Tales from the boatyard. Have you got a dirty bottom?

The greatest revenue for boatyards in standard maintenance, quite often they don´t want long and drawn out refits, engine removals and other time consuming work.

What is this bottom cleaning then?

Well, the boat is bought to the yard, it´s lifted out, a pressure washer is used to remove most of the growth on the hull, chemicals can also be used to remove any stubborn build up, in very bad cases, the hull needs to be scraped to remove growth. The boat is then chocked up and left to dry. A new layer of bottom paint (antifouling) is applied, anodes (sacrificial blocks of zinc that protect the metal parts underwater from corrosion) are replaced. Paint is left for the recommended time and the boat goes back in the water.

Most yards have the lift, clean & paint process down to a fine art. Boatyards can get a bad rap, they get accused of being too expensive or having a monopoly, not allowing external companies in to do certain jobs let alone boat owners to do so, to a small extent that might be true, but from the yard managers point of view, before you make up your mind, please consider a few things;

• Waterside property is not cheap, the yards are habitually located conveniently in marinas, the rental on that space can be eye watering.

• Insurance, with the potential risks involved in a yard, the risk can be high and so is the insurance for those risks.

• Staffing, obvious but probably overlooked, driving a crane requires training and renewals of certificates, handling of chemicals and equipment requires knowledge.

• Equipment, specialist cranes to lift out boats, cradles, electrical installations, these are all expensive and require maintenance.

• Repeatable quality, a yard works on it´s reputation. They know what works and what doesn't, they do not want to be known as a shoddy outfit, the nautical world is smaller than you think and it only takes a very few dissatisfied customers to ruin business.

• Environmental responsibility, a large part of training courses and rules set out by the owner of the yard or the land it sits on are regarding protection of the environment and rightly so. Disposal of materials, usually by specialist companies, recycling and guaranteeing minimal pollution.

So, please think for a minute the next time the yard gives you a quote. Rules change on a regular basis, more stringent requirements for stocking, handling and disposal of materials, with increased costs.

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