We are in Montreal, Quebec so obviously, the boats come out for the winter. Fugu is sitting on her cradle under some tarps and a wood frame I quickly erected late last fall. There are many lessons learned about how to build a frame and how to prepare a boat for winter storage. It does not need to be expensive but I do need to arrange for non-wife-based assistance. Perhaps an assistance exchange with other club members.
This season, I left the stanchions and lifelines in and the mast up. I had planned to drop the mast for the winter but had some motor trouble at the end of the season and couldn't get the boat over to the crane when I had helpers. The problem turned out to be a dead battery, which in turn was due to something I am ashamed to admit. Lessons learned here are:
- more a-frames along the ridge-poles.
- remove stanchions and lifelines so that tarps can hang over the hull better.
- with mast up, 3 tarps are required:
- over cockpit from backstay to mast
- forward of mast to babystay
- between babystay and forestay
- need to prevent water from pooling on tarps and forming big heavy blocks of ice. This means a high-pitch, taut tarp which is best accomplished by raising the ridge pole and running the tarps over the edge of the deck.
The winter is grudgingly retreating and I am anxious to start the spring commissioning process:
- removing the covers and frame
- cleaning the hull
- cleaning the deck
- removing EVERYTHING possible from the interior
- cleaning the interior with nasty chemicals
- removing the falling-down headliner and grinding off residual foam/glue stuck to the ceiling.
- painting the newly exposed fiberglass in the interior
- cleaning up and assessing all interior movable items before bringing them back to the boat
And... the fun task that I am learning every boater looks forward to in the spring
- installing new toys. But this deserves its own post
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