Gone Sailing - Hands Off Clocks and on Cocks

Hands Off Clocks and on Cocks

Clocks went back a month ago, so it’s that time of year again when you part-timers have your pride and joy dragged out, her bottom scrubbed, and painted up to look good. No I’m not talking about taking your partner to the office Christmas party, I’m talking about haul out and lay up. My preference is to sail in the winter and haul out around Cowes week, thus I have some room to manoeuvre on the Solent. However for the traditionalists amongst you may I throw in a couple of reminders:-

The Head, No laughing matter

It’s official things haven’t changed since I was a boy. Not the obvious things like facial hair and the price of a pint, but the subtle things that I overlook and those before me over looked and so on until the last possible moment when it’s all to late. This winter I will finally get around to changing the through hull valves on my head. Not for any other reason that the original inlet valve has turned into a large lump of iron oxide. This has not been an instantaneous thing, it has happened over many seasons and has been quietly and totally ignored. Not a good idea. I recall when any of my friends has bought a boat the first thing I suggest, before launching, is to check all the through hulls. In my time I have seen dozens of rusty, inaccessible and seized gate valves just waiting with quiet and apparent malign intent. No laughing matter for the toilet hose to peal off and sink the boat. I can’t think of many more embarrassing admissions than to say the toilet scuppered me (well not sailing ones any way). But seriously while your boat is out, then is the time to check everything that protrudes through the hull below the waterline. Last season a colleague tore the raw water in-take engine hose and as he tried in haste to shut the through hull valve it turned to dust, luckily he was only a few yards from the slip so no harm became him. Had it happened 200 miles out I may have been writing his obit.

Bulgarian Cabernet and Other sources of Di-ethylene Glycol

It’s getting cold out there so remember to check there are no fluids in your engine you don’t want there. Flushing the galleries with fresh water is an option and definitely making sure that that you have antifreeze in the fresh side is very important. What’s best, is to flush out your old blue water mix (disposing of it properly of course, we don’t want any tabby massacres* at the boat yard) and replace it new. Try and drain from your lowest hose so if you do have a system full of gunk it’ll come out as well. It may be a sailing boat but you should still look after your engine

Slick oil removal

This football is broken! Oil is a matter for the damned, if you are lucky enough to have a sump plug and able to drain from below then not only do I hate you, but so do thousands of other boat owners. I have seen many entertaining, interesting and completely useless oil pumps from titchy 12 volt boxes that burn out after half a gallon, to wonderful looking spun brass and rubber things that disintegrate before building enough pressure to lift the oil. There is only one decent product that I have come across and it 's the Pela 6000 .
You can get them from Gelpane who will send them to your door (thus avoiding all the embarrassment of buying all that other cool stuff you don’t need but invariably purchase on visits to the chandler.). The best time to pump oil is when it’s warm (like the warning McDonalds' tea is compulsory and obvious, I warn you: 'the contents of your engine may be hot') a 5 minute run should suffice. If you are feeling bravethen sling a cupful of derv through the oil filler. This will act as an engine flush (diesel is the primary constituent of commercial engine flush) and help un-sludge your oil ways. remember to engage your prop and put a bit of load on but don’t rev the guts out of it with this mix in though.

It’s life Captain, but not as we know it.

Invariably it gets cold in the winter. Now that your recovering from the sheer insight of that observation I’d like to point out what it does to your boat. It freezes the water you left in the tank/head etc. Simple rule is to get all the water you can from all of the bits of the boat that would object to it expanding in. I have heard (only heard mind you) of stories involving through hull valves being broken by ice. However, even hearing about it is enough to persuade me to drain everything and leave through hulls open before our annual cold snap. The second problem with the winter is that sometimes it’s warm (yeah I know,move to the Med and avoid these boring weather fluctuations), the constant change in temperature (from day to night etc.) results in condensation down below. Your boat is (hopefully) a sealed box with limited ventilation, inevitably the constant formation of water will, by some foul means, end up propagating mould or mildew. Not an Alien egg or a burglar alarm, but the end of mould! If you have power and can run a dehumidifier, or at worst a low wattage greenhouse heater. I thoroughly recommend a dehumidifier as my main cabin has gone from 98% humidity to a healthy and bearable 50%. Next season you will be amazed to discover that that sweet smell of dead things has gone away.

De-humidifiers are available at your local B&Q

The Indian Rope Trick

At the end of the season my running rigging could stand up on it’s own. So much so that I often find it pointing straight up in the air on the quay side, with a queue of small boys at preparing to climb up it and vanish! Putting the rope in the washing machine with a bit of fabric softener and the come out like new(ish) and much more pleasant to handle. We should point out that most marinas object to you putting your dirty ropes in their nice clean washing machines - but not as much as the person who uses it after you!

Depth charging, Over charging and Battery charging

Look like a sander, but it works I do not profess to know everything, (except when trying to get free beer from the pub quiz team) indeed, I do not even profess to wanting to know everything, and it is with this in mind that I look to the condition of my boat batteries. They are simple things one is deep cycle the size of a small car and originally “borrowed” from a bus and the other is a large car battery, needed to get the Perkins turning. Neither were earth shatteringly expensive, nor (even when new) guaranteed for more than 3 years. So I am not going to to spend 400 quid buying them an all singing all dancing marine battery charger. No I am going to get a 25 quid float charger which superficially seems to do exactly the same. This thing will charge and then automatically switch to maintenance “tick over” charge. I am sure there a lot of really clever people out there who can tell me why I need to spend £400 on something else. If you do know why then please share otherwise it’s off to Argos for an auto charger.

I hope I have covered some of the more, or perhaps, less obvious bits of laying up. If you have any tips or observations or confessions feel free to email us.

Next time I will be talking about some of the most frequently avoided maintenance tasks and we will be reviewing some anti fouls and removal methods. You know where you want to be when it’s sub zero – between the keels or bedding down the stanchions.

David Leith

Our managing editor is recovering quietly from his recent demonstration of 101 ways to remove silicone sealant from human skin and can often be found sailing in a silly hat at 2 degrees below.

*Every year, by some estimates, about 10,000 dogs and cats are victims of accidental poisoning by automobile antifreeze (according to the Columbia Animal Hospital ). Exposure often results from spills or leaks from coolant systems. Animals are attracted to the substance because of its sweet taste. A cat does not have to drink a lot of antifreeze to be poisoned.

Related Items:

Tag it:

Translate the page into your own language

Click on the flag above to select

Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.