ࡱ > " bjbjWW = = 0 $ U F ( " ( = . dC " S 0 0 ( ( : Time to Put the Boat AwayBy Alan Kirkpatrick, Flip, 1195 Its that time of year again to put away the boat in preparation for the next season. And it really is FOR the next season. What we do now to our boats when we put them away is what we have to deal with in the spring. Every year I am literally amazed at the ways that people put their boats awayanywhere from not lifting a finger (rig up, etc.) to totally zipped up and bagged. The latter would be me, but I confess that I am a nut. Every year I shrink wrap the boat, and take everything off and put it in the basement. I am a big fan of shrink wrapping, especially on J/22s, since the angle of the sheer of the hull allows the shrink wrap to create a literal airtight seal on the boat. I take one of those large (around $20 at Home Depot) 64 oz. Damp Rid Desiccant containers and place it in the bilge. With no vents in the shrink wrap, the boat interior is literally dry as a bone all winter. No water, no mold, no dirt so its pristine. I take the wrap off in the spring, and the boat literally smells fresh. One year I did put the shrink-wrap-supplier-suggested-vents in, and the boat was a moldy petri dish! Literally down below the walls were black with mold spots. My working theory is that moist air was forced in by the vent, and then the moisture built up, couldnt escape, and overwhelmed the desiccant. This is more or less what happens to boats with just a minimal cover, i.e., something thats only over the cockpit. Lets face itthe 22 doesnt have the most waterproof companionway arrangement. Moist air and water gets trapped below and never really gets out. I have never seen those little solar vent thingys work very well, either so its likely you will get water in the bilge unless you tape the companionway top closed (which I have done). Make sure your windows dont leak though. Try pouring a little of the pink anti-freeze ($5 for the Pink RV Anti-freeze, 1 gallon will last you a few years) in the bilge to keep any water from freezing. One year (early in my 22 career, before shrink wrap), I didnt do this. Checking on the boat in February, I found a perfect block of ice in the bilge, up to the floor boards. The turn of the bilge looks like there is no negative relief (its hard to tell) so the ice popped free, but I am not so sure it will every time so you still dont want that to happen and take the risk it doesnt. (Note: check on the boat every couple of months. It has averted a lot of potential problems in my experience.) I have worked on a lot of 22s, and not having been covered, they seemingly are perpetually molding, and wellweathering and decaying. UV and weather on the topside, and mold down below are hard on equipment. It also degrades the life of sails and lines which is why no matter how you put the boat away, please take all the gear off. At the very least, it allows you to inspect everything and make sure you are ready for the spring. The best time to buy sails is in the winter too when the sailmakers need some cash flow and can be flexible with the price (a little!). Plus any lines that need replacing can be looked at. If lines breakdown (albeit slowly) in the UV light of the sun, doesnt it just make sense to cover halyards up for the 56 months that your not using them? I have noticed a lot of halyards that are faded on the parts that arent inside the mast due just to the winter exposure. I havent done a study or anything, but it just seems to make sense that if you take in your halyards during the winter that they should last a lot longer. Use a heavy nylon string ($5 at Home Depot), tie it to the ends of the halyards, and pull it through the mast. It takes 15 minutes, and its well worth it, even if youre storing your mast down. The other thing that sort of stands out is how many boats I see that arent at the very least angled back, whether they have a cover on or not. The cockpit doesnt drain all that well when its level (or down by the head). Since 22s usually sit on their trailer, I like to set boats up angled as far back as I can to get the water to run out of the cockpit and not collect. Also, if you dont have a very secure cover over the boat, its going to leak and collect water. Its been my experience too that anything that isnt shrink wrapped eventually blows off or at least loosens up, especially those blue tarps. I know the custom canvas jobs are cool (but expensive) and the argument is that the blue tarps last more than one season (barely). Shrink wrap may be tossed in the spring, but the blue tarps always blow off, flap, abrade and chafe, In the end, what are they really covering? I guess there is UV protection but that is about all I can see they do. Snow and rain get under, but again, I am a nut so I think about these things! The ideal situation of course is the indoor storage, and if you have the means, I strongly suggest you do so. But whether we can winter the ultimate way or the minimalist approach, we can all be proactive, to one degree or another in our winter storage. Hopefully I have given you some suggestions that can make your winter storage a little kinder for your boat so in the spring, its that much more ready for racing and gear will last a little bit longer! ! # < @ G n o q r . / 1 2 j m [ \ ` a i u ɹتتتتتتتتتتتتتتتتتتتتتتتتتت ham hv CJ OJ QJ aJ ham h%Z 6CJ OJ QJ aJ ham h%Z CJ OJ QJ aJ ham ham CJ OJ QJ aJ 0j ham ham CJ OJ QJ UaJ mH nH uC G gd%Z / 0 q s ) * * + { | X Z ` g 7 8 J K y } " ( X Z w 0 1 6 7 x { ham h| CJ OJ QJ aJ ham hx CJ OJ QJ aJ ham hv CJ OJ QJ aJ ham ham CJ OJ QJ aJ L H K P Q Z [ ham ham CJ OJ QJ aJ ham h| CJ OJ QJ aJ ham h%Z CJ OJ QJ aJ (2 1h:p| / =!"#$% F S2#o JFIF LEAD Technologies Inc. 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