Haul out 2012

I sometimes do things a little backwards.

The haul out should typically be done as part of a full inspection BEFORE the purchase of the boat. If I had done that, I'm sure ANY marine inspector would have told me to RUN, not walk, from this boat.

But given the reasonable price - I knew there would be things that needed attention. I knew the hull was basically sound. And that the hull, sails, and rigging were basically worth what I was paying. Yes, I would have work to do, but it would be worth it.

So, the haul out came a couple of weeks AFTER the sale was complete. The purposes of the haul out at this point were:

1) To make confirm that the bottom was basically in good shape.

2) To pressure wash the bottom and get rid of the existing grass / slime that has been growing.

3) Make any necessary repairs requiring that the boat be out of the water.

My initial assumption was that the depth finder would need attention. Fortunately, it does seem to be working now. So we skipped that one. The knotmeter also started functioning, and seems to be a little more accurate after being (carefully) pressure washed. Though it still reads a bit low. It's at least a clue. Basically - same as the depth finder. I certainly wouldn't take the depth reading as gospel. But hopefully it will give me a clue before I get into water that's too thin, or warn me if I'm starting to venture into trouble.

We reserved Feb. 20 for our haul out. This was ideal as it was a holiday for me ("President's Day"), but not for the marina. We motored the boat over the previous (Sunday) afternoon. Monday morning, we started the haul out!

For the haul out, the yard used what amounted to a hydro hoist on steroids. Here's a picture of it empty:

The 12 ballast tanks are flooded, the boat pulled in, and then the lift is raised. Here's the boat in the lift:

The boat is secured, including a support for the front, and lifted, then pressure washed. Here's a before shot of the keel:

The bottom was *basically* in pretty good shape.

Here's a couple of shots after washing:

And here's a shot of the classic "Catalina smile" crack that is often seen between the keel and hull:

During the haul, we replaced the valves on the fresh water intake for the engine, and the valve for the head (and drain for the head sink). These were both half inch valves. I replaced the original gate valves with more substantial gate valves.

Unfortunately, the galley thru-hull valve was a 3/4" valve. While we went on a chase to get a 3/4" valve and extra fittings, the guy in the yard took a closer look at the valve. Turns out the valve had fiberglass and epoxy extending from the "volcano" where the tube (nipple) is glued into the hull, all the way up and covering part of the valve. There would have been no way to break the valve lose without almost certainly compromising the thru-hull.

When I get a chance, the boat will need to be hauled out for longer term work. That list will include:

1) New bottom job.

2) Drill out existing "thru-hull"s, and replace with marine quality thru-hulls and sea cocks.

3) Clean, scrape, fill, and repair keel to bottom crack.