The last few weeks we have been cruising the Chesapeake Bay and run into a bunch of cruising sailors. Many of them are on their way south for the first time. Besides a bit of nervousness and excitement about the voyage ahead (most are heading for the Bahamas this winter) a common theme is boat maintenance. Living and traveling full-time means things tend to break more often and delays often result. We met one “great-looper” who had spent 2 unplanned years in the Chesapeake Bay while his generator and main ships engine were replaced!!

Here are a few strategies we have picked up or developed over 20 years of cruising to keep maintenance-related delays to a minimum.

1. Plan to be handy - All boats will need maintenance. Old or new power or sail. Upgrade your skills in areas you are weak in. If you don’t understand electrical systems, take a course or study one of the many excellent books. Buy some good tools. If you normally depend on a friendly local mechanic to service your boat you might find it is not so easy to find reliable help as you travel.
2. Keep ahead of scheduled maintenance. At least when you’re getting to know a new boat it makes sense to do maintenance on a recommended schedule. For example, buy a rebuild kit for the head (toilet) and install it. You will feel more comfortable knowing you have done it and you may learn if there are any additional spares to keep in stock. With our Jabsco head I also keep sets of the joker valves in addition to a complete rebuild kit.
3. Build up a spares kit. This is the heart of the deal for reducing maintenance delays. If you have the parts you need before you need them, and know how to put them in, you could be looking at a 10 minute delay instead of a 4 day delay while you wait for parts. We have a whole locker full of parts on Distant Shores and a separate bin just with engine parts.
4. Keep adding to the spares kit. Experienced owners can be a good source of info. Those who have had the same equipment as you have on your boat will know what spares they have needed.
5. Keep adding to your tool kit. A good basic tool kit can do most things, but there is often no substitute for the right tool. The job can be oh so quick and satisfying if you have the right tool in your toolkit when you need it. An example is the propellor puller I built some years ago. I also built a cutlass bearing puller so if we were in the boatyard I could easily pull the prop, shaft and cutlass bearing out in less than an hour. Now we have the new boat I am again adding to the toolkit for her new systems. An example is the nice little impeller puller I recently bought. The raw water impeller on the Yanmar now comes off so nice and easily. (the old Volvo impeller came off easily anyway so I didn’t need a puller).
6. Get familiar with your boat’s systems. Over the years I have serviced the Barient winches on Two-Step many times. I knew just how they worked and just where the pawls tended to stick after time. Now with Distant Shores we have Lewmar winches. So before they were really meant to be serviced I got out the manual and opened one up to see how it worked and how it differed from the Barients. When it was time to service them I knew what I would find.
7. All boats benefit from preventative maintenance. This could mean fixing things before they break, and even servicing things before the manufacturer’s recommended service interval. Not to make too fine a point but marine toilets can be a good place to do early preventative maintenance. Better to service it when you choose than when there is a problem :-(
8. Older boats can need much more maintenance as systems age. But new boats will need regular preventative maintenance as well. Read over the owners manuals of the various systems and see what is recommended. Even if a winch is working fine - why not take it apart and see how it looks inside. Order a set of spares for it before you need it. We often carry spare pumps as well as rebuild kits for the pump. It is often quicker to replace the pump and then rebuild the one you have taken out.
9. Do not buy an old “Fixer-upper” if you aren’t a proficient handy-person. We have met a number of new cruisers who buy a 20-30 year old boat and are then surprised the maintenance is so much effort. Although a 30 year old fiberglass hull can be in great shape, its systems could all need replacing. A 30 year old engine may be hard to get parts for, the electrical system could need complete replacement and so could the rig and sails. If the owner has just fixed things as they actually break, you could be inheriting a much bigger project than you planned. Even in this economy there is nothing for free...
10. Make maintenance fun! Sounds silly but if you can learn to enjoy boatwork then you are more likely to get to it early. It is a very rewarding feeling to see YOU have maintained / improved / serviced the systems on your boat. The boat will work better, there will be less delays in your cruise and you will have that sense of pride that you did it yourself!

Well there you are... 10 basic hints to enjoy a trouble-free cruise.

See you out on the water!

Paul

(Here’s the perfect time to change the zinc on the bowthruster ;-)

The past 2 days have been windy cold and miserable here in Annapolis. The boat show finished with great weather through the whole 5 days of the show. Now it seems like winter has set in!!! Brrr!

We are anchored in a little creek and getting a chance to test out our anchors in the soft Chesapeake Bay mud. When we were here last year we had trouble in the mud - the only time we had trouble with our Delta 44 (20kg) in the 3 years we have had one. The Delta slipped 4 times in a number of Chesapeake anchorages. I think it is a good anchor but perhaps would have to be bigger for the Southerly 42. At any rate we took the opportunity to re-evaluate anchors and decided to try out the Rocna. We got it in Moorhead City and have now sailed with it for one year, anchoring throughout the Caribbean and Bahamas. It has performed consistently well from sand to grass and some mud. Now we are back in the Chesapeake Mud that was a problem last year.

Rocna 25kg on the right - note scoop shape and large surface area.

So how did it do? The short answer is ... Excellent!

First of all, the Rocna is a 25kg anchor so it’s heavier than the Delta we replaced. I very much admire Rocna for standing up and saying they recommend a heavier anchor. The Rocna people have actually sailed and anchored and know you need a serious dependable anchor on the bow of a cruising boat. Most other anchors seem to recommend smaller lighter anchors but in small print they say it is for winds up to 25-30 knots - basically a day anchor/lunch hook. I think our anchor is probably our most important insurance!

I can’t say why exactly but the Rocna seems to have conquered the gooey Bay Mud. It has never slipped here as we have tested it in a few anchorages. The toughest test we have tried is anchoring stern to a dock. In this case the Delta had slipped repeatedly. Now in exactly the same place the Rocna has been great. Once set in, it has held many times the force we achieved last year. Overall this is the best anchor we have tried and are happy to be putting one on the new Southerly 49. We are moving up to a 33kg (73 pound) version.

Here’s a shot of the Rocna 25 on our Southerly 42 in the Bahamas this past spring.

The Annapolis Sailboat Show starts this week!! Our Southerly 42 is in the show this year and we will be around for the whole time. We are on Dock “D”. Please come on down and say hello if you’re at the show! Thursday Oct 8 to Monday Oct 12.

Our Southerly 42 is up for sale of course and we already have a number of appointments booked for people to see her at the show. If you are interested in a FULLY equipped dream boat for sailing your own cruise to “Distant Shores” please come by. Better yet, why not email or phone in advance so we can make an appointment for you to see her (Our contact info number is 646-897-6466). Due to the overwhelming traffic we had on board last year Southerly has decided to make appointments for boarding this year. We will be sitting beside the boat so please drop by to say hi!! (no appointment needed ;-)