Hi Ho,
Planning on storing Solimar (BCC #114) in Tahiti on the hard for 4-6 months. Any suggestions to minimize maintence issues created by the tropical environment?
Thank you,
Kendal Banks
From now (July) thru November, Tahiti should be relatively cool. But at 17 degrees S, the uv insolation can be tough when the air is clear and dry.
I would:
- Engine and deep bilge
a. change the oil and oil filter and before hauling out run the engine once;
b. flush the engine with freshwater (if necessary, that can be done with the boat on the hard by removing the fitting over the engine water intake and then holding a yard hose - not too much pressure, but a good flow of water) and starting the engine (don’t pour hose water into the engine until the engine has started);
c. make sure engine is clean and dry; spray with your choice of Boeshield, Silicone spray, etc especially making sure to frighten away any rust that might want to start on those hard to get at/under the engine type metal pipes ;
d. make sure deep bilge is clean and dry.
e. If there’s someone you trust, organise a 27 mm (from memory) socket on a socket wrench, lift the compression levers, and get that someone to turn the engine over once a month to push lube oil around.
- Weather Deck and gear
a. cover or remove sails (I always remove Zygote’s roller-furled jib top, to avoid uv and to reduce wind load);
b. cover brightwork (either with canvas or apply a coat of a tinted outdoor varnish)
c. cover vinyl: if you’ve a soft dodger, (i) wash and polish the clears and cover
them; (ii) wash and treat with one of the Aerospace 303 type solutions;
d. wash and polish GRP smooth deck areas and topsides;
e. cover all instruments, compass etc.
Zygote always wears an acrylic canvas front deck cover and aft deck cover. You should be able to find some cheap poly tarp material if you don’t have tailored covers. Lash them (and all halyards etc) very well.
- Cabin
a. empty water tank. If you’ve one of silver water additives, add to the water;
b. empty holding tank and flush;
c. before hauling out, flush marine toilet with warm sudsy water;
d. make sure insect/rodent grilles are in place in dorade vents; orient dorade vents with one up and one down the likely prevailing wind;
e. on Zygote, I have a small block of timber just big enough to lift the skylight hatch a crack (but still allow the hatch to be fully dogged);
f. if you’ve a solar powered extractor fan (Zygote has a Nicro Day & Night 2000) mount it over the anchor warp spurling pipe so it gets sun and pulls air out of the sail bin;
- Hull ( & boom end)
a. might be worth stuffing rags or crumpled newspaper into engine exhaust, bilge water outlet, and even end of boom, to dissuade bird/insect nesting behavior.
And, to pass on a golden tip from Douglas Walling, add a few more jobs to this list and keep it as a formal ‘temporary decommissioning job list’ for next time.
Bil
Bil said: "1. Engine and deep bilge
a. change the oil and oil filter and before hauling out run the engine once;
b. flush the engine with freshwater (if necessary, that can be done with the boat on the hard by removing the fitting over the engine water intake and then holding a yard hose - not too much pressure, but a good flow of water) and starting the engine (don’t pour hose water into the engine until the engine has started);"
I would advocate putting the intake hose into a bucket, and keeping the bucket filled with fresh water. This means the impeller does all the work, as it is designed.
Can I also note (as Kendal likely knows) that this later half of the year is a usual time for cruising west from Tahiti to Fiji, Tonga and so on.
One of the gurus for weather condition as they affect cruisers in the S Pacific is Bob McDavitt, a retired meteorologist from New Zealand.
For many years, Bob was the NZ meteorologist who liaised with cruisers.
In retirement, Bob runs a weblog on weather in the S Pac.
In today’s (12 July 2015) weblog entry, Bob discusses conditions for cruising routes west from French Polynesia, among other possible routes (and of course a discussion of the weekly state of the ocean/atmosphere coupling).
Bob McD usually updates his blog on Sunday (NZ time). He updates more frequently when weather conditions warrant, such as when tropical storms (called cyclones in the western bit of the S Pac) loom. See Bob’s entry for today at:
Bil
Thank you so very much for the response. Most helpful.
Regards,
Kendal
Note Bob McDavitt’s web log entry of 30 August 2015, discussing three routes West from Tahiti in the context of the current El Niño conditions:
Kendal,
I guess you’ve heard that NOAA is forecasting a very strong el nino for this coming northern winter/southern summer? In the early 1990’s, a strong el nino resulted in a hurricane that did a lot of damage to boats stored in yard on Raiatea in the Societies. Boats fell over, damaging other boats. Repairs were difficult. Said to have been a nightmare.
Perhaps the yard on Tahiti will be better organized to weather a hurricane? Where is your boat now?
Dan Shaula
Vuda Marina, Fiji may be worth considering as a relatively safe port to weather a hurricane. I observed some yachts sitting on tires with there keels resting in trenches when I was there a few years back. Might be worth checking out…