Fitting Out for the new Season by Chris Robinson, Dartmouth Chandlery
Spring is at last on the horizon with a new season to look forward to. If you're going to make the most of the season, a little time and effort spent now will reap its rewards once the good weather hits and should mean you minimise your lost days on the water and have a safe and successful season.
Fitting out
Hopefully you made a good start by following our advice when you laid up your boat and packed it away properly. If you did you will find things much easier now but if you skimped on the laying up, your jobs list will simply be a bit longer. Boat maintenance, whether it’s a little dinghy or an offshore cruising yacht, is a continuous process requiring a constant watch for anything that may need attention. However, the beginning of the season is the time for a more comprehensive inspection and service of your boat’s systems and structure.
Topsides and decks
Wooden boats are at risk of damage caused by failure of the paint, varnish or epoxy coatings and the ravages of freshwater and frost. Salt water is a mild preservative, so most problems are found where rainwater is allowed to settle. Any damaged paintwork or varnish needs attention. A polish and wax will give a GRP boat a new lease of life and is especially important for deep colours which tend to fade relatively quickly. Check fibreglass mouldings for scratches, chips, stress cracks and other gel coat damage.
Down under
Whilst the main job here is cleaning the bottom and antifouling, there are other important servicing tasks that must be carried out to prevent the risk of expensive damage at a later date. Among these are the anodes that protect the propeller, shaft and P-bracket from galvanic action. Make sure you check the cutlass bearing that supports the propeller shaft either at the P-bracket, or where it exits the hull, for wear. Ideally there should be little more than 1mm of movement of the shaft here.
Yachts with sail-drive units also have an anode (usually just ahead of the propeller) that needs regular inspection and replacement. Failure to do so can cause the alloy outer casing to succumb to corrosion. In addition, at the very least sail-drive units should have the oil inspected for evidence of water ingress while the boat is ashore, although some manufacturers specify renewing the oil annually. If any water is present in the oil (it will appear as a milky substance) the oil seals around the shaft that exits the drive underwater will need to be replaced.
Rudder bearings should also be checked with the boat ashore – there should be minimal movement if you try moving the bottom of the rudder blade from side to side. Any play in the steering, whether as a result of worn bearings or other problems, should also be rectified as quickly as possible. On a boat with wheel steering, the entire mechanism should be checked for wear or other damage. It is also prudent to check and grease the engine controls at the same time
The keel should be inspected for any obvious grounding damage – and for any evidence of movement between the keel and hull. Any indication of problems here should then be investigated by a surveyor and repaired in accordance with his or her recommendations.
Through-hull fittings are all too often neglected. Each one should operate smoothly – if not it needs to be dismantled, freed up and greased. It’s also important to check for evidence of the de-zincification that would seriously compromise the strength of the fitting. An easy check is to scrape back a small area of antifouling on each one and sand away the very top layer of oxidised metal with a thumb-sized piece of emery paper. If the metalwork is in good condition you will see a bright yellow colour, however, a pinkish hue indicates damage due to de-zincification. If the fittings are in good order, prime the exposed area with an appropriate primer before applying antifouling.
Fitting Out
Engine
While the stern gear or sail-drive must be attended to with the boat out of the water, engine servicing can take place either ashore or afloat. Diligent owners will have already done this in the autumn, to give the engine the benefit of new oil over the off-season, as well as winterising the unit to prevent frost damage over the winter.
As a minimum an annual service is likely to include replacing fuel filters, the raw water pump impeller, drive belts, plus the engine oil and filter. However, it’s important to always consult the documentation for the unit in your boat to ascertain whether any additional checks or procedures are required. Read Top 10 diesel engine tips for trouble-free power.
Deck gear
It’s all too easy to neglect these areas until something breaks or fails to work. Start by assessing the condition of all the lines, looking in particular for signs of chafe, check the condition of splices and look for cracks in the casting of snap shackles next to the hinge. Read more about checking your deck fittings here. It’s also important to service winches and the windlass and it’s worth checking for wear on the jaws of clutches.
Teak decks on fibreglass or metal boats have a limited lifespan, any signs of loose caulking, split planks or leaky deck fittings should be attended to immediately to prevent water getting under the deck. Much of the damage to such decks is the result of scrubbing with a stiff brush, which can wear up to 1mm per year from the timber. A soft brush, used gently across the grain when washing decks will avoid this wear. If your decks are fibreglass and leaks have developed it will most likely be a badly fitted or worn fitting, you could try creeping crack cure but if this fails reseat the unit using a poly-sulphide sealant.
Mast, spars, standing rigging and sails
While a visual check won’t tell you everything about the rig, a thorough inspection can still reveal broken strands of wire, cracks in the mast wall around shroud terminals and damage near the spreader roots.
In addition to a comprehensive check at deck level, it’s worth going aloft at least once a year to check that all is well. Pay close attention to the area around fittings, swages, spreader roots, and rigging terminals. Spreader ends should be checked to ensure they are smooth and won’t damage genoas or spinnakers.
Examine sails for damage to stitching, as well as chafe or tears in the fabric. Pay particular attention to the areas around the head, tack and clew, as well as the leech, batten pockets and spreader patches.
Safety equipment
Almost every item of marine safety equipment has a limited service life or needs periodic maintenance. This includes distress flares, EPRIBs and PLBs, jackstays, lifebuoy lights, lifejackets and more. In addition to giving this gear a full annual service, as per the manufacturer’s recommendations, the start of the season is a good time for a comprehensive audit of the equipment carried, including documenting further tasks that will need to be carried out during the season, including periodic lifejacket checks. Don’t forget the lifeline lashings at the pushpit – ideally these should be replaced annually, and the security of the knots checked much more frequently than that.
Interior
Ideally, the boat will have either been well ventilated over the winter, or have had the benefit of a dehumidifier to keep the interior dry. However, if mould is starting to form on surfaces or soft furnishings it’s important to deal with it as soon as possible and to dry the interior of the boat out before warmer spring weather provides ideal conditions for spores to multiply. It’s also worth making a close inspection to check for any leaks from windows, hatches or deck fittings – you can be sure they these become more pronounced when the boat is at sea.
Flexible gas pipes have a five-year lifespan, but if they show any signs of perishing, or if braided outer cores are starting to fray, they should be replaced immediately by a qualified marine gas fitter.
Electrics
Assuming the batteries have been kept charged during the winter, check that all the equipment, from navigation lights, instruments and autopilots to interior lighting, freshwater pumps and refrigeration works as it should. Many of these items have a lead-time for replacement, so the sooner you identify any deficiencies, the sooner you’re likely to have the boat fully operational.
First published By The Dart March 2017 issue
