Haulouts are a necessary evil. They are the only time a boat owner can perform a thorough inspection of the hull, rudder and underwater hardware, as well as apply bottom paint and perform other below-the-­waterline maintenance.  

There are several ways to make the most of this process. Here are a few tips.

Keep the Water Out

Watertight integrity rises above all other priorities. The weakest links in this chain are hull fittings and seacocks. That’s why it’s important to use time on the hard to inspect each one.  

If they are metallic, then scrape off some paint. The metal color should look like copper. While the telltale green shade of verdigris is not harmful, any sign of a pinkish hue is cause for concern. Pink indicates de-zincification. It means the metal is brass, which contains zinc, rather than bronze, which does not. The former is definitely not suitable for use in seawater.  

Work all the seacocks, and replace any that are seized. Those that are stiff can often be freed with exercise and a little penetrating oil. Most modern ball-type seacocks use Teflon or other synthetic seals, which don’t need lubrication, however, those that have drain plugs can usually accept Zerk fittings, which allow the void around the ball to be filled with grease, making movement easier.

Stay On Course

Closely inspect the rudder for damage, and remember to look at the very bottom surface. Many rudders “leak” water while hauled. This might not be cause for concern. However, if the liquid is rust-colored, then water may have penetrated to the rudder’s internal metallic support structure. That structure might be stainless steel or a combination of stainless and mild steel (the latter is undesirable, but both can suffer). If corrosion is present, surgery might be necessary to avoid a parting of the ways between the rudder stock and blade—and the resultant loss of steering or the rudder altogether.  

If the rudder is skeg hung, then check the condition of the gudgeon, the stationary support for the rudder’s lower pivot point, called the pintle. It’s normal to have a small amount of lateral play here, but too much can indicate wear or damage. Fiberglass around the pintle hardware should be free of anything other than minor gelcoat surface cracks.

With spade rudders (those that are not supported at the bottom), grab the lowest portion and push-pull it to port and starboard. A small amount of play is normal where the rudder stock enters the rudder log, tube and bearing that provide support at the hull interface. Excessive movement can indicate wear and the potential need to replace the bearing. Both rudder types should otherwise move freely to their stops without binding.  

Keel and Stub

Have a close look at the keel, especially if it is externally ballasted. Trouble can lurk in the interface between the ballast and hull, which might be direct or might rely on a fiberglass protrusion called the stub. It’s not unusual to see some water leaking from this interface, but if it is rusty in color, it indicates corrosion to keel fasteners, which are typically made from a stainless alloy.  

How much corrosion has occurred is impossible to know without separating the keel from the hull, but there have been a few high-profile cases of keel loss, often with fatalities, so better safe than sorry.

Dropping an external ballast keel is no small undertaking, but for a skilled yard, it should be fairly routine. If the keel is externally ballasted and it is cast iron, the integrity of the coating is critical. Any breach will lead to rust, which will spread. Correction requires cleaning, grinding to bright metal, and then coating with an epoxy primer rather than simply applying antifoulant.

For all keels, check the bottom for grounding damage. If the keel is internally ballasted, then severe grounding damage can allow water to reach the ballast. This is problematic for lead ballast and especially concerning for iron ballast, which will rust and expand, damaging the fiberglass structure. Better to catch this problem early. —Steve D’Antonio 

Steve D’Antonio offers services for boat owners and buyers through Steve D’Antonio Marine Consulting.

The post After the Haulout: First Things First appeared first on Cruising World.

There’s an art to ending the season. A good boatyard with a capable crew smooths the transition from sea to land.

Every skipper who faces the fall haulout ritual can benefit from a glimpse at how other yards handle sailboats. Most yards utilize Travelifts and U-shaped lift piers, but the way that a crew maneuvers a sailboat into the lift slings, hauls, and blocks can add valuable insight. There are subtleties in the way that the lift operator snugs up slack in the slings and smoothly controls the powerful hydraulic winches. Attention to detail reveals competency. 

Equipment condition is important too. Beware of rusty lifting cables, frayed slings, and tires that show signs of sun rot and sidewall damage. 

And, as one old salt put it, “Even in the best of yards, you don’t want your boat to be the biggest boat that the yard has ever hauled.” 

There are ways to expedite the prehaul boat preparation. Remove the sails, dodger, and Bimini top, and offload provisions and gear for the winter. It’s usually a lot easier to do this dockside rather than after the haulout. Also make sure the holding tank has been pumped out, the ­knotmeter transducer is retracted, and the yard manager or lift operator has an underwater profile picture or drawing of your boat. 

Some yards allow owners to pilot their boats into the Travelift slip, while others don’t. In either case, boathandling skills are tested, and good and bad habits stand out. For example, most lift operators make good use of long boat hooks. They use them to tug on a rail or cleat. But some also reach for lifeline stanchions when a big pull is needed to coax the boat sideways. Even worse is when a lift operator uses an upper shroud to stop the boat’s forward motion. Skilled sailboat handlers can nudge a vessel into the Travelift slip without such rigging torment. 

If you’re engaged in a DIY approach to the lift slip, you must make sure that the boat is ready to be hoisted. Often a headstay or backstay needs to be disconnected at the deck. If so, cinch up a halyard and set running backstays to keep the mast stabilized. ­Double-check to make sure that the lift operator and sling crew know where your boat’s vulnerable folding or feathering prop resides. 

Strap locations are critical. Catching the sling on a prop blade is a costly mistake, and it’s the reason why most experienced lift operators appreciate that profile picture of the boat’s underbody. Also, they often use a long pole or boat hook as a probe to make sure there’s plenty of prop-to-sling separation. The two slings are connected with a line to prevent slippage, and are padded or sleeved where the webbing touches the topsides. 

Shallow Travelift piers and deep-draft vessels are a challenge. A skilled crew uses the upper portion of a rising tide to haul deeper-draft vessels, with a plan to finish during the last part of the flooding. This extra insurance often comes in handy. Note the high-water time on the day you go, and see how the yard crew handles scheduling. 

Good timing is just as essential during the ebbing side of the tidal cycle. This is one reason why many yards add a hydraulic trailer to the mix. Hauled boats can be placed in a trailer to be moved, pressure-­washed and delivered to the blocking location while the Travelift is free to haul the next boat. 

Less common are crane-hoist haulouts and traditional marine railways that follow the slope of the bottom during the transition from water to land. With crane hoists, it’s important that the cable is attached to a steel framework or spreader bars to keep the slings from overcompressing the sheer. Marine railways use a cradle fit to the shape of a specific hull. It’s secured to a railway carriage that’s run into the water, where the vessel powers, or is pushed, into the cradle. These methods are viable but slower.

The second task on the annual haulout list is bottom-cleaning effort. Over the years, this work has become more efficient and environmentally friendly. Residue from biological growth and bottom paint must be retained, preventing contaminants from washing back into the bay. Most antifoulant significantly reduces growth. High-pressure water blasting can help prep the surface for next season’s bottom paint.

Finally, the boat is moved to its ­designated space, in a growing number of cases by a boat trailer with a hydraulically raised and lowered frame and padded arms. Boatyards benefit from these trailers because hauled vessels can be placed ­closer together. DIY owners often prefer yards where space between boats is ­greater, leaving more room to tackle projects.

Blocking up sailboats, especially with masts stepped, is an art unto itself. Part of the challenge stems from the varied underbody shapes and draft differences among modern sailboats. In addition, ­many boatyard storage areas are not paved—sometimes not even gravel-­coated. These issues are exacerbated when winter storms besiege the blocked-up fleet. Many owners look for better yards in less-­populated areas where land is less ­expensive and storage is more available. 

The best yards don’t skimp on screw jack stands. They carefully block each sailboat’s keel and run chains between port and starboard opposing stands. Each jack stand is aligned so that the pad against the hull and the supporting column of the stand are as perpendicular as possible. 

When blocking is done on unpaved surfaces, especially in poor drainage areas, plywood pads are used under each tubular foot. In most cases, yard crews check stand tension regularly during the season, and specifically before major forecast weather.

Before signing a haul-store-launch contract, make sure you are aware of the date you must be ready to launch. Yards usually follow a first-out, last-in and ­last-in, first-out format, somewhat like sardine packing.

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I was waiting for my husband, Steve, to fly back to the Philippines, where I was overseeing a few boat projects. All that was left was to tidy up some details and slap on a few coats of antifouling. We were a couple of weeks away from relaunching Kate, our Newport 41, when something very unexpected happened. The world went into lockdown in an ­attempt to control a pandemic.

With international flights grounded, land transportation stopped and all ­marine traffic prohibited, I suddenly found myself stranded in a foreign ­country. Not only that, I was high and dry and all alone in a boatyard. No ­husband, no other cruisers, and only a skeleton staff charged with keeping an eye on things at the yard.

I will admit that the first few weeks were a little overwhelming. With so many unknowns, it was hard to plan, let alone think straight. As the weeks turned into months, I remembered all the lessons that sailing had taught me over the years—most ­important, that even the worst storms eventually ease, and conditions always improve. So I got on with the job of making life on the hard a little easier. Here are a few tips from our (very) extended haul out.

Safety First: Getting on and off a vessel up on jack stands or in a cradle is awkward at best, and sometimes downright dangerous. Make sure the ladder or scaffolding is properly assembled, in good condition and secured in place

Know Your Limits: I love challenging myself, but I also know that I can’t do everything. Whether it’s hiring a pro to do a job that is beyond your skills or making sure you take a rest day, it’s important to know and respect your personal limits. Remember, knowing when to stop is not the same as quitting.

Plan Ahead: Have the supplies to ­complete all the jobs on the list, enough food to keep the crew fed, and a contingency plan for when things don’t work out quite the way you expected. Plan a yard period like you would a long passage: ­meticulously but with a fair amount of wiggle room. Make sure to budget a little extra time and money, just in case.

Make Yourself Comfortable: Time in the boatyard is always hot, dirty and chaotic. Making sure you have a few modern conveniences means you’ll be just a little bit more comfortable. Everyone’s comfort threshold is different, but even the basics of a usable sink on board and access to a clean bathroom ashore will make the days a little easier. If there are major interior projects being done, consider arranging for accommodations ashore so you don’t have to live in and around the mess.

Keep Calm and Sail On: When it comes to boatyards, problems and delays are inevitable. Some situations are definitely more challenging than others—believe me, I know. However, getting overly angry or upset when things go wrong won’t make the troubles go away; it will just leave you feeling miserable. Take a deep breath, stay calm, and find the rational solution to the problem.

Daily Detox: It is important to take a few minutes every day to shift your focus and regroup, whether it be savoring a quiet coffee before digging in to the job list, going for a jog after a hard day’s work or turning off social media for an hour in the evening. Taking care of your mental health is especially important during trying times.

The post Tips for Making Boatyard Life Better appeared first on Cruising World.

127 days of living on the hard are finally in the rear-view mirror. Totem baked in the Sonora desert sun for more than four months of refit projects. Our boat is capable, but time and miles meant meaningful work was due.

Life on the hard is, well, hard. We shift from the natural state of life afloat, managing our utilities in connection with the world around us, to being propped on toothpicks with new limitations around everyday basics like use of the toilets and water on board. We trade interludes of daily maintenance for long days of hard labor. Local environment added a challenging layer, from daytime temperatures mostly in triple digits when we arrived in August to the routine overnight dips into the 40s when we sailed away on December 18.

We headed to Puerto Peñasco to undertake this Pacific passage prep for sensible reasons. The town’s location at the far north of the Sea of Cortez makes Cabrales boatyard the only really hurricane-safe working yard in the region. It’s just an hour from the US border, and four hours from Phoenix; helpful for travel back to the Seattle area, and invaluable for supplying materials. We brought a LOT of duty-free goods over the relatively chilled Lukeville/Sonoyta border crossing, from rigging wire and fittings to countless stateside deliveries from the likes of McMaster-Carr, West Marine, and Amazon via helpful friends (the family formerly known as the Del Vientos) in Arizona. It’s so much easier than hiring a customs facilitator for the paperwork shuffle on imported goods while the parcels languish in Guadalajara before transferring by courier to…somewhere else, hopefully where you are.

Affordable local goods and services are another lure. Hardware stores in Puerto Peñasco often had what we needed, whether it was a network cable for our radar or a sheet of plywood to layup bimini panels.Andrew had new quadrant bits machined for Utopia from a block of aluminum for about US$150. Cabrales’ machine shop cut and polished shiny new spreader tangs for Totem. Not just boat related work was undertaken for our crew: wisdom teeth were pulled, Invisalign orthodontic journey embarked upon, eye exams had and glasses procured.

These are all the logical reasons to make Cabrales a great stop for the work we needed on Totem (or to put a boat to bed for hurricane season). But it’s the community created at the yard that elevated our time there from functional to exceptional, generating stories to be retold and locking it into a mental list of “we’ll go back someday” spots.

Third-generation yard manager Salvador Cabrales set the tone early on by instituting Taco Tuesdays (yes, even in Mexico!) with yard denizens – whether it was a handful or a few dozen – collected into various vehicles to head to his pick of exceptionally priced, exceptionally tasty meals. Over BYO brews we’d meet the latest arrivals while downing mouthwatering carne asada, or local oysters (eaten in view of the beds they’re harvested from), or maize-strewn posole, or fragrantly steaming churros.

These evenings were fun, not just for camaraderie with our fellow hardstanders but for Salvador’s genuine interest in helping us literally taste the experiences in his hometown, ensuring we got beyond walking distance of the yard to sample the range of good, simple fare.Fridays became potluck night after the yard rolled in a generously proportioned barbeque. Sundays evolved into movie night, when we’d bring Totem’s projector to the lounge to turn one of the blank expanses of wall into a big screen. A regular nighttime card game fell into the weekly routine. Built-in plans for fun were precious play to keep all the work in perspective!

One resident, an author, gave a presentation for kids of all ages about how to write and publish books. Morning walks with mi amigas were as beneficial mentally as they were physically, with vistas of the sea and sand between my toes.The lounge wall, meanwhile, may soon need taping off to retain the movie screen – for the best reason. Back in August, Salvador painted a challenge on the wall of the lounge. Mairen and Siobhan responded in kind. Four months later, the transformation is well underway!Mutual support comes naturally among denizens: available hands are helping hands. Mast stepping starts to look like a nautical barn raising with many sharing the effort, a theme that repeats with almost every launch on the yard’s 150-ton Travelift.

When holidays came around, they were presumptively shared: the kids organized a Halloween party, we sought out nearby Dia de Muertos festivities together, shared American Thanksgiving among nationalities, and this week there are plans for Christmas brunch and dinner gatherings. Some are coordinated through an active yard Facebook group. Many just happen organically.

It wasn’t just the cruisers, but bedrock members of yard staff who left indelible impressions: like the nighttime security guard we long knew only as maestro for his dedication to teaching us Spanish (his real name, Federico). When Jamie, Siobhan and I road tripped overnight to Phoenix, we learned he delivered enough delicious carnitas (pulled pork) and fixings to Mairen – lest she starve overnight? – to feed our whole family.

This fall Salvador introduced new residents to Cabrales Boatyard: litter mate kittens Candy and Pete (or, Dulce and Pedro, if you wish). Kitten shenanigans made for great yard entertainment, with many boats looking out for them – taking them on board in chilly nights, sequestering for TLC and safety. Community cared for with community benefit.

Writing this on our fourth day at sea and entering the height of holiday season (solstice while underway, Hanukkah commenced, Christmas just a few days off) may be to blame for these reflections on takeaways from 127 days in the yard. At a time when seasonal marketing pushes the message that you need to act or consume in particular ways to Do Life Right, our yard community serves as a reminder that how we connect and look out for each other that matters so much more. In our Penasco stay, this was borne out repeatedly in the community created.

Vas a volver? Will you be back? Daytime gate guard, Carlos, wanted to know. Tal vez tres años, I replied, hugging him goodbye, not really knowing how many years and challenged to express it – just knowing how much we hope to return.

The post Sailing Totem: Ode to a Shipyard Community appeared first on Cruising World.

Hot days pulling sticks on the hardstand, digital postcards from a dusty town in the Sonora desert, an animal farm in the shipyard… anyone following our social media updates knows Totem is hauled out, and there’s a lot going on. But wait, didn’t you just spend a bunch of time hauled out?

Last year’s extended stay at Cabrales Boatyard served a primary purpose: to dry out our wet (surprise!) hull, and then apply a nice Coppercoat bottom. We completed a bunch of smaller projects as well, like removing four through-hulls, but with plans to head back to the South Pacific in the coming spring there’s a lot more we need to do than we could tackle during the last haulout. Why? Partly because we didn’t have the time (we barely made it south to Puerto Vallarta before Niall landed for winter break!). Partly because the full scope of what we’d undertake wasn’t clear yet (can we get another year out of that ______?). Partly because we didn’t have the funds – well, that’s a showstopper!

It turns out that when you circumnavigate, things wear out. There’s also a dose of maintenance creep. Our crew has especially enjoyed out-of-the-way corners of the world; these more remote locations often have fewer resources to properly fix something that’s broken. You fix it well enough, and you keep going.

Totem‘s boatyard list right now is blend of re-doing some of those band-aid projects, replacing what’s worn out, and taking advantage of a good location to make improvements. Here’s a rundown of what’s ahead: curious about any? I’ll get to specifics on a few of these in subsequent posts, and we’re interested to know what readers care about.

Critical work

New rigging: New standing rigging after 60,715 miles. Much of the wire looks OK, even under magnification, but that’s a lot of cycle loading. It also gives us a chance to correct a few past rigger oopsies, including a tang bolt replaced in 2008 with a cut in it (hidden in hardware) and sloppy lower spreaders.

New mainsail and main cover: The recently retired main added in Australia in 2012, has done about 42,000 miles and two ocean crossings. Not bad for mediocre cloth (what we could afford at the time) and a lot of tropical sailing. UV was its undoing, as is the case with most sails on full-time cruising boats in the tropics.

New liferaft: Our current raft is a great product, but it’s aging (circa 2008), it needs a re-certification that’s half of replacement cost, and it’s a make that’s difficult to re-certify overseas. Bulkhead repair: Jamie’s suspected that water leaking under the shower pan was affecting the starboard aft bulkhead that divided our stateroom from the aft head. Surgical inspection (that’s wry humor, there was nothing surgical about breaking into this bulkhead!) revealed the lower 18 inches was spongy.

Mast maintenance: THE MAST IS OUT. This is a big deal! Component part maintenance, from spreaders to step, is meaningful. In addition, Jamie’s helping project manage other re-rigs for boats here, because he doesn’t have enough work to do on Totem…

Reconditioning or replacing all eight of Totem‘s hatches: Our hatches are original, 1982 hatches. Deeply scratched and worn, the lenses are probably original too. The hardware is failing. These keep the water out, so are non-negotiable on addressing.

Chainplate inspection: We pulled and inspected several during last year’s haulout and will finish the rest now. All but the stem fitting were replaced in 2008, and it’s likely time to do that one.

Bimini additions: We love the custom frame that friends at TurboXS built for Totem in 2016 (no, that’s not a marine supplier; yes, they are awesome humans); the frame begs a cover, and we’ve played with options over the years. How to best to balance needs for shade (big cover!) and visibility (no cover? windows? rollup?). Jamie’s come up with a new, mucho better shade design that he’ll build out.

New watermaker: We’ve had plenty of headaches with ours over the last few years, and can’t wait to replace it with an easier-to-maintain, high-output watermaker from CruiseRO. New inverter to power said watermaker: It will largely be powered by a portable generator, but we’d like an inverter big enough to handle it in case the generator fails.

New head: Referring here to both the cabin, and to the toilet! The ‘before’ scene is kinda terrifying: the ‘after’ will be glorious. Let’s call this a critical item for crew morale!

Gray-water system: We’ve experimented with a catchment system, and using water from the sink drains to flush the toilets. The trial is declared a success, and will be put into use with the new head: an install I’m looking forward to sharing. Washing machine: At long last, the washing-machine, I mean, 5-gallon-bucket will be retired! The high-capacity watermaker makes this possible. Another crew morale item…it may not be that critical, but it’s not on the wishlist.

Maybe / wishlist

New batteries: This may be necessary, but we’re not certain yet. We’d hoped to get a couple more years out of this relatively new (2017) bank, but it’s behaving as if it’s late in life. If they truly are, it would be much easier to do here than to do “somewhere” in the South Pacific.

Painting topsides: Totem‘s hull is well worn! Cosmetic work always falls last on our priorities with limited funds; we’d rather be safe than look pretty. We say (and it’s true) that every ding has a story – a friendly visitor in a wooden canoe, a remote customs dock, a wild night. But fiberglass is showing through the gelcoat in places (and we’ve got a painted hull on top of that gelcoat, too). We’d really like to do this, and hope we can fit it in; cosmetic work always lands last on our list of priorities.

Cabin rehab: This is two part: there’s some fun stuff, like getting the girls’ cabins freshened up; maybe paint, maybe wallpaper (a nice biaxial and epoxy pattern?), still trying to decide. We’d love to fix the headliner, too. It was replaced in Thailand some years back; a complicated story.

Water tank: Our secondary water tank is a bladder tank. This makes ineffective use of the space it resides in (square peg, round hole); replacing that with a built-in tank like we installed in Thailand (same yard, fantastic job on this count!), would increase capacity.

There are, of course, a multitude of other projects – “too many to list!” – you can see why we cut short summer sailing in the Sea of Cortez to start cracking into these!

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