Haul Out items to do?

C

Chriscz128

Active member
Joined
Dec 13, 2020
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39
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
I am hauling out my C-28 next week and am planning on power washing the bottom and replacing the anodes. I am also replacing a broken trim tab actuator (reason for the haul out) and while at it replacing the trim tabs with drop fin trim tabs per BB's suggestions.
My question is, what else should I do while I have the boat out?
 
I would also:
  • Check status of bottom paint and re-paint if necessary (even if just one coat). Also, make sure you don’t have ablative paint as you may not want to power wash if you do and instead just use a sponge and some water
  • Check cutlass bearing for wear and replace if needed
  • Apply Propspeed to prop and possibly rudder
  • It can be much easier (or cheaper, if you hire someone) to wax the topsides when the boat is out of the water vs trying to do them in the water
 
Nice project list....
Along with the other suggestions- here are more suggestions, check the scupper drain flaps....not clogged or loose. Check the exhaust connection fasteners for corrosion (especially if not bonded). I also added zincs to my swim step struts as they were starting to show signs of light corrosion. That has not gotten worse since it they were added.

BTW - You will be amazed at the Trim Tab Drop Fin mod....Best $50 mod on our boat! I just added the drops. I didn't add any tab size.

This is also a good time to wax the hull - at least below the rub rail.

I hope that helps.

Rocky
 
My haul out list was the following,

+ Full inspection of the bottom hull surface pressure wash
+Full inspection of all thru hulls confirming there is no corrosion and that they are clear and free of any growth inside the pickup grating. I have found the growth not at the surface but inside the thru hull passages. This can cause a reduction in water flow and elevated engine operating temperatures.
+ Pull the thruster props to inspect the condition and confirm the easy removal of them in the event they need to be replaced while in the water. I also give the housing and shaft seal a look to confirm there is no grease leakage. Replace the anode apply a small amount of grease to the shaft and reinstall the prop.
+ Pull the prop to inspect the taper for crevice corrosion, clean the prop hub surface and the shaft taper surface, inspect the prop condition if there are any nicks or areas that show impact have the prop scanned and repaired, measure the shaft to cutlass bearing clearance and confirm the shaft is riding center with no bind. Reinstall the prop and install the anode
+Inspect all swim platform support brackets for corrosion and fastener condition.
+ remove the drain plug just forward of the keel extension. Confirm easy removal and thread condition of the plug
+ Inspect the exhaust outlet flange for corrosion and the fasteners
+ Clean and wax the hull
+ drop the anchor to the ground and pull all chain a road for a good inspection, clean the anchor locker to remove any mud or debris that has settled in the bottom . Clean and Confirm the drain is flowing properly. Pull road and chin back up and coil in the locker
+ inspection of rudder and rudder box then remove the seat and grease the rudder post. ( this can be done in the water but it was past of my inspections)
+ exercise all thru hull valves ( many leave them open all the time) If you do, this is a good time to confirm proper operation if you find one that is hard to close or open address this while the boat is on the hard.

As Rocky stated the drop fins are a cheap and easy addition to add to the boats performance.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions and I will do as many as I can get to. I likely will not apply the propspeed this time since curing time in the colder weather would take a bit longer then I am planning for (trying to get done in a day).

BB, are there any tricks to cleaning the thru hulls if there is growth past the pick up grating or does the grating come off easily. Also what is the solution if a thru hull valve is not working well. I don't know if I will have any issues, but want to make sure I have the tools and supplies ready in case I do.
 
...are there any tricks to cleaning the thru hulls...
Click to expand...

First I use a dental pick with two bends in the end for about 5 minutes to get the big stuff beyond the grate which works surprisingly well. The picks are really strong and always win over the barnacle shells.

Then with the thru-hulls open I place duct tape over them on the exterior, and pour in Barnacle Buster via the strainers. Let that cook while you do other tasks then remove the tape and let drain and flush with fresh water.

HTH, Gary
 
The thru hull grating is not removable without a great deal of work. I use Gary's method of using small scraper and picks. I took a long screw driver and ground an edge and a small hook to clean mostly barnacles. I never did the barnacle buster treatment because in my case it was not needed. That would be a good addition if you find a heavy build up in the piping.

Chances are the thru hull valves will function ok. I recommend opening and closing them often just to keep them working freely. I make a practice of closing them when we are not on board. I also close them if we are in salt water and I don't plan on using the boat for days or weeks. If I am letting the boat sit and don't plan on cruising I flush the saltwater out of the cooling system and keep fresh water in. I close the seacock and place the start Fob on the valve handle. This way I am reminded to open the valve before starting the engine.
 
A successful day with the boat out of the water. Thanks for all the suggestions. It was pressure washed and I was happy with how little growth was on it. A few barnacles on unpainted metallic surfaces. I used the hose picks as suggested to clean the through hull intakes, behind the screens. Worked great.
I replaced the anodes, they were all but gone.
I replaced the broken trim tab actuator. Which worked out pretty well, not too hard once I got the hydraulic line off.
I replaced the trim tabs with drop fin trim tabs. Once I had it all put back together, it worked once on testing and then the new actuator stopped working. As it turns out, the toggle switch for that side had broken (what are the chances of a switch failure right in the middle of repairing a downstream component, the actuator). Easy to replace the switch and all worked well.
I did most of what you all suggested, minus removing the main prop and greasing the rudder shaft.
Put her in the water and went out to test the new drop fins. Not working while at speed underway. Worked fine at the dock, but not underway........hmmmm

My engine hatch lift had not been working either since the trim tab actuator failure earlier in the summer. So I thought there may be a relationship between the two issues since they run on the shared hydraulic power unit.

So today I decided to detatch the hydraulic line from the engine hatch lift and wanted to see if I was getting pressure at the end of the line. I ran the pump via the engine hatch switch and found the problem.........
instead of automatic transmission fluid, a little pink foam came out followed by water.

It turns out, when the trim tab actuator broke and I continued to try to use it, the system pulled in water, likely through the broken actuator. So I drained (via the detached engine hatch hydraulic line) all the foamy, watery fluid, filled it partially with new ATF, ran the trim tabs up and down multiple times, drained again and repeated until just ATF was coming through.

Went out to test the new drop fins and all worked great. I now have plenty of trim power and gained speed and about 100-200 rpm WOT. It was a short test and I will try it out more completely soon to get some real numbers.

The engine hatch is still not working, but I did not try to troubleshoot any further. I am considering just leaving it unattached and manually raising and lowering, propping open with a piece of wood. Even when it was working, it was slow and sometime would get stuck open and not lower (maybe the solenoid at the HPU). Interestingly enough, the only times it would get stuck open was when detached from shore power. When plugged in to shore power, it would lower again.

All in all I made great progress.....and still have some projects to finish.
 
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