boot Practical Boating Guides

Annual yacht care, boat maintenance & repair

Getting your boat shipshape for the new season

Yacht care / Masten im Winterlager - Foto: © TCCC

Spring is just around the corner, at least on the calendar. Finally, we can devote ourselves again to our most favourite pastime: our boat.

Even if it is yet only a longing gaze directed beyond the mole of the marina to the open sea. Most yachts will probably remain grounded for some weeks at least. But there is good in this, too, as every boat longs to be taken care of properly before the start into a long season with, hopefully, a lot of quality time spend sailing.

In the contributions to our nine-part series on "Yacht Care, Boat Maintenance and Repair" we make you crawl into every corner of your boat and explain the issues that need your attention - from the hull below the waterline to the mast top. This will prepare you well for all the tasks ahead!

Active regeneration rather than cumbersome duty

Admittedly, the annual maintenance of a yacht in springtime is always a bit of a cumbersome chore, but you can also regard it as the opportunity to get to know your boat really intimately. With every unforeseen situation in the summer, with every technical breakdown, which may even occur on the most professionally maintained of yachts, such detailed knowledge will pay off and may even save an entire season in the end. Where the tanks, power units and engines located and best accessed, the sea valves, fittings and all the other smaller and larger installations? How do you check them? How do they work? There is loads to be known about a boat, your boat.

Every boat owner also is - or will soon become - a multi-talent. He or she is not only able to navigate the yacht safely across the sea but ideally also knows the entire interior of the boat, knows at least in basic terms how things on board are interrelated and how to carry out routine maintenance tasks. Getting used to new issues, developing new skills or discovering one's own hidden qualities is also fun.

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Identifiying with your boat

Working on your boat can give you some space from your everday routine and is often rewarding by creating a really fundamental sense of achievement: The engine is cooled properly again after I have replaced the impeller. Great! The winches purr again after I have taken them apart, cleaned and greased. Wonderful! The bilge is dry again since I checked and sealed the water pipe from the tank to the sink. Fantastic! Many personal success stories are in store here for the active boat owner!

Yachts in winter storage / Foto: © TCCC / Klaus-Gunnar Schneider

annual boat maintenance in spring / Foto: © TCCC / Klaus-Gunnar Schneider

yacht in winter mooring / Foto: © TCCC / Klaus-Gunnar Schneider

boat maintenance / Foto: © TCCC / Klaus-Gunnar Schneider

Yacht waiting for the start of boating season / Foto: © TCCC / Klaus-Gunnar Schneider

Series of nine articles with practical yacht care tips

However, not everyone was born to be a multi-talented mechanic or all-round boat builder, and some of us rather prefer academic pursuits to practical craftsmanship. Our series of nine articles with practical tips and advice is intended as a basic guideline for boat owners, but, if required, also as an aid to tackle the most important "areas under construction" which should be worked on or at least checked on board before the start of a hopefully beautiful, long and intensive boating season. From the underwater hull to the rigging, from the pantry to the engine compartment. Reliable boats that have been well maintained and thoroughly checked are not only more beautiful and safer to sail, they are also quite simply more fun! And do not forget: working on your boat can be a joy in its own right. Or is there any better reason to leave the dishes in the sink at home or let the weeds conquer your garden? When your boat calls, everything else is secondary. Don't you think so?