Does anyone know of a link that will list the things to remember to do when decommissioning the boat at the end of the season before or after you have pulled here out of the water?
Winter De-commissioning
- Thread starter jaydog5000
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jaydog5000
Once you get back from the link, think about making your own list as well. Each boat has it’s own requirements plus, there’s planning next seasons launch. Some things I do: Take pictures. I stand on the cockpit seats and take pictures of the running rigging. They really come in handy in the spring when you’re trying to remember how you had everything strung. The final pumpout: Bring several friends, relatives, big dogs and heavy objects. I get everybody on the starboard side so the tank drains almost completely. Add plumbing anti-freeze and make sure it gets all the way into every pump and pipe. Once she’s in the cradle, I even dump a gallon into the bilge and run some of it into the bilge pump. I pull the mast off as well. Windage when the boat is in the cradle is really hard on your chainplates and metal stays do contract in the cold. It’s a bit of pain, but you get way fewer leaks around the chainplates and avoid cracking and other damage on the mast. I have a 4-stroke outboard. I pull it off and take it home where it lives on a stand in the basement this also makes it handy for the spring tune up. Any remaining fuel goes in my truck, it’s better to start the next season with fresh gas anyhow. Batteries come home as well. I even keep them on charge/discharge cycle. Simply setting up my solar panel and running a few lights in my workshop and a 12 volt fan in the laundry room that the First Mate turns on when she runs the dryer, helps spread the waste heat around the basement. I also tag all connections for wiring and motor controls for the next season as well. I tag all lines that come off and store them at home with the sails Lastly, COVER THE POOR THING!! Snow builds up in the cockpit, compacts and turns into ice. The ice still moves and puts weight/pressure on the cockpit, causing cracks-or worse. As well, if you have any little leaks above decks, they don’t get expanding ice in them making them worse. Use dark colored tarps, the snow will melt off them keeping a great deal of extra weight off the boat. The point here is, as you decommission, plan for the next launch. Things go a lot smoother in the spring. Make your own checklists and take notes! Later, eh! Ferg
Once you get back from the link, think about making your own list as well. Each boat has it’s own requirements plus, there’s planning next seasons launch. Some things I do: Take pictures. I stand on the cockpit seats and take pictures of the running rigging. They really come in handy in the spring when you’re trying to remember how you had everything strung. The final pumpout: Bring several friends, relatives, big dogs and heavy objects. I get everybody on the starboard side so the tank drains almost completely. Add plumbing anti-freeze and make sure it gets all the way into every pump and pipe. Once she’s in the cradle, I even dump a gallon into the bilge and run some of it into the bilge pump. I pull the mast off as well. Windage when the boat is in the cradle is really hard on your chainplates and metal stays do contract in the cold. It’s a bit of pain, but you get way fewer leaks around the chainplates and avoid cracking and other damage on the mast. I have a 4-stroke outboard. I pull it off and take it home where it lives on a stand in the basement this also makes it handy for the spring tune up. Any remaining fuel goes in my truck, it’s better to start the next season with fresh gas anyhow. Batteries come home as well. I even keep them on charge/discharge cycle. Simply setting up my solar panel and running a few lights in my workshop and a 12 volt fan in the laundry room that the First Mate turns on when she runs the dryer, helps spread the waste heat around the basement. I also tag all connections for wiring and motor controls for the next season as well. I tag all lines that come off and store them at home with the sails Lastly, COVER THE POOR THING!! Snow builds up in the cockpit, compacts and turns into ice. The ice still moves and puts weight/pressure on the cockpit, causing cracks-or worse. As well, if you have any little leaks above decks, they don’t get expanding ice in them making them worse. Use dark colored tarps, the snow will melt off them keeping a great deal of extra weight off the boat. The point here is, as you decommission, plan for the next launch. Things go a lot smoother in the spring. Make your own checklists and take notes! Later, eh! Ferg
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