Winterizing

[alsantini]

Hello everyone.  Hope all is well.  On Monday I will pull my Eclipse out of the water (Pistakee Lake - Northern Illinois).  I have a routine that I follow to get any of my boats ready for winter.  I do plan on taking Off The Wind South but will winterize anyway.  So, the topic here is what do you do to get ready for winter?  Here is what I do especially if the boat were not going to Florida.  I drop the mast in the slip and secure everything.  This allows me to pull the boat and quickly go to the car wash, across the street.  I have found if I hit the hull while it is still wet, just about all the crud comes off.  She has been in the Lake since April and the below water hull will no doubt be furry....  Then I remove everything from topsides.  Sails, shrouds, bimini, even the anchor.  I clean the sails in a garbage can with a pound of Oxi-clean and hot water.  I soak and agitate every 15 minutes until the water is cold, then I rinse and let the sails dry completely.  If the boat is staying in the northland, I empty it of everything.  Even the cushions come inside for the winter.  I remove all the control lines and halyards, plus mooring lines.  These all go into the washer then dryer.  I inspect all the lines and replace or repair as needed.  I put the halyards back on board and tie off the Genoa sheets to the clew.  My sails are folded and placed into a sailbag.  I dump and clean the porta-potti and the water tank plus blow out all water lines.  Clean and wax the whole boat, silicone the cleats, grease the hubs, air the tires, change oil in the 4 stroke and lower end grease.  I know this sounds like a lot but it makes Spring a time to put everything back into the boat and go sailing!  I try to make any repairs before storage.  Up until last year when I trailered the Eclipse to Florida, I used inside storage at our Fair Grounds.  6 months was $10.00/foot, counting the trailer.  I had my P-21 for 13 years and followed this routine.  When I sold her I got top dollar because she was in good shape - inside storage was an important part of that.
So, what do you do?      Al

[Bob23]

Is Oxyclean ok for the sails? All I do is raise the sails while she's in her slip at the marina, hose them off well, let dry and fold them away in their bags. It sounds like you are very thorough and I do most of the same. For the winter, I erect the wood and PVC frame and put her canvas cover on. This allows me standing headroom in the cockpit and plenty of room to work, assuming I'm not too lazy!
Bob23

[alsantini]

OK bob.  To be fair, I have used Oxy-Clean 3-5 times as my sails are usually not that dirty.  I do not have water in my slip or I would do the same throughout the year.  MY PO traveled with the sails on the boom from South Texas up to Kansas City filtering the air at 65 mph so when I bought Off The Wind the sais were kinda gray.  I called Doyle in Chicago and asked what the price was to clean or if they had any other suggestions.  They repeated what I had heard years ago - Oxy-Clean and hot water.  They also mentioned to spot finish really dirty spots with Oxy-Clean and a brush. So I guess the answer is yes, it seems to be OK, and honestly I don't think it had any negative effects on my P-21 sails.  I got 12 years on the original set and they were 3 years old (very lightly used) when I bought the P-21.  Sold the boat with a new set of Mac sails that were beautiful.
Neat that you have a frame and cover that allows you to work on the boat over the winter.  I know of a few other Precision sailors that have a similar arrangement.

[lkm]

Ive been also thinking about this question.
Only difference is that I normally have the boat out of the water and on the trailer, and trail a lot more.
How does that change the answer?

Some things I've been thinking about.
1) Clean.  Simple soap/water + scrub brush for topsides.  Next time I may splurge for the Awlcare, but hull cleaned up very nicely about a month ago with dilute dish soap and a sponge.  I may do the topside wax in spring.
2) Cover.  Currently I'm using a simple 20x30 tarp tied to the trailer at 2 points on the, then pursed at the bow/stern to the trailer tongue and below the rudder.
The normal trailering position of the mast and gallows give a nice amount of room inside to move around under this. Not the most pretty thing, but seems to work well and the total cost was about $60 I think. 
Maybe next year I'll have a canvas maker out.  This year I didn't cover until late, and it gets very dirty just sitting next to some pine trees.  Next year, I'm considering covering when ever its parked.  I hoping I can get this operation down to 10-15 min.
3) Motor.  I just recently had oil/plugs because of the repair throttle issue (noted previously - btw for the curious it turned out to be primarily a clogged/kinked fuel line).
4) Battery.  I just installed a solar trickle charger.
5) Trailer Maint.  I try when possible to rinse each launch/retrieve.  Are there operations better done in winter.  I understand bearings should be repacked.  Check tire PSI/wear (but the trailer is only 1 year old, so don't expect much) What else?  OK to do in spring?
6) Sails.  I wasn't planning on doing much for them.  Should I?
7) Teak/Brightwork.  Mine is in very bad shape.  I'm taking everything down this year with a heat gun, sanding, then going back with starbright teak sealer.  Planning on seal every spring/winter after that depending on how it looks and effect of covering.

[Bob23]

Hi Larry:
  You seem pretty thorough with your winterization plan. Do you rinse your sails? I rinse mine on the boat and when dry, take them down and after folding them properly, put them in their bags and store in a dry place for the winter.
Bob23

[capt_nemo]

Washed sails ON the boat with bucket and brush and Clorox Clean-Up (with Bleach) diluted in water. Full strength spray on heavy soiled areas - allow a few minutes to work and then scrub. Hoist when done and rinse thoroughly with copious amounts of fresh water. Does a great job.

Recommend covering during long periods of inactivity. Use Polytarp and jugs with small rocks or water and hooks tied at top for very quick single motion attachment and removal from grommets to hold cover down in place. With practice, a technique to apply and remove cover in minutes can be developed which will pay great dividends in keeping boat clean and protected from Sun's UV Rays.

Consider 3 to 4 coats of Sikkens Cetol Marine (regular, light, or teak) applied to prepped, well cleaned and Acetoned Teakwood. NO SANDING between coats, builds nicely and lasts quite a while (much longer if covered).

Consider performing trailer maintenance with boat launched and trailer EMPTY. Wire brush loose rust and use Cold Galvanize Spray Cans.

Just some food for thought.

capt_nemo

[Eagleye]

Al,
It sounds that you have everything under control and you may have already considered what I have to add.  On the Eclipse there is a water passage running from the rode locker to the the compartment under the v-berth and from there it travels under the cabin sole into the bilge.   This collects water that may have gotten in through the deck pipe or from inside the mast. I would make sure that the connecting lines are cleared, bottoms of the lockers are dry and the water sponged from the bilge.  Also if you have used the bilge pump it is likely to have water trapped in the hoses. 

Just a side note: Once the mast is down be sure to cover the open mastendr with plastic or the rain will go down the stub into the locker under the v-berth and you will have to dry out your bilge again. (Don't ask me how I know that.)

Good luck in Florida.....

-Allen

[waterwheels]

All great fellow,

How are you dealing with the water in the bilge pipe? Do you remove the check valve to empty line? Also on my Eclipse I noticed a dip in the sink drain that would hold some water. I use a shop vac (wet vac) to get the bilge emptied to allow to dry out.

I would rather just trailer to warmer climates where these lines would not freeze but not in the budget yet....

Don

[Eagleye]

Hi Don,
I have used the shop vac also on the sink drain and the bilge drain from the outside of the hull.  On my Eclipse I am able to raise the bilge pump hose up enough to get the check valve into a position where I can push the valve open with a finger to let the water escape.

-Allen

[waterwheels]

Thanks Allan,

I will give that a try, would be much easier than taking the check valve off. This is my first year winterizing so I don't want to miss anything. All great ideas.

Don