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It’s
that time of year where a countrywide grand performance of the fall season is
coming to an end. The beautiful colours being displayed by the leaves of various
trees types creating this show has performed its last curtain call. Now they
have presented us with the generous task of cleaning up the house or basically
raking up all of the mess. During this time frame will only allow us a brief
short time of getting in the last few days of sailing before Jack Frost leads in
Old Man Winter. For those of you who live in the southern areas, this a bonus
that will allow you to sail a bit more compared to us who live farther up north.
Does make us a bit jealous, of course! Who will be the last one still out
sailing? How many sails did you get out on and partake in? Did you record them
(and your adventures) in your sailing log book? Did you do more then the year
before? Let us know on and show us on the forums.
Pre-pairing
your craft for winter storage can help reduce maintenance problems down the
road. Just hauling your craft out of the water and parking it for the winter is
not enough. Some
of the following items to consider, “if you have the time and effort”, are
possibly to; -
Empty out all the contents of your craft (from your storage lockers; anchor,
cabin, and stern) and lightly clean throughout before moving your Sandpiper to
an offsite winter storage location. But before enduring this process make a list
of every item that you remove and mark where it is stored. In this way in the
spring you can easily find everything to refill your craft, and leave a
photocopy of the list beside the VHF Radio as an emergency list. In this way it
can document of all items including safety items for any Boat Inspections by any
law enforcement agencies. Don’t forget any lose topside hardware that could be
taken off in a few seconds if stored at an unsecured location. -
Remove and store your sails and cushions in a dry safe place. Take care to
properly folds your sails and inspect them for any rips or tears. Have them sent
out for repairs to avoid the backlog or rush of the spring demand. -
Remove your anchors for storage and completely inspect the anchor, chain, line,
and any connecting clevis pins. Ensure that the lines are dry and that the
anchor drain hole in the bow of the Sandpiper is not plugged. -
Take time to grease your wheel bearings and ensure that they are dry, and remove
any water that can rust your bearings, raceways, shafts, and caps. -
Cover your Sandpiper with a large tarp to keep freezing rain and melting snow
from creating ice dams on your craft. Many an owner has discovered water in
their Sandpipers in the spring that was caused by ice build up. Many owners have
made a frame out of pvc pipe or of 2”x2” wood, connected together that helps
support the tarp up to allow the snow to slide completely off. -
Outboard motors and gas hose should be brought in for tune ups and for
maintenance. Doing it now ensure it is ready for the spring beating the
spring rush and you have lots of time to wait if new parts are needed to be
ordered. -
Gasoline stored in tanks should be used up by other motors when possible to
allow for fresh gas to refill the tanks in the spring. Otherwise gas
preservatives can be added to the gas to extend its life by a few months helping
preventing fuel breakdown. -
Batteries should be checked for correct levels and should be fully recharged
before stored in a heated or a non-freezing storage area, and recharged them
every 2 months. If you have a volt meter, write down the date and voltage on
some masking tape taped to the top of the battery before and after you charge
them so you are aware of the drain rate when not used. -
If you have extra time, wash down the hull and add a coat of wax, also all of
the woodwork should be cleaned and re-oiled or coated to protect the wood. This
is just a short list of a few items to consider, that most of us already know,
but will be helpful to new Sandpiper owners. Will you have time to do them all
after raking up all the leaves, hopefully? If you know of others, let us
know on the forums.
In
august, online user forums were added to the Sandpiper 565 website that would
allow Sandpiper Owners to post and read messages or bulletins to/from each other
on related Sandpiper sailboat topics. These new forums were added when requests
from the Sandpiper community voiced their concerns when the C&L user forums
went offline for a few months. The Sandpiper 565 forums will continue but will
be tweaked as the demand merits. Automatic emailing of any newly posted messages
can be configured so that you don’t miss out on any messages. Another new
feature is that photos can be placed online as attachments for those who
don’t’ have photo sites. There
are many other documented Sandpiper related forums throughout the internet
located on many boat sites. The Sandpiper 565 forums intent is not to compete
with or to replace them but to eventually reduce the public posting of emails on
the online registry as Sandpiper owners can rather use the forums to contact
each other. To be able to post any messages you are required to register.
In
august of this summer the company owners of C&L Sailboats closed their shop
which left us the purchasers or owners of C&L products in limbo for parts
and supplies. This also shut down the online C&L user forums. The news of
this closure was felt country wide as C&L is one of the few remaining small
boat builders left in But
the good news is that Dave Ventresca a former C&L employee who has purchased
and reopened the C&L company under a slightly new name of C&L Boatworks,
will continue to make present and new C&L crafts and to supply parts for
them ensuring the future of the C&L line of products. Dave also restored the
online C&L user forums that provided a home base community for the C&L
Family. The new C&L Boatworks is announcing an invitation to you of their
Open House which follows; Do
support Dave and his new venture by phoning or emailing him first for quotes
when purchasing items for your Sandpiper. Provide him with an opportunity to
beat or match prices with his many suppliers. (His email and phone number
follows.) Dave
posted this notice on the C&L user forums. C&L
Boatworks is holding a First Boat Launch/Open House on Saturday October 23rd
from 11 AM to 5 PM to officially christen and hand over the sheets of the first
CL14 off the moulds to its newest Dealer, FroliQUE NautiQUE, headed by Mr.
Ricardo Martin Jonas, of ------------------------------------------------------- C&L
Boatworks (formerly C&L Sailboats est. 1968) makers of the CL16, CL14, CL11,
CL Echo 12, CL Stealth and Sandpiper 565, has announced that you are invited to
their Open House and Launch on Saturday October 23 2010 from 10:00 am to 5:00
pm.
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