Hauling Out/Winterizing

HAULING OUT

The yacht can be hauled either with a cradle on tracks, or by lifting with a crane. If using a crane, observe the same cautions as when launching (drawing “docking plan and cradle”). When applying the slings, make sure they won’t rest on the propeller shaft.

CRADLE

Preferably store your NAUTICAT in her own cradle. If not possible, try to store her resting on her keel and horizontally. Her centre of gravity is at about the engine fore end, but don’t trust yourself to have found it. Remember to be extremely cautious when supporting her from the sides. A knocked over yacht of the NAUTICAT size may cause very serious damage to surrounding objects and people, and at least suffer certain hull damage herself.

MACHINERY

Before hauling your NAUTICAT, fill the fuel tanks brimful, in order to avoid condense water forming in them during the winter storage. The table below gives the most important service measures to be undertaken when the yacht is laid up for the winter. We refer to the corresponding chapters for more details:

• change the engine oil (ch.3.1.3, Ford manual p.20)
• change the oil filter (Ford manual p.21)
• change the fuel filter (Ford man p.31)
• check the fresh cooling water level, and make sure it contains a 50% proportion of anti-freeze.
• drain the sea water cooling system and change the zinc anodes (ch.3.1.1 and 4.7)
• protect all the electric equipment with CRC or similar substance

During the winter storage, turn the engine shaft a little with a spanner on 2-3 occasions, to avoid having the pistons resting on the same place in the cylinders, thus possibly leaving marks. Or feed some engine oil into the cylinders by the air intake. (SAE 10) This requires the presence of a competent person.