Summer and time for the list

When we were last in Marsh Harbor earlier in the spring, we attended the Annual Outer Reef Owners' Rendezvous. While there we heard a great presentation from Matt Holloway the VP for Operations of Deltaville Boat Yard . They had just become an authorized service center for Outer Reef.

Happily they are a hop skip and a jump from our home and very convenient for us so we decided to take Seabright there for her annual list of things to get done. In late June we made the trek of about 2 hrs by boat and into the yard.

Our annual list was not terrible but we focus on routine & preventative maintenance. We are fortunate that Seabright maintains all her Maintenance with Wheel House Technology. One terribly important aspect of this system is the monitoring of all on board systems for the OEM requirements and the specific need actions to comply.

Many things I  routinely just do as the reminders come in and some are best done when the boat is in the yard because of better access, and some I time to coincide with the annual boat yard event. Our boating season is opposite many in that summer months are the time to do the "to do list" and we typically cruise the rest of the year.

Starting at the top of this list is hauling and cleaning the hull bottom. It is a great time to check out all those things that are not visible and at the same time renew the bottom paint, zincs, thrusters and stabilizer fins. I guess everyone has their favorite paints and methods and we have certainly used  a variety over the years but have finally settled on;

Pettit Ablative and Antifouling Paint

•  Dual biocides with 40% copper for outstanding control
• Unique controlled erosion minimizes build up & keeps surface smooth
• Ablative, multi-season technology provides a continuous supply of fresh Contains PTFE for reduced friction 
• Excellent for fiberglass, wood and steel boats 
• Formerly known as Ultima® SR and Horizons® Pro

We have used this paint on our past two boats and have very good experience with the results. The true test is always when you haul the boat after being in the water for more than a year and how did the bottom job fare. Year after year the results have been both consistent and the growth has been remarkably small. Given some of the places we have been and the water we have have sat in, it was a remarkable result....

Like the bottom paint, we have used a variety of paints for the underwater metals. The most popular is that we see is Prop Speed. We have used this in the past and the results have been inconsistent from one season to the next and even one prop to the other. Generally it is quite good but requires the right conditions and the touch of an experienced hand in the application. Plus, anything that breaks the barrier can cause that whole piece to fail...and it is quite pricey for the materials and labor.  

In the past 3-4 years we have tried other paints and like the bottom paint have settled on another Pettit product called; Zinc Coat Barnacle Barrier . It is a spray on paint that comes in cans similar to what you might find at any paint store. The metals need to be cleaned and prepped and the application is fast and simple.

We have tried it now for three years and I was excited to see how well the paint held up this past year. With the exception of some paint loss on the edges of the prop it looked like it was just put on. Here is the running gear ready to go for another season or two and the zincs new and fresh.

The other big task was detailing the entire boat from the waterline up. This is one of those areas where maintaining the fiberglass follows the rule of pay now or pay later. The sun can be quite harsh on the gel coat finish and it is important to keep the finish as good as possible. Typically I have the boat done professionally twice a year and quarterly I will do sections.  There are some areas just due to their location take a harder hit from the sun than others, and it is those areas that I focus on. While Seabright is in the yard and a good deal of the boat is more accessible, I let the crew at it and they did a great job making her sparkle.

We really liked the fact that DBY had all of their technicians ABYC Certified. It lends a standard to the level of the work performed that is the gold standard for marine systems.

They are a full service fleet partner for WheelHouse Technologies. What this does is allow DBY to understand and know all of the OEM requirements and any outstanding items in the maintenance list specific to my boat. They also can add any work or service performed directly as well as maintaining  updated inventory lists...it greatly simplifies the entire process and focuses all of the work needed, removing guesswork and random events.

Finally they are an authorized Outer Reef Service Center simplifying any warranty work as well as confirming the quality of the yard.

This year we decided to do an entire system review and have DBY perform the required maintenance as outlined by Wheelhouse. This included all the systems mechanical and otherwise and a full servicing of all the engines, gensets and transmission.  Better to review now than later when you are on the water and a problem is a bigger issue.

 My two NorthernLights 16kw gensets have proven to be real work horses and have served us well. As part of the standard package they come with cast iron exhaust elbows. These elbows have proven not to hold up very well and part of the review was to check these guys out and see what kind of condition they were in. While we have not had any performance issues better check now while we have the opportunity. What we found was indeed both elbows were corroded and showing severe signs of a pending problem. Had we waited these elbows would have blown and the gensets would have been inoperable until fixed....a great find!

The replacement part is stainless steel and does not react to the force of the exhaust water and the hot temperatures. I found out that all new genset are now coming with SS elbows as a standard.

I replaced an elbow in my last boat but felt some guilty pleasure when DBY did it this time around...

The work was done in sequence both in and out of the water,  mechanical sea trial and cleaning and polishing.

All in all Seabright was in the yard from late June until mid August and looks and runs great and is ready to go.

Thanks Matt and the entire DBY team for a great job!