winter take out

[dilly]

hi i have had my moody 34 for about 4years now and take her out for winter for about 4m to dry out.i was told to do this by the servayor i renew the antyfoul ever year. do you think its about right! or could i get away with 2years. my boat is in west wales. thanks dilly

 

[oldfatgit]

I keep mine afloat save for a few days to anitfoul her and service the skin fittings and, the longest job, change the cutlass bearing.

I suspect your surveyor is talking about the progression of osmotic blistering and would assert that 4 months out will enable the hull to dry out and so reduce its development. My understanding is that osmosis does not occur in the absence of water, and so lifting her out will arrest its progression and, indeed, as the hull dries out rewind the "osmotic clock" to an earlier date. But if your hull was well made and Moody used good materials, she is unlikely to be that badly susceptible to the phenomenon anyway. My previous boat suffered pretty badly because she had been made when Westerly had sourced their resin from East Germany during the good old days of the cold war. I am not familiar with where Moody sourced their materials and it may not be necessary to lift her out in order to dry her out.

As for antifouling, well I generally do that every 2 years but then, being a bit strange, I apply 2 coats of Cruiser Uno rather than the one that the product states is required.

 

[dilly]

thanks

I apply 2 coats of Cruiser Uno every year is that to much also!

 

[Otter]

It was explained to me by a couple of surveyors that time ashore simply meant that osmosis wasn't progressing - it does nothing to reduce the moisture levels except in the paint layers and the first few microns of the gelcoat - once water molecules have entered the gelcoat by osmosis and started to react with the resins those molecules won't leave just by putting the boat on the hard. Moisture readings drop significantly in the first few days and then don't change.

 

[pvb]

I've never subscribed to the view that having a boat ashore in an English winter will "help it dry out". My boat stays in all year round; it only comes out for a week every other summer for antifouling, anodes and polishing. I do it in the summer when marinas have a cheap summer lift-out offer.

 

[dilly]

winter

thanks guys still up in the air over it i am coming out next week but will give it a miss next year. the cost are getting high too lift in -out £360 cradle hire £250 paint & bits £150 every time she comes out .thanks for the help dilly

 

[jwilson]

It was explained to me by a couple of surveyors that time ashore simply meant that osmosis wasn't progressing - it does nothing to reduce the moisture levels except in the paint layers and the first few microns of the gelcoat - once water molecules have entered the gelcoat by osmosis and started to react with the resins those molecules won't leave just by putting the boat on the hard. Moisture readings drop significantly in the first few days and then don't change.

I think the truth may be somewhere between what you say and the "boats dry out over an English winter" belief. Certainly, I think that ashore the countdown to the day blisters first appear more or less stops, maybe even edges back slightly.

What I do find however, that whenever we meet an older boat that has previously been stored ashore each winter, and then for some reason (illness, cost etc) has been left afloat for two or three years continuously, there is a fairly high chance of finding some blisters. I see quite a few boats (as a broker) and when this occurs it is always a nasty surprise for the owner, who is certain there were none before this. Although in probably 99.9% of cases structurally insignificant, it does affect the sale value quite a lot.

The other thing that sometimes seems to prompt the first appearance of blisters in an older boat is a thorough removal of lots of thick crusty old antifouling. A year later is a common time to find a few little blisters. It could be that the paint does confer some protection. Not that I am an advocate of rough thick antifouling - I prefer boats to sail well.

All this is just empirical observations. Sooner or later most GRP boats will develop blisters. I once bought a boat with quite a lot of blisters, local grind out and fill job, and sold it years later with new blisters in different places, after another 12 years in the water almost continously. Heavily built long-keeler, and I never had the slightest worry about structural strength. My present comparatively lightly built modern fin-keeler does not have any blisters, and I lift it out each winter to try and keep it that way as long as possible.

The type and quality of the resins used when the boat is built, and the quality of the laminating work, do have an influence, but even with top-class builders some boats can and do eventually get blisters. A few, for no obvious reasons, don't, which is why someone saying that theirs has been afloat constantly for 20 years and has no blisters does not mean you can do the same. It is ultimately a bit of a gamble.