Readying for Winter In Maryland

As we mentioned earlier, we are in Maryland for the winter.  Because we had planned to be South, in warmer waters, we hadn't made plans to haul Abake.  Regardless, we decided to leave her in the water and haul her in the Spring or next summer for some bottom work.

To to prepare her for the winter, the usual anti-freeze was abundantly used (engines, heads, water tanks).  And because she had not been hauled in a while, Mike wanted to check the through hulls to ensure that nothing crusty had grown in them.  So, he took a plunge with a scuba tank in October. All looked good and she got her bottom scrubbed.  Well, at least one tank-full of her bottom was scrubbed.

Mike cleaning the sides In Oct.

She also had not been waxed for a while, so her entire topside was given a good cleaning and a coat of wax in November.  Luckily, there were some warm days.  It not only protects the fiberglass but also means that the snow will slide off of her easily this winter.  We also left the dodger in place and covered it and the cockpit with a tarp for the winter.  In the past, on Namida (our Westsail 32), we found this to be a challenge:  keeping a tarp in place while she was on the hard.  Maybe it's our location or the fact that we haven't had strong winds from the wrong direction, or maybe we just secured it properly this time, but the tarp is holding up well and remains in tact .  The way it is set up, it makes it easy to walk in the gunwales and crawl into the cockpit and down into the cabin.  We will have good access to her while she's in the slip this winter.  Doesn't she clean up nicely?

Waxed beauty

Waxing in November

Fast forward to our first snowfall accumulation and we are pleased that the tarp is holding up.  We are currently predicted to get more snow (up to 6") at the time this is posted (Jan 21), so the tarp engineering will be tested further.

First snowfall (in January)

So while it snows and gets cold, we work on other jobs inside.  For instance, we had purchased a MaxProp (a feathering, 3-blade propeller) for Abake about a year ago.  It was a good price, but needed to be refurbished.  So, we sent it to MaxProp for refurbishment.  You can see here that it looks close to brand new!  When Abake is hauled in the Spring/Summer, we will install the new prop and give it a try!

Refurbished prop