Koiládhia Preparations for lift-out

Thursday 15^th September was the start of 5 days of hard work getting BV ready to be lifted out for the winter. We took the dinghy ashore and checked in with the boatyard. They definitely had our booking and confirmed that we were on their list to be craned out on 20 September; always worth checking as we had heard of one couple who turned up at a different boatyard only to be told that there was no record of their booking and the boatyard was fully booked for the winter.

Taking apart the saloon table to reveal the main fuel tank   

Content that BV had a home for the winter, we set about out list of chores. The major task was draining the main fuel tank, opening it up and cleaning it. We are not aware of this ever having been done and part of me was worried that the tanks might have some fuel fungus in them because of the use of the increased use of bio-fuel in diesel these days. We had already cleaned one fuel tank a few weeks before but the main tank was a bit trickier to get at and would need the whole of the saloon table removing. Good old Rustler Yachts design everything so that it can be taken apart and so we worked steadily through removing each of the parts of the table so that it could then be unbolted from the compression post and removed. With a clear saloon sole we could lift the middle floorboard and expose the top of the main fuel tank.

The stainless steel tank has a square hatch on top of it through which all of the stack pipes go and so those needed to be disconnected and the hatch removed to gain access.

Clean main fuel tank   

Looking into the tank for the first time it was a relief to discover that there were no horrors. BV is now 17 years old and so it was not surprising that there was some debris in the tanks, but it would appear that the Fuel-Set additive that we use is effective against diesel bug and fuel fungus [Ed: for the time being, at least!]. We pumped out the last few gallons of the fuel using the small, fuel sampling hand pump, which was surprisingly hard work. With the tank empty we set about wiping clean all the tank’s inner surfaces. That was a job that really required us to have at least 4 fully articulated joints in each arm as we groped around the baffles to the furthest corners of the tank. But, by the time we were able to rebuild everything, we knew the tank was good and clean.

Main fuel tank cleaned and resealed ready for refilling   

Finally, we bolted the top plate back down on a bed of sealant and then reconnected the fuel feed pipes and the breather. Whilst the tank had been surprisingly clean inside when we started, we felt that it was a very worthwhile use of the day. Now, we know the tank is fully clean inside and we also have the peace of mind of knowing that there is no fuel-fungus build up. Removing the saloon table has allowed us to lift the central floor board. It’s the one piece of floorboard that has never been re-varnished and Nicky set about working on that and some areas in the galley which get a lot of wear. The last bonus for us was the opportunity to accurately calibrate the bottom part of the fuel gauge readings. We’ve never fully emptied the main tank and so we were able to add the fuel from our jerry cans in measured quantities and see what the fuel gauge read. Hopefully we’ll never need to run the tank that low but, in extremis, we now know just how much fuel we actually would have left before the engine stops!

Sails off and halyards drying   

With fuel back in the main tank and the system bled, we fired up the engine and moved from the anchorage onto the town quay. This gave us access to water so that we could start the long process of cleaning everything. We removed and bagged the sails ready to be picked up by the sailmaker and then I went to the top of the mast to take off the anemometer, check the rigging and wash the shrouds down.

A passing loggerhead turtle checking on our progress   

Once I was down again, we ran mousing lines and removed all of the running rigging from the mast for washing. Having rinsed them several times in fresh water, we hung the lines up to dry ready for being stored down below over the winter; it’s surprising how salty and stiff they get over the year. We also took off the canvas work; some of that will go to the sailmaker to be cleaned and an opening window let into the front of the sprayhood, but the rest we washed and dried.

Predictably with sails, lines and all of the other gubbins on deck being moved down below, the saloon was in chaos. And things weren’t helped at all because the sails, bimini and spayhood wouldn’t be picked up by the sailmaker until after we had been lifted out. However, somehow we managed to fit it all in and still have room to live on board as well.

Of course, we were not the only boats in the throes of end of season cleaning. The town quay was a hive of activity and very social too. In particular we met Annie and Jonnie from La Perla [Ed: they had been back in the UK for August for one of their children’s weddings and so they were on the town quay having just had La Perla lifted in for an end of season last ‘hurrah’]. We discovered that we had mutual friends back in Guernsey and after busy days of chores we took it in turns to host drinks before having dinner ashore in one of the restaurants.

Engine oil and filter change   

Leaking generator water pump    

Having taken the watermaker out of commission and pickled it, we turned our attention to servicing the various engines. We changed the oil and filters on the main engine and the outboard was similarly serviced, also without incident. However, when we did the same to the generator, we discovered that the seawater cooling pump was leaking so we had an unexpected task to remove that and strip it down to replace the seals. Unfortunately, once it was apart I discovered that we didn’t have the right shaft seals on board and so we fitted the spare pump that we carry instead.

The saloon almost at capacity   

And finally [Ed: for now] we removed the Duogen and stashed it in the saloon on top of a pile of sails and ropes and, with that, we found that we had finished all of the jobs that we could do before lift-out.

BV ready to be lifted out    

There would still be lots of work to do when BV was out of the water but our hard work meant that we were ahead of schedule and could relax for a day before starting the next round of chores. And, with the wind changing direction and increasing, the town quay was becoming an uncomfortable place to be so we moved back into the anchorage, ready to be lifted out on the Tuesday morning.

Koiládhia, Greece