WINTER MAINTENANCE WITH WD-40

It's a nice windless sunny winter's day about 45 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it an
excellent day to head down to the Boatyard and check on BIANKA. No wind makes for
a pleasant day to do a boat check even if it is still winter.
But, even before I climb into the cockpit I needed to do some maintenance at ground level.Toward the end of last season the combination lock I used on the dinghy dock fell into the water for about a week. I rinsed it and initially sprayed WD-40 into it at that time and it continued to work. Over the winter the remaining salt inside had started to ooze out of the lock and was starting to corrode it and make it difficult turn to the right combination

So I reached for the WD-40 and sprayed the lock.

 With some help from an old toothbrush I managed to remove the salt cake residue from the lock. Soon it was almost as good as new and the lock mechanism worked smoothly..

Since I had the can of WD-40 out it was also time to  lubricant the folding joints of the ladder I
use to climb  aboard BIANKA over the winter.

A few sprays of WD-40 on a warm winters day may seem like simple maintenance but, makes for a big improvement in metal items exposed to  the environment over the winter.

A LATE WINTER CHECKUP

It has not been a snowy winter but it has been a cold one.  Which is why I've not been down to the boatyard to check on BIANKA in over a month. I was away for most of January. February has been a cold  and raw month. So when a sunny day came where the temperature approached 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It was time to make a visit to the boatyard to check on the boat. Many of the boats are still nestled under their shrink wrap covers. From the cockpit they looked like snow drifts.

 I didn't stay long just long enough to charge the batteries via the Dual Pro 4 charger which only took about an hour since the batteries were pretty much being kept topped up by the solar panels over the winter.

While the charger was going through its  charge cycle I drained the small amount of water that had accumulated in the bilge  since the last time I visited over a month ago. After that was done I splashed a little bit of the leftover antifreeze into the bilge to prevent any further water from freezing hopefully for the last time.

I picked up the homemade boarding  ladder extension which I had stored in the cabin for the winter.  A few years ago another boat had smashed into it and broken the strut that help keep it straight.  It was still usable for boarding but tended to slide underneath the boat when climbing up it. I'm taking it back to the house to to replace the damaged strut for the upcoming season.

I also spent a little time sitting in the cockpit staring out at the empty Harbor.

How different it looks without any moorings or boats on it’s waters. In another month or two the moorings will start appearing like returning birds after a long winter. A sign that the sailing season is about to begin.

TOOLS OF A SAILOR: PVC Pipe Cutter

A number of years ago when I built building a Boarding Ladder Extension for the boat. I made it out of PVC and spare dock line. I purchased a Ridgid Plastic Pipe and Tubing Cutter to help cut the PVC material.

I recently found another use for it. That is cutting various type of hoses on board. From 1/2 inch water hose to aging propane hoses. The blade cut fast and cleanly, Making it a useful tool to have on board for projects or repairs.

Boarding ladder extension

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On some sailboats after a refreshing swim or Scuba dive boarding can be difficult depending on the length of the boarding ladder. On my Nonsuch the ladder is fine if you are boarding from a dingy but, much more difficult after a swim or dive. So I built an extension for the boarding ladder using 12 inch lengths of 1-1/2 inch PVC and fittings, PVC glue and some dock line. The set up has been in use for over three seasons and has been tested to weights of 350 pounds.

Ladder extension when viewed from behind the boat. Notice the four way PVC fittings at the top and bottom of the ladder. These allow rapid draining of water when stowing the extension and also rapid sinking when deployed.

SIDE VIEW: Notice how the extension lifts away from the rudder. The ladder extension only contacts rudder when a person is on it. The rudder keeps the extension vertical when boarding. Instead of slipping under the hull.
















Ladder extension in stowed position.
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