Sailing may be off the menu for most of us during the winter months, but boats are demanding playthings and there is plenty to keep you busy in the yard. I find myself jotting down tasks to accomplish from launch day onwards, so by the time it gets round to the cold months, I have a long list that I can’t put off any longer. And broadly speaking, these break down into two categories: routine maintenance and upgrade work.
Routine maintenance
By the new year, the boat should have been squared away for the winter. You’ll have washed down the hull with a high-pressure sprayer to remove determined sealife and washed down the deck, topsides and deck gear with fresh water to remove salt crystals.
If you’re the careful type, you’ll have rigged a cover for the boat to keep out the elements and reduce the need for maintenance. It doesn’t have to be a fancy tailor-made thing – a few lengths of garden-centre tarpaulin will do the job if you lash them down well. Just makes sure that there is chafe protection where the knots and the eyelets of the cover touch the hull, or you’ll be adding cosmetic work for the spring.
