[Dale Forrest]

Hello all,
We are in the process of purchasing our sailboat in Florida and plan to bring her to North Carolina where we live now. We plan to launch her in about 2 years after we do some work on her. She had taken on some water due to bilge pump failure and the water had reached a level above the sole. She has dried out inside now but is still in the slip waiting for us to have her pulled out in about three weeks. At that time we will be able to see the condition of her bottom. We live in northwest North Carolina (away from the coast etc.)
She is a 1959 Block Island 40 and we have arranged to have her transported to our location where we could keep her on our property to work on her. We are concerned about the weather that we have here in the winter. ( It can reach temperatures as low as 5 to 10 degrees below zero). How long should we keep her on the hard in Florida to allow her to dry out before we bring her to North Carolina ? My concern is the fact that she was wet inside and will probably have blisters outside as well, to deal with. I wouldn't want any moisture to freeze and cause separation or de-lamination issues. Should we leave her on the hard in Florida until next Spring?
thank you
Dale & Lori

 

[smurphny]

What a beautiful boat! Best of luck with her. My old boat sat for years on the hard in NY and suffered no hull damage although totally unattended if that's any indicator. The bilge and cockpit were filled with ice when I bought her! I think as long as you keep solid ice out of the bilge she should be fine. As far as drying the hull out, it's probably only important if there is structural glass replacement to be done or if you're planning to do a barrier coat. If that turns out to be the case, letting her sit for at least a couple of months is important. Getting a good marine surveyor who is experienced at how to use a moisture meter to determine if there is any moisture damage/blistering or delamination is probably a good idea, although it may be obvious that there is none. I guess it all depends on the quality of the glass layup and initial adhesion between glass layers.

My major job was in replacing rotted deck balsa core. I don't know what your decks are made of but that's something to look at. Most of these older boats did have balsa cored topsides.

 

[Dale Forrest]

Thank you smurphny,

That makes me feel better. I will be hauling her out in a few weeks and will get a better look at her hull. Sending a diver down a week before to clean her bottom before we pull her.
Here are some images of the repairs that were done a few years ago to the topside. Yes she is balsa core so I will be looking for more issues, but she looks pretty good now. Feels solid with no soft spots but some indications of leakage through very small spots on the deck. Overall she cleaned up really well last month when we spent a few days bringing her back to life.
thanks,
Dale & Lori

 

[hellosailor]

Florida is incredibly HUMID so I'd actually expect the boat to dry out better in inland North Carolina. You can find historical NOAA weather data online if you actually want to see temperature and humidity records for both locations, but I'm bring the boat home as soon as convenient, and let it dry out there, under your supervision. Easier to make sure critters aren't moving in, including termites in old wood boats--another Florida blessing.

And if you've got AC power where you'll be keeping the boat, or you rig some solar panels and an inverter system, you can put a couple of "goldenrods" in the bilge. These are low-temperature heating rods used as dehumidifiers, they'll help out even more, regardless of where you are. If there's no hope for power, you buy bags or buckets of "damp rid" and leave them in the boat, they absorb water chemically.

Either way, always better to have the boat where you can keep an eye on it and catch any problems before they grow. Like the pervasive mildew on the Florida southeast coast.

 

[Dale Forrest]

Thank you HelloSailor

I agree that it would be better to have her close by and hope that we can go
with that plan. If I can get her here by the end of August that will give us about 3 months before winter. Also I have power so I can keep her heated inside and shouldn't have any issue with freezing like I originally thought would be a problem. You're right about the mildew in Florida, she had already started having a problem when we went to look at her last month. A good cleaning that took about 3 days work took care of the mildew, but I don't want it to come back if we leave her in Florida over the winter.

thanks,
Dale & Lori

 

[ScottUK]

I'm wondering why you would have the hull cleaned by a diver if you are having it 'pulled'?

 

[Dale Forrest]

Hi Scott,

my same question when I was working out the details to have her transported.
I haven't seen her hull yet but know that she will be covered with barnacles due to the area that she is located in southern Florida. (the attached photo is of another boat that shows the possibility when boats are left unattended.
We also have to motor her 4 hours away and through a lock to the yard that will pull her for us. They recommend having the hull cleaned so that the belly straps won't crush the barnacles into the fiberglas hull or possibly damage their straps. The cleaning will also help with the 4 hour trip to the yard. Just can't wait to get her out of the water for the next step to bring her home.

thanks,
Dale