You Know you have neglected your boat when:

We have 3 sailboats and we pick the one we sail by how much wind is blowing and how ambitious we are that day. We may not sail one of the boats for several weeks. You know you have neglected your boat when you find things like a birds nest built in the sail when you take off the sail cover. Some of the things that I have found when I do not do my monthly check of my boats when I should let me know I need to use the boat more or at least check it more often.

Here is a short list that lets you know you are neglecting your boat when:

>Finding a scupper drain in the cockpit plugged up with dirt and a plant growing out of it is one sign.

>Opening a storage locker and finding a big wasp nest.

>The grease in a winch has become hard and the winch will not ratchet.

>Your docking lines are so stiff you are afraid they will break if you try to untie it.

>The key hole of the pad lock that locks the hatch in to your boat has corroded over.

>You find a hat and jacket that you thought you lost weeks ago…

<And in the hat there is a plastic cup with a bunch of screws and a screw driver. No idea where the screws came from.

Here in South Florida you have to air out your boat at least once a week or mildew will grow on almost any surface of a closed cabin. A moisture absorber helps. We have a dehumidifier for the big boat, and the two gallon collection container will fill in about a week to ten days. To empty it every week is much easier than to have to wash all of the interior down to clean up the mildew.

Our big boat sits the most unused because it takes so much more work to get her ready to take her out. It is so much easier to be able to hop on one of the smaller boats and be on the water sailing within 10 minutes. I think you can have as much fun sailing a small boat as a big one, and you get to do it more often. If a boat is basically ready to sail, you are more likely to use it. 

When I check over the boats once a week, let them air out and attend to the little stuff, it is amazing how few problems I have with the boats. To let this go for a few weeks’ results in a few hours of work to get things back in line and in ship shape.  As Ben Franklin said,"an ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure."