Top 10 jobs to do on your dinghy over winter

1. Wash hull and rig

Give your boat a thorough detergent wash before storing away over winter, you want to remove as much sea salt as possible from the inside and outside then give her a good hose down or jet wash with fresh water. Flush the spars both inside and out, especially around fittings. Pick a good drying day and sponge or leather off excess water.

Pay particular attention to all the fixed moving parts, giving them a thorough flush through to stop corrosion from taking hold over winter.

3. Wash sails

Give your sails a thorough rinse with a hose pipe, using a mild detergent to remove any stains. Hang up to dry fully either on the dinghy or on a washing line and then store in a dry location such as a loft. If storing in a shed or garage outside, consider a sealed plastic sleeve to prevent rodent damage.

5. Beach storage

Make sure you check your insurance if you plan on leaving your dinghy on a beach over winter – not all policies cover unattended winter storage outdoors. Always use secure tie-down points to prevent the boat from shifting in high winds. Our club has chain embedded into the beach to allow tie downs. You can make your own tie down base by submerging a couple of tyre carcasses into the beach leaving just the top quarter showing to tie down onto on both sides.

7. Dinghy maintenance

I recommend popping the tops off your cam cleats and giving them a thorough clean with mild detergent, fresh water and a dab of McLube or silicone spray when dried.  Don’t use grease or oil as this will attract salt crystals next season. Broken cam springs can be replaced and you may need new cams if you have signs of wear on the cam teeth.

Ball bearing mainsheet systems need particular attention. Flush through with fresh water and look to replace the traveller end caps for new ones if showing signs of impact damage. It’s a good time to check that you have a full compliment of ball bearings and that they are running freely.

9. Service the trolley

Check your plastic or rubber supports on the gunwhale and keel band; one of my Laser keel supports has come loose and need attention. Typically the plastic tube can be rivetted back into place. You will need a punch to push the broken rivet through and a suitable sized rivet and washer inserted into the same hole. Check your trolley tyres and replace as necessary, I’m using hard rim tyres which give you a service life of about 8 years. If the trolley frame looks tired, clean it up and apply a coat of cold galvanising spray, making sure you key the metal surface with Scotch-Brite or a wire wool pad before spraying