Get you and your boat out of the boatyard unscathed by following a few rules

Boatyard. The word leaves me with the same sort of warm feeling as the word “hospital.” I suppose that’s logical, as a boatyard is essentially a hospital for boats. My wife Irene and I recently spent a month on the hard in Thailand, where we learned a few lessons the hard way. This resulted in a few specific thoughts that may keep you out of the hospital, and your boat out of intensive care, while off the water.

A boatyard is a potentially dangerous place, so it would be prudent to begin your stay by cranking your situational awareness up a level. Go into a mental Code Yellow. We decided to start every day with a proactive attitude toward safety, not just in our own sphere of activity but also in the larger environs. And that began at the haul out.

Haul out
Your first chance to exercise cautionary discretion is in your choice of boatyard. Does it have a railway type of haul out, where the boat is located on an underwater cradle on a slipway and then winched up? Or perhaps a travel hoist is used where slings are positioned fore and aft under the boat prior to lifting? If slings are used, you might request that they be tied together to prevent them slipping off the ends of the yacht. We have had this happen, and it’s definitely exciting. If a crane and slings are used to lift your boat you’ll want to check the capacity of the crane, and the maximum load angle of the crane’s lift.

Also, before you turn over your boat to be hauled, ask if the yard is insured. Once you’ve done your due diligence here, you may as well just relax and ready yourself for 30 minutes of blind faith.

The hardstand
Your boat has made it out and there it sits smelling like leftover bouillabaisse. The question now is how will it be supported when it’s deposited in its appointed space. Having the yacht hauled out of the water in its own cradle, and then having the cradle set down on leveled blocks, would be my preference; there’s no risky period when stability is being transferred. Incidentally, how stable do your neighbors look? Domino falls are not unheard of.

Using screw jacks to support the boat’s sides, as wooden blocks take up the weight via the keel, is common and acceptable. It would perhaps be wise to snugly tie the jacks together under the keel to prevent them splaying out. This system is especially suited to cruising boats with long, wide keels. Additionally, on a gravel yard the jacks may need periodic tensioning. Some yards insist on doing any adjustments themselves.

Ladders
What’s the best chance to see the inside of an emergency room directly from the boatyard? A good fall. You’ll probably be climbing up and down a dodgy ladder a couple dozen times a day, probably with your hands full and your mind elsewhere. There’s wonderful potential here. A pair of steel-toed work boots would be a sensible upgrade over flip flops—and they’ll cost a fraction of an ambulance ride.

This also would be a good time to initiate the attitude that will steer you smoothly along in your relations with the boatyard staff. In a friendly and courteously firm manner, try to get the best ladder available. A missing rung will eventually bite you.

Set your ladder at a fairly steep angle; we want to climb it, not walk a springy plank. A quick way to check the angle of the ladder is to stand before the ladder as if you’re going to climb it and grab the rails directly in front of you. With your toes touching the ladder’s base, your outstretched arms should be at a 90-degree angle to your body. Once the ladder is set, tie it off at the top with multiple tight lashings and put an old mat at the bottom to avoid tracking up grit. Sand on a deck acts like hundreds of tiny ball bearings, all of them happy to help a person over the side.

One signature trick of the seasoned boatyard survivor is the ladder bucket. Have a large, stout bucket on a line attached near the head of the ladder. Load up the bucket with what you need, then safely climb the ladder maintaining three points of contact—one hand and two feet. Once on deck, pull up the bucket, remembering to lower it for the next cycle.
Clearing for action
Falling overboard in the boatyard can cripple and kill. You should really be in Code Yellow when you’re walking around the deck. On the hard, lifelines should be left fully taut or fully removed, so that no reflexive move for support finds a yielding line.
If you have roller furling, consider taking your headsail sheets forward to the sails, coiling the lines and wrapping the coils, one this way, one that way, around the furled sail. Any other running rigging—preventers, barberhaulers, furling lines—can be coiled and hung where it cannot possibly be stumbled over. When you have a yogurt container of epoxy in one hand and a ready-to-drip brush in the other, a cat’s cradle of line around your ankles is not welcome.
Electrical cables that come up to the boat should be brought across the deck perpendicular to the side so that they won’t act like roller bearings when stepped on. Similarly, keep the ground down under the boat, where you’ll do a lot of prep work, scrupulously clean and clear. You’re not 18 anymore with the weight and agility of a cat, and stepping blindly off a scaffold onto a pile of tools will have a definite downside.

The plank
You’ll possibly end up with a circle of planks supported by scaffolding around your boat. These planks are quietly waiting for you to stand on them, six feet in the air, and apply a sideways force, when they will slide out from under you. Sooner, rather than later, they will get you. Tie or wire them robustly in place before you consider walking on them. After you’ve bashed your head on a plank end once you’ll know enough to take an old towel (check first with your wife) and tape it around the end of the plank.
If you wear a baseball cap when you’re working under the boat, down among the jacks and scaffolding, wear it backwards; the bill obscures your overhead view of obstacles. And if you’re bald, like me, you might consider removing that insidious little metal button on the top.

Safety gear
Having hot slag from a grinder in your eye is irritating. It’s even more annoying when you notice that your safety goggles are resting debonairly on your forehead. Incidentally, sunglasses are not safety goggles. In fact, if you don’t look decidedly wonky you’re probably underdressed from a safety point of view.

Most power tools produce enough noise to damage the small bones of the inner ear. Headphone-type ear protectors are more effective than earplugs. It’s not just your work that is dangerous—if your neighbor is hammering steel plate you may as well slip on the earmuffs.

The solvents found in antifouling and two-part paints are very unhealthy to breathe. A properly fitting respirator with appropriate filters would provide minimal protection against dizziness, headache and the negatives of a liver full of tulene and xylene. Similarly, resist the temptation to wash your hands in the solvents of these paints; they will quickly migrate into the bloodstream. Instead, buy a large box of latex surgical gloves before you go into the boatyard and use them when mixing or applying paint and epoxy.

Quit when you’re ahead
Boatyards are loud, hot, dirty places where a lot of hard work gets done. Even if you’ve been drinking water like a popcorn-fed camel there will come a moment of sunburned dehydrated exhaustion when you realize that your Code Yellow has turned itself off and you’ve had it.

Quit. Just stop for the day, regardless of the time. Put your tools away carefully, get a shower and crack a frosty beer. You can then sit languid and self-righteous (and unscathed) and make tomorrow’s work plan.

Marigolds and patchouli
The notion of Code Yellow is really just one of alert common sense: stay focused on the task. When we were in Thailand, however, we went a bit further and adopted a touch of Buddhist eclecticism. Daily we burned a stick of patchouli incense in front of our carving of Ganesh, the elephant-headed deity regarded as “the remover of obstacles.” We had an incident-free stay in a hectic boatyard and when our cutter Moose slipped down the ways it was with a floral garland of marigolds looped around her bow pulpit. Whatever works!

Duncan and Irene Gould are in the Chagos Archipelago, halfway across the Indian Ocean on their passage to South Africa. They can be followed at www.getjealous.com/svmoose.

Keep the power going over the winter months with a few simple steps

With winter approaching, as it does early in Maine, it was time to haul Sonata, the 36-foot cutter I owned with my wife Liz. We’d lined up winter storage at a small boatyard perched on the edge of Rockland Harbor.

“You want the batteries off the boat, right?” I asked the boatyard owner. “So you can trickle charge them over the winter?”

“Oh, no,” he said. “Just leave ‘em. We’ll charge them in place.”

I wondered how he’d do that. There was no obvious electrical hookup in sight. “You must have a very long extension cord,” I said.

The boatyard owner laughed and went about his business.

For two winters Sonata remained at the yard and my brand-new deep-cycle batteries suffered. Sitting idle for months in severe cold while slowly running flat between the one or two charges they received did not do them any good. If batteries are left in a discharged state, like mine were, deposits of lead sulfate will collect on the plates and hinder or eliminate the chemical reaction that produces electrical current. Extremely hot temperatures and overcharging will also cause batteries to sulfate.

Clean energy
Lead-acid batteries are like living things. They need tender love and care to achieve maximum performance and long life regardless of battery type: flooded (also called wet), absorbed glass mat and gel. Fortunately, effective battery maintenance is easy both in winter and during the sailing season.

A clean battery is a happy battery. Flooded lead-acid batteries are subject to acid spatter or minor spillage that can be conductive and encourage a faster rate of self-discharge. Cleaning the case with a mixture of fresh water and baking soda will neutralize the acid. Rinse off all residue and ensure that the batteries are kept dry in winter storage and in the boat during the sailing season.

Dirty or chronically damp batteries also invite corrosion at the battery posts and cable terminals, which will inhibit battery performance. At least once every year, it is a good idea to check for the telltale greenish hue and pitting that reveals the presence of corrosion. If you see corrosion taking hold, disconnect the terminals and clean them with a wire brush before applying a thin layer of petroleum jelly prior to reconnecting the terminals.

Terminals should be tightly crimped to cable ends and sealed with heat-shrink tubing. Electrical tape works fine, but it unwinds over time. Whenever the battery is in service, terminal connections with the battery posts must be tight, and if the battery is the flooded type, check the level of the electrolyte in each cell and top off using only distilled or deionized water. Checking electrolyte levels in flooded batteries should be done regularly, particularly before and after extensive charging of batteries that have been run down. Obviously, you don’t have to do this with sealed AGM or gel batteries.

Storage
When the boat is on the hard, it is best to remove the batteries and take them home or to store them in the battery shack at your boatyard. Ideally, the temperature in the shack will be kept cool, but not below freezing. Flooded lead-acid batteries in a discharged state can freeze, causing damage. The advantage of a cool but not freezing storage temperature is a slower rate of self-discharge as opposed to a hot storage temperature that encourages a faster rate of self-discharge. If you do leave batteries on board, make sure to disconnect the terminals and adhere to a regular charging schedule.

If you take your batteries home for winter storage, don’t worry about storing them on your garage or basement concrete floor. The myth that the concrete will increase self-discharge rates is just that, a myth based in historical fact. The hard-rubber cases of older batteries were porous and could allow current to flow to moist concrete if an electrical ground was present, but this isn’t true with today’s plastic cases. Be aware that spilled battery acid will stain concrete.

In addition to the temperature, the age of the batteries will also have an impact on self-discharge rates, which can reach as much as 60 percent of capacity in a single month in some cases. Older batteries lose their charge faster than newer batteries, and charge times take longer. Charging older batteries once per month is ideal, though newer batteries with full charges can be left for two months before you need to charge them up again.

A battery charger that delivers 10 to 20 amps should be sufficient in most cases. Using an automotive charger isn’t ideal and can actually damage your batteries. Smart marine chargers are highly recommended because they deliver just the right level of charge and will automatically “equalize” the batteries. Equalization occurs after the normal charge cycle is completed and basically means the charger continues delivering a low-level charge until the batteries reach a full charge and each cell is in balance with the others.

Take care to match the charger to your batteries. A charger that’s too small won’t ever fully charge the batteries and a charger that’s too big will cause excessive gassing in flooded lead-acid batteries, releasing potentially explosive hydrogen gases into the air. Using an oversized charger may also boil away the electrolyte, exposing the plates and causing sulfating.

Testing
Periodic testing of flooded batteries is good preventive maintenance and can save you money. If you have a bad battery in the bank, current from good batteries will flow to the bad battery, bringing the state of charge down and reducing the life of the good batteries. Think of the electricity as water flowing downhill from the good batteries to the bad battery. You want to know if this is happening, so you can replace the bad battery before it does significant damage. Always buy exactly the same size and type of battery to match the others in the bank; mixing size and type may cause damage.

A voltmeter will provide you with a general idea of the state of charge in each battery, but you’ll need a hydrometer to test each cell and to see if it is fully charged. Don’t try to take a hydrometer reading just after you top off the cells with distilled water. Let the battery charge to mix the pure water into the electrolyte, or you’ll get an artificially low reading. Also avoid testing in low temperatures, which tend to make the electrolyte denser and will give an inaccurate reading. The best temperature for testing is around 70 degrees. You can also buy temperature-compensating hydrometers.

Battery capacity is listed in amp hours and it is standardized so you can easily make comparisons between batteries, whether they are deep cycle, starter, or dual-use batteries that can be used in both starting and house bank roles. The formula for figuring capacity is based on a battery’s ability to deliver electricity at a constant rate of discharge for 20 hours prior to dropping to a charge of 10.5 volts. So, if a battery has a capacity of 200 amp hours, it will run a 10-amp appliance for 20 hours before the charge drops to 10.5 volts. Capacity is also given in reserve minutes, which is the total number of minutes a fully charged battery will run a 25-amp appliance before the charge drops to 10.5 volts.

In an ideal world, you should deplete only about 20 percent of the capacity of your batteries prior to recharging. Such practices will greatly prolong the life of the batteries and shorten charge times. You’ll need to size the batteries for your boat’s daily hunger for amp hours and add extra amp hours to the bank to avoid discharges that exceed 20 percent of total capacity, if practical. Add up the draw in amps for each appliance aboard based on the time it is actually in use in a given day, and that will provide you with a general idea of the total amp hours you use in a 24-hour period. To achieve the best results, select batteries in a size that together in the bank can deliver at least three or four times the total amp hours you require in a given day.

Flooded, absorbed glass mat and gel batteries are better now than ever. Maintaining them is simple and easy, and will go far in extending their years of service aboard your boat.

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Quick Tips

• A clean battery is a happy battery. Keeping cases and terminals clean will improve performance and extend the battery’s life.
• Check the electrolyte levels of flooded batteries regularly. Top off with distilled or deionized water as needed.
• To slow discharge rates, store batteries in a cool place. But don’t allow them to freeze, as it can damage the batteries.
• Occasionally charge stored batteries to prevent them from fully discharging—about once a month for older batteries or once every few months for newer ones.
• When sizing the battery bank, determine the boat’s electrical needs and add extra amp hours to avoid discharges that exceed 20 percent of total capacity.

Better understanding your risks and obligations will help you find the best policy for your boat

In September 1992, I was on my first solo voyage aboard a newly purchased 1976 Bristol 24, heading north up the Hudson River bound for Lake Ontario by way of the Erie and Oswego canals in preparation for a Great Lakes cruise the following summer. I was tied up at Kingston, New York, when my wife, Liz, gave me the bad news.

“The insurance company dropped us,” my wife said over the phone. “I got the call this morning.”

“What? What do you mean ‘dropped us?’”

I heard the rustle of paper. “Let me see, I think it was something about the inexperience of the skipper and the age of the boat. Yes, that’s it,” Liz said. “But our agent says not to worry. He’ll line up another company.”

Well, needless to say, I was surprised as I hung up the phone and walked back to the boat. And I was worried. The Bristol was considered old (some companies had refused to insure it) and I did lack experience from a boat ownership perspective. I continued on my way and in a few days our agent found me another insurer. No harm, no foul.
That was my first experience with boat insurance. I’ve had many others over the years, and suffice it to say finding the right policy for the specific vessel and its intended use can sometimes be a trip down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. There are all kinds of policies and insurers offering products that may or may not provide the coverage you need when the chips are down.

For example, some sailors think it’s better and cheaper to simply add the boat to their home and auto insurance package. That’s fine if the boat is inexpensive, is unlikely to create a large fuel spill if it is damaged or sinks and is unlikely to require an extensive salvage effort in either unhappy event. But did you know that many policies from general insurers leave out some or all of the costs to salvage a vessel or remove a wreck? Fuel spills aren’t always covered in full, either. Uninsured boater coverage is also lacking in some cases. And some policies don’t cover sailboats damaged during a race.

What exactly does your policy cover and what does it exclude? If you don’t know, you should find out.

“Make sure you know and understand the coverage you’re buying, and look for gaps in the coverage in your particular policy,” said Jim Nolan, vice president of underwriting for BoatU.S. Marine Insurance in Alexandria, Virginia. “It’s not so much what you pay up front, but what you’ll end up paying if you have a partial or total loss.”

Just knowing what questions to ask can be difficult and insurance jargon abounds. The following will help you sort it all out.

First, do you own a boat or a yacht? Generally speaking, vessels over 27 feet in length are considered yachts. Now that the easy part is done, let’s move on to the differences between “agreed-value” and “actual cash value” policies.

In most cases, a yacht should have an agreed-value policy even though it’s more expensive than an actual cash value policy. This also goes for boats under 27 feet in length that are expensive. You and the insurer agree on the value of the vessel, typically the amount specified in the insurance or buyer’s survey for that specific boat (not replacement costs for a new boat of a similar type) and that amount is written into the policy. If the boat is deemed a total loss, that’s the amount you’ll receive. These policies may also provide for replacement of certain parts and equipment in a partial loss situation on what’s often called a “new for old” basis while factoring in little or no depreciation, depending on the insurer.
“Pricing is fairly consistent among marine insurers,” said Neal Booth, president of the Boat Insurance Agency in Seattle, Washington. “But there are differences in the companies. Some like powerboats, sailboats or older boats vs. new boats. Some like liveaboards and some don’t. That’s one reason we work with so many companies. It’s important to match the company and policy to the boat.”

Agreed-value policies usually cover salvage, wreck removal costs and fuel spills, but exactly what is the dollar amount of this coverage? Find out because some policies don’t provide a separate pot of cash equal to the agreed value of the hull in salvage, wreck removal and fuel spill cases. You might get paid the full agreed value of the boat, and then have to pay some or all of the above costs yourself, which in turn reduces the amount of cash you have available to buy another boat or make repairs in a partial loss situation. The rule of thumb is you want the policy to pay the agreed value of the boat, plus the same amount or more to cover those other costs. Boat insurance added to homeowner policies often limits this coverage.

Actual cash value policies are cheaper by as much as 20 to 50 percent vs. agreed value policies, says Nolan, but they depreciate the boat and any equipment that might need replacement in the event of a claim. In other words, you get only what that stolen chartplotter might be worth on the day it was stolen, not when it was new. When you buy a new boat, it depreciates as soon as you take possession. How would you like it if it sank a day later and you got stuck with the difference between the price you paid and that depreciation? On the other hand, if your boat is inexpensive and you don’t mind taking some risks, an actual cash value policy might be fine.

An all-risks policy simply means that most risks are covered, such as the total or partial loss of the boat, some replacement costs (new for old), some repairs, loss or theft of some personal effects, dinghy and outboard loss or theft, liability, specified medical costs, uninsured boater incidents, hurricane haulout assistance (partial payments to put the boat on the hard when a named storm approaches), and towing and/or soft grounding coverage in cases where the boat isn’t in immediate danger. Naturally, exclusions apply, so read the fine print on your particular policy.

A named-peril policy will say what will be paid for in the event of a claim and exclude everything else. Some policies don’t include ice and freezing losses, so if it gets cold where you live, this coverage is probably a good idea even if your boat is on the hard during the winter. A “port risk” policy is one that excludes navigation coverage, but covers the boat against loss, theft, fire and personal injury in the designated port. These are an option when you’re trying to sell your boat or if you know you won’t be using it for a year or more.
Comprehensive boat insurance for most risks can be expensive, but there are ways to get some breaks, such as opting for a high deductible. Avoiding areas considered at high risk for hurricanes is helpful. Staying within the specified navigation limits is also important. Never leave the insured zone without securing a rider for extended navigation. Discounts for propane sniffers, taking a safe boating course, and joining the U.S. Power Squadrons or U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary can all get you discounts, depending on the carrier. If you don’t mind taking risks and your boat is paid for, you can also simply get a “liability only” policy, which won’t cover the value of the boat, replacement costs and repairs.

In today’s market, it’s possible that your boat is worth less than it was a year ago, which means you could be over-insured. “It’s important to make sure everything is insured at its current value,” Booth said. “Market values on boats are down due to the economy, so it pays to evaluate the actual value of your boat and to adjust your insurance accordingly to save on your premiums.”

Boat insurance can get complicated, but if you know what to ask the agent and what to look for in a policy, you can easily get the insurance that’s right for your boat and its intended use. Always buy insurance based on the worst-case scenario, not on the hope that you’ll never have to file a claim.

“The more you know about your policy, the better,” Booth said. “That way you won’t be in for an unpleasant surprise if you have a partial or total loss.”