Yacht Winter Refit – do it yourself: Anne’s Refit tips – If I can do it, so can you!

I am just finishing the winter refit work on a Jeanneau 40 . She is from 2002 so it’s important to check things carefully each winter so that there are no unpleasant hiccups in the summer sailing period. Time spent in the winter really pays dividends.

Some of it starts when you take the boat out of the water in November. If you make a bit of effort then, it can help later on

Jeanneaau 40, one of our training yachts being taken out out the water

Step one– Take everything off the boat that can be moved.  It is easier to do before the boat is lifted out.

• Take  the  cushions if you have a dry place to store them
• Clear out the galley of spices/jam etc
• Take off all oilskins/bedding
• Take off the sails and wash them yourself on the deck with a hose and soft deck brush, rehoist to dry  or send to a sail laundry, then send to a sailmaker for service or repair
• Take off canvas work, biminis, sprayhoods, dodgers and clean it /repair as necessary
• Take off lifejackets, open them up, remove gas bottles, soak them in fresh water overnight, hang them  up to dry. When dry, inflate them by mouth and leave them. They should stay full for 24 hours. Check gas bottles by weighing them, check lights, check clips check for wear.  Or   Send to Ocean Safety for official service instead. Do not fold them up again till the spring.
• Soak your oilskins in clean fresh water to remove salt and grime. Air dry
• Take off all lines/sheets/warps/. If you can face it take off the reefing lines too by attaching a small mousing line to the end and pulling it through the boom. Tie it off at both ends. Then you can take the reefing lines home too.  Do the same for the halyards in turn. But BE CAREFUL, keep the replacement lines tight or they will jump off the sheaves at the top of the mast and jam and then you have a problem. Do NOT take all of the halyards off at once. Do half and replace them, then do the other half. [Otherwise if you have a problem you have no way to get up the mast!]  To attach the line to the halyard use a rolling hitch and riggers electrical tape. Or sew it. But do not make the join too fat or it will not bend round sheaves or get through openings in the mast.  Take all the lines home and soak them for 24 hours in luke warm water to get salt and grit out. DO NOT USE DETERGENT. Dry them in air and store till spring. They will all last much longer

Anne checking the oilskins and storing them

Posted by: firstclass