Haul out for winter or leave in?

[McZube]

We're nearing the end of our first season as boat owners and I'm wondering if we should haul out for winter. We are located in the central Chesapeake Bay. We are planning to haul out in the spring anyway, so haul and launch expenses are the same whether we do it now or wait.

If we haul out now, we won't have to babysit the boat through the winter, and winterization will be simpler, but we'll have to pay for storage on land.

Is the decision that simple or is there more to it?

Thanks.

 

[tommays]

2011 was a piece of cake 2009 not so much

 

[Bad Obsession]

I am in the middle Potomac and I usually don't haul out for the winter.

Last year I probably didn't even need to winterize the boat. Probably could have sailed most of the winter!

I have to haul in April to do the bottom. I will wait until then!

 

[catsailor]

I think much depends on whether you believe the sailing season has ended, or whether the cooler temperatures and steady winds of spring and fall make for fine sailing. In my opinion, this September has been much nicer than June, July, and August. A nice day in February can be magical. In fact, I was sleeping on the boat during one of those blizzards, the heater running, enjoying the silence (sort of an accident really--I was returning from a business trip and the marina was on the way back). I sail all year and love it that way.

You say you will haul in the spring anyway. Can't say. I haul every 2 years, but I do it in the summer in a single week. The notion that many projects can be worked on over the winter is just plain false in many (not all) cases.
* You can't paint or epoxy when it is cold (below 50F at night can be a problem). You can do it faster in the summer.
* You can do most jobs at the slip just fine. Unless it is through hulls, the bottom, or painting the sides, you can do it afloat.
* Often little projects done during the summer are more pleasant than one big push in the spring. A little something to do, after work. A lot less climbing up and down a ladder, but perhaps a longer walk to the car. Personal taste.

Some say the boat ages less if hauled. Perhaps, but...
* I've had a stand go through my boat. A boat is better supported in the water, PARTICULARLY when there is heavy snow. However, you do need to be certain all deck drains are clear.
* Frequent use protects many items. If you sail all year, batteries stay up, lubricants circulate, and electronics get dried.
* A boat on the hard reaches 15 inside, at least a few nights. A boat in the water only rarely goes below freezing, and then only a bit. The water keeps it warm. Winterization on land is actually more difficult, IMHO.

I like to consider my cost per use. If I sail 3 times per month for 4 months, she costs perhaps $500/trip. If I sail 12 months and go on some cruises, that cost may be only $100. Or more simply, the off season trips are free.

A longer post is here. I've been in the water 25 years in a row, ever since the stand incident (the marina made it right, but I still lost sailing time). I've never lost more than 3 weeks to frozen water, but that varies with the marina (some get little tide and much fresh water).
http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/2009/12/winter-sailing.html

 

[whatfiero]

I haul out don't have to watch after it as much ; catsailor a stand thru the hull is still less damage than a sinking at the dock

 

[Cmp1110]

Stayed in the water last winter for the first time hauled in July to do bottom and was amazed the bottom was surprisingly clean all in all no difference to the boat and in the spring on those first nice days I am sailing not cleaning and buffing also it is nice to visit the water in the winter and hang out some

 

[catsailor]

I haul out don't have to watch after it as much ; catsailor a stand thru the hull is still less damage than a sinking at the dock

True, but both are rare on a well maintained boat. Sinking are more common among boats that are not sailed, so if you are disinclined towards off season sailing, don't understand winterizing in the water, and are nervous, certainly you should haul out. $700 for hauling and storage will buy piece of mind; whether that translates into real savings is a different matter. If you are not willing to check on the boat monthly in the off-season, hauling is better. Any boat that is not watched can get up to mischief, summer or winter.

To see 2-4 boats blown down in a large storage yard after winter storm is not unusual, and once I saw a row of 12 blown down in a winter storm on the Chesapeake. A whole lot of busted masts and stove sides. I gather 1/3 were totaled and the other 2/3 lost a season.

All of these risks--dry or wet--are manageable and insured. IF you stay in all winter, check your insurance; it is probable when you got the policy you were asked. If winter haul out is required, it will be stated. The difference in rate is very small and no doubt reflects that you will be sailing more!

 

[catsailor]

Stayed in the water last winter for the first time hauled in July to do bottom and was amazed the bottom was surprisingly clean all in all no difference to the boat and in the spring on those first nice days I am sailing not cleaning and buffing also it is nice to visit the water in the winter and hang out some

Marine growth slows WAY down in the winter, and soft growth seems to just fall away. I still get 2 years from a 2-year paint.

 

[Cwoody]

At around $1500 to haul (for winter) /clean/block and launch, we went through this same process last fall and decided not to haul and things worked out fine. Like Bad Obsession said, it was a very mild winter. More than half the boats at our marina did the same thing.
Couple of things to consider.

How is your bottom paint. Two coats of bottom paint will easily give you a couple of years, but we also get the bottom cleaned once a month. If you leave her in maybe consider having the last of the summer growth removed by a diver.

Another thing to consider is if you are at a marina that will check on your boat from time to time. That made the decision a little easier for us although we still tried to get down once a month to check on things. In case of emergency...Exchanging information with your dockmates is always a good thing to do.

Our last consideration was our insurance. Our Chesapeake Bay policy, by choice, requires the boat be "Layed-Up" from 11/15 to 4/15. After the first year and upon further review we found that the term can be applied to boats in or out of the water. We just winterize as we would have done out of the water. One additional task was just to use a vacuum to blow out the below waterline thru hulls before closing them up. Hull damage from ice flows is not covered.

BTW.... Been two years....We will be pulling this winter.

Good luck to you.

 

[CalebD]

I have a friend in the Annapolis area who kept his Endeavor 32' in the water for about 5 years straight, hauling out about every other year for bottom painting. This past spring they found the dreaded blisters on the hull. A bunch of them.

I'm not saying that keeping your boat in the water will cause it to blister but if your boat spends the winter on the hard it will not develop blisters. I'd guess that the best compromise is to haul out every couple of years to let the hull 'dry out'.

 

[Pat]

I have a friend in the Annapolis area who kept his Endeavor 32' in the water for about 5 years straight, hauling out about every other year for bottom painting. This past spring they found the dreaded blisters on the hull. A bunch of them.

I'm not saying that keeping your boat in the water will cause it to blister but if your boat spends the winter on the hard it will not develop blisters. I'd guess that the best compromise is to haul out every couple of years to let the hull 'dry out'.

We (our club) has had many boats which are pulled each year develop blisters...most have been well-cared for boats some that race and they just seem to develop blisters...Our waters here are quite warm in the summer and perhaps that is the reason but for whatever reason, there doesn't seem to be much of a difference whether left in the water or not...I do believe that if you do leave them in, you should absolutely remove them in the spring as early as possible and clean and paint the bottom, performing required maintainence before proceeding with the sailing season....

Our 272 LE is currently on a cradle and we took great care to place the pads at the points where the awthartship stringers are located and still there is some compression of the fiberglass at the bunk locations. This tells me that we didn't measure correctly when figuring the distance between the
awthwartship stringers. This condition has corrected itself in the past when the boat is returned to the water, but I still believe that
God and his water make a better home for a boat than a trailer. Especially, if the winter winds blow hard like they do here on the prairie. There is a lot of wind pressure in a 40-50 mph. wind gust. Just my opinion. Patrick

 

[thinwater]

...I do believe that if you do leave them in, you should absolutely remove them in the spring as early as possible and clean and paint the bottom, performing required maintainence before proceeding with the sailing season.... Patrick quote]


My pollicy requires a 2-week lay-up, specified to be a few weeks before Christmas. The language is the the boat "must be layed-up and not available for imidieate use. It may layed-up in the water." I'm not very clear on what that means, since with outboards there is no antifreeze in the passages and the boat is always ready to go, but I certainly don't tempt fate by going out those weeks.

I think much or their reasoning is to suggest an annual inspection. Though I do not haul each year, I do dive on the hull and do all of the maintanance I would do if she was hauled, using a similar checklist. Through hulls are lubed, the ground plate cleaned, water lines are filled with glycol, rigging inspected (can't climb the stick on the hard, anyway), oil changed, batteries watered and more. Every other season, when she is hauled, I change oil in the drive leg and the like.

 

[Sumner]

... If you are not willing to check on the boat monthly in the off-season, hauling is better. Any boat that is not watched can get up to mischief, summer or winter...

Good advice and I think that is key to making the decision.

I wouldn't want a boat in the water that I couldn't keep an eye on, but the owner of our boat did that all the time, but it was in a slip with friends of his nearby.

The boat next to it was owned by a Canadian who hadn't been down for a year or two and a hole was almost wore through at a piling. No one had ever done anything. I tried to tie the boat better, but then you kind of hate that as you are dealing with someone else's boat?

Sum

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[mark_swart]

You can frostbite sail all winter there if you pick your days. As long as your dock has a bubbler in the event of a cold spell, you should be fine.

 

[RECESS]

We keep ours on the Florida Panhandle so ice is not an issue. We bought some ski bibs for $20 from an ebay store several years ago and we sail all year. I love sailing in the winter. I bet a sailing in a light snowfall is nice.

 

[catsailor]

I bet a sailing in a light snowfall is nice.

Imagine a sloping deck covered in ice; deck shoes don't help. Imagine vinyl windows snapping. Imagine the roller furler freezing.

Yeah, it is kind of nice, but not so much below freezing. We pick our days.

 

[RECESS]

We cut off the sailing when it gets below 30. It does not happen often here, but it is not enjoyable when it does. We have been out and the temp drops fast. It makes for a long sail or motor back. The Christmas parade of lights is often chilly.

 

[shemandr]

No offense Recess but Florida panhandle isn't really winter. I like off season sailing too. Last winter I probably sailed weekly on LI - but it was a very mild winter. I haul my boat. But luckily, a buddy doesn't. He has an outboard, no water system to winterize and so it's not a big deal to show up on a mild winter day, motor 500 yards to the bay, hoist a sail and go for a few hours. It sure makes the winter go by more easily. One day I would like to take that sail while it's snowing. I think I could learn a lot from watching the snow flow over the sail. And, did I mention the stark beauty of the low sun and clear air which makes a sail in familiar waters look totally different.

 

[RECESS]

30 degrees in north Florida is the same as 30 degrees in New York the last time I checked.

 

[Jan11]

30 degrees in north Florida is the same as 30 degrees in New York the last time I checked.

The difference is the water temperature.