because, having had her for a year, I have a list of things I want to do to her over the winter and they will by and large be easier to do ashore. All being well I will expect to keep her in the water continuously thereafter, though she can't stay on her swinging mooring in the winter. Luckily Port Bannatyne marina charges the same - £20 per foot - for winters ashore or afloat.

The Jouster (no reasonable offer refused) has been in the water for six years now. Or is it seven?

 

[Poignard]

I find it is easier to carry out repairs and improvements to my old boat when she is steady in a cradle with a power supply handy and my usual car load of tools, lengths of timber pieces of ply etc., parked nearby. It is also nearer the cafe and the chandlery.

I think the convenience of being laid up ashore is worth what it costs; others may not. It's a free country, 'yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice'.

 

[dt4134]

These packages are often cheaper than a berth in the same marina, especially when you take into account the cost of a spring haul out and antifoul.

I've raced on dry sailed boats and it does have its advantages, especially in being to eschew anti-foul and get a much finer finish to the hull & foils.

I'm surprised though to hear it is cheaper I always got the impression that it was much more expensive.

A single-point lift arrangement, which is often a pre-requisite for dry sailing, doesn't suit cruisers that well either.

 

[Spyro]

Ours is 28 years old and the rudder had picked up a small amount of osmosis after it had been sat in the marina for 3-4 years by the previous owner throughout the year. A lift out for the worst winter storms early this year and another lift out this winter has helped dry out the rudder considerably and the osmosis has almost disappeared.

Can osmosis do that?

 

[Babylon]

I lift every 2nd winter

Over the last four years, every other winter I've had her lifted out for a couple of months or so ashore.

Time ashore has given me the opportunity to deal with more major renewal items (ie this year engine out for a rebuild, replace water-tanks,also heads plumbing; two years ago a new stern-tube, stern-gland, prop-shaft, rope-cutter, plus mast unstepped to renew all mast wiring).

Coming out every 2nd winter ALSO gives the hull and rudder (epoxied 10yrs ago) and the topsides just above the waterline a decent chance to dry out and avoid osmosis - which can't be a bad thing at all - and gives me plenty of time to antifoul two coats and deal with skin-fittings, etc.

Those winters I remain in the water (fore-and-aft mooring, so little worry about chafe or damage), I deal with other stuff, like canvas and sails cleaning and repairs, washing running-rigging, interior/deck cosmetic items, any electrical renewal, etc. In the early Spring, I then book a tide or two on the Club's scrubbing grid, blast off the muck and antifoul one coat. (I try to do the same again early every summer.)

This routine has kept lift-out and mast-unstepping costs to a minimum and ensured that over a 24 month cycle pressing items have had an opportunity to be dealt with.

Works for me.

 

[bobbylockes]

I've raced on dry sailed boats and it does have its advantages, especially in being to eschew anti-foul and get a much finer finish to the hull & foils.

I'm surprised though to hear it is cheaper I always got the impression that it was much more expensive.

A single-point lift arrangement, which is often a pre-requisite for dry sailing, doesn't suit cruisers that well either.

Keeping the boat out of the water means the hull carries less water. That is handy for racing as the boat is lighter and I guess general condition of the hull. It certainly rings true for wooden racing dinghies, which hold lots of water, and also epoxied wooden boats, as I discovered this year after expoxing my wooden racing dinghy.


If you have a nice boat, buy some land for it.

 

[Boreades]

So much is anecdotal and depending on individual preference and location.

FWIW, if your boat was built after 1990, a lot of the osmosis stories are now urban-myth, perpetuated by some surveyors who (amazingly) don't know enough about how modern boats are built. (I do wonder what qualifications you need to be a marine surveyor - but that's another story)

My boat (built 1988) is in Mayflower Plymouth, in the water all year apart from lift-outs for an anode change and anti-fouling. We do not have an osmosis problem.

I'm glad I'm not round the corner at QAB who had big problems a year or two or three ago because (to maximise the boats per m2) they parked all the lifted-out boats broadside to the prevailing wind. Which was fine while it was just a wind, but when it became a gale+ became a problem as boats were lifted/pushed off their stands and crashed into each other.

 

[V1701]

I live on mine so obviously stay in, have dive gear I use to scrub the undersides a few times a year and will change the anode that way if it needs it in Spring. She was antifouled late 2009 so I may have a haul out to antifoul again later next year or Spring 2012...