Haul Out Day
The other night is was gusting to over 40 knots. Luckily Gerty was well tied, but there was a little chafe on the lines. A winter project will be making chafe guards for the dock lines.
Temperatures are forecasted to be well below freezing on Friday night so we are getting Gerty out of the water just in time. I am starting to get good at removing the backstays and am glad to have the runners for peace of mind during the lift, an added benefit of the runners that we did not consider when they were ordered.
This is our first time winterizing such a large boat so everything is a learning experience. So far we have learnt that:
- Engine manufacturers tighten oil filters too tight and then paint over them making them extremely difficult to remove. If there is a “next time” I will ask the factory to change the oil filter and properly oil the gasket before leaving the factory. I now dread having to change the fine fuel filter some day.
- It took seven gallons of antifreeze for me to feel confident that the domestic water systems were entirely flushed.
- It took five gallons of antifreeze to flush the main engine.
- It is very difficult to flake and neatly fold the foresails on the deck. It is dramatically easier to take them ashore and fold them on a lawn.
- The anti-fouling worked surprising well. Admittedly it was a very short season for us, but there was zero growth on the hull!
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Hi,
We always lower the foresails on deck to fold them. Never a problem when you are lying upwind to 15 knots. In 40 knots it is indeed very difficult.
You are writing about runners that you ordered. What do you mean by them since a cannot recognise the translation 🙂
Removing the filters with a warm engine and a special key should not be a problem I think.
I see you have the dinghy on the foredeck. Since we are in the process of buying a dinghy AB 10ft I have a question. Is the sail locker still available with the dinghy on deck?
Ruud,
We could fold the sail on the deck. Particularly the staysail. However, we found it significantly easier and neater on a flat lawn. Perhaps we just need more practice on deck.
We have running backstays (runners). They come with the staysail package and counter the force from the inner forestay. They also can be used to help support the mast when the primary backstays are removed during boat lifts. This would not be required if the lift / crane was larger, but so far we have had to remove the backstays every time the boat has been lifted.
We have the Highfield cl290 dinghy. When on the foredeck we can open the sail locker. With the dinghy fully inflated we can open the hatch to about 75 degrees which is enough to easily get in and out. With some air removed we can open the hatch 90 degrees. It is a tight fit and our dinghy is 9′-6″. If the AB is 6″ longer I suspect you will have to take some air out to get into the locker. If you don’t have Granny Bars you may be able to slide the dingy further aft and pick up some more room. But, we love our Granny Bars!