CAPABILITY - VESSEL CARE
Scheduled
Mainenance
PLANNED WORK ON AN AGREED CALENDAR, BY THE SAME HANDS EACH SEASON
A well-kept boat is cheaper than a restored one. Most of the work we are called in to do late could have been a morning’s attention five years earlier.
Maintenance is the quietest part of the trade and the part that decides how long a timber vessel lasts. We take on a limited number of boats each year so the same shipwrights see the same hulls season after season and know them by hand.
The principle
I. THE MAINTENANCE YEAR
01
04
Annual Slipping
Winter Programme
Pre-Season Preparation
In-Season Attendance
Haul out, pressure wash, full below-waterline inspection, antifoul and anode renewal. Fastenings, garboards, keel bolts and the ends are checked and photographed while the hull is open to view.
The quiet months are used for anything that needs the boat out of service: structural renewal, deck and coaming work, interior joinery and full topside refinishing, staged so she is back on her lines for the season.
Rig check, sails and covers assessed, engine and systems serviced through allied trades, brightwork brought back up and the hull polished ahead of first use.
Berth visits, wash-downs, bilge and mooring checks, minor repairs and storm response for owners away from the water. Small faults are dealt with before they become structural.
SCHEDULED WORK
02
03
AS REQUIRED
ONCE YEARLY
MAY - AUGUST
AUGUST - SEPTEMBER
II. THE WRITTEN SCHEDULE
01
Condition Baseline
Survey of structure, fastenings, finish and systems, photographed throughout
02
Agreed Calendar
Slipping dates, out-of-service windows and berth attendances set a year ahead
03
Costed Stages
Indicative figures per visit so a programme can be taken over one or several years
04
AGREED IN ADVANCE
Every vessel on programme is worked to a written schedule, not to whatever the season brings.
The schedule is set after survey and costed by stage, so an owner knows a year ahead when the boat comes out, how long she is off the water, and what will be done while she is in the shed.
Each attendance is reported by photograph and note. Anything found outside the agreed scope is priced and put to the owner before it is started — nobody is asked to approve work they have not already seen coming.
Material Specification
Timbers, fastenings, adhesives and coatings recorded for consistency over time
05
Annual Review
The schedule is re-read against the boat each year and amended in writing
III. WHAT A PROGRAMME COVERS
Hull & structure
Planking, seams, fastenings, floors, frame ends and keel bolts checked each slipping, with anything moving addressed before it works the boat apart.
Coatings & brightwork
Antifoul and anodes renewed annually, topsides cut and polished, varnish maintained on a schedule so it is never allowed to fail back to bare timber.
Deck, fittings & gear
Deck hardware re-bedded, covers and canvas assessed, ground tackle, hatches and rigging inspected and reported on with photographs.
Systems via allied trades
Engine servicing, electrical, electronics, rigging and sails arranged and supervised by the workshop within the same programme and the same schedule.
HULL TO SYSTEMS
