two weeks away from my boat

[CliffL]

I'm off to visit inlaws with my kids for two weeks. I'm leaving my boat tied to its dock in Annapolis. Any particular boat prep I should consider, or should she be ok for 14 days?? Can I leave her plugged into the dock? How about the A/C...any problems leaving it running? I'm confident she's tied off to handle the changing tides...anything I'm missing? I'm leaving in the AM and could make last minute adjstments based on some input.

Thanks.

[Giulietta]

Cliff

When I am away I have a guy that looks after my boat, but here is what I would do..

1)Disconnect the main power supply
2)Switch all electric off (leave bilg pumps on, as they should be wired to batteries bypassing the switches)
3) Close all windows and hatches
4) double the ties and ropes
5) tie halyards and all ropes away from mast so they don't schaffe
6) lock rudder
7) close all valves and thru hulls except bilges
8) Now its pretty warm, but in the winter leave anti humidity gel boxes inside

enjoy your vacation

[SanderO]

You might want to speak to someone at the marina and ask them to give a look on a daily basis.

If you have a staged batt charge you can leave that on, but close off everything else.

Fenders
close seacocks
chafe protector on dock lines
turn off batts
bilge pump on automatic
dog down all hatches and ports

jef
sv shiva

[tomaz_423]

Which slip you said is she?
I might take it for a sail for 2 weeks and no-one will ever notice.
Please fill the fuel before you leave and put some beer in the fridge.
Lock everything except one hatch (big enough for me) and leave the keys on the chart table please. :-)
Enjoy your vacaton and let me know if you extend it.

[CliffL]

All, Thanks for the advice.

tomaz...Bud Light ok? Remember, the boat is in...uhhh...Solomon's Island

[labatt]

We leave our boat for 5-7 days and up to 14 since we don't live on it. We follow a similar list to Giu except we leave the shore power hooked up and batteries turned on. We turn off the master AC breaker and turn off all DC breakers though. Personally, I would probably turn the air conditioning off if I wasn't going to be on board for a few days. We don't have A/C though, so it's a moot point. More important than doubling up on the lines would be redundant connections points. We run two springs forward, two springs back, each going to its own cleat on the dock. The midship cleat on our boat has a spring forward and a spring back. The stern cleat has a spring forward. The bow cleat has a spring back. Making sure your bilge is on automatic (which is why I leave shore power on - if we spring a big leak I don't want the batteries to drain 100%) and your lines are set would be the number one priorities from my perspective.

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by CliffL

All, Thanks for the advice.

tomaz...Bud Light ok?

Funny, I thought he specifically requested beer...

Jim

[SEMIJim]

I tried to resist asking this question. Really I did.

Originally Posted by CliffL

How about the A/C...any problems leaving it running?

Just curious: Why would you air-condition a boat for 14 days when you know nobody's going to be aboard? Don't want to come across as a tree-hugger (and, in reality, I'm not), but this seems to me a terrific waste of energy.

Jim

[sailingdog]

CliffL-

If your A/C is like that of most boats, and water-cooled, then you'll be leaving a through-hull seacock open. IMHO, leaving a seacock open for 14 days is not such a good idea.

[DrB]

When I go away for extended periods (more than a week) here is what I do:

1. Close all seacocks except bilge and cockpit drains
2. Turn off all power (batteries and shore)
3. Leave Electric Bilge to Auto - It is wired directly to battery
4. Take Main Halyard and wrap around the furlered head sail 7 or 8 times. Tie off on bow cleat or bottom of furler
5. Take another line and wrap around mainsail/sail cover
6. Remove all stuff from cockpit cubbies and store below
7. Notify marina or someone that you trust that you'll be away and have them periodically check on the boat.
8. Provide emergency phone number and extra key/lock combo to the boat in case the responsible person needs to do something to the boat in your absence
9. Leave a detailed set of instructions on the workings of your boat if the marina or your friend don't know. I.e. A note as to what is turned off and where to locate them to turn on.
10. I have a mooring, so I double check the mooring lines and put a loose safety line from the mooring buoy to the mast through the bow chock. The goal here is to provide a back-up to the back-up in case one of the mooring lines breaks during a unexpected storm.
11. Everytime I moor my boat I do this, but I bungie all the mast rigged lines to the mast stays to elimnate them from rubbing against the mast.

Dr. B