It’s Not The End Of The Sailing Season, It’s The Start Of Boat Project Season!

Sabre 38, Winter 2023-2024 Projects

And I couldn’t be more excited! We had a terrific fall season day sailing around Annapolis and taking a couple of short overnight cruises, but just before Thanksgiving it was finally time to haul out and get set up for a fun winter of projects!

We pulled into Jabin’s the night before haul out and had a frenetic evening getting sails off and folded, as well as offloading the remainder of our live-aboard items from the summer.
Blue Moon came out under a driving rain, revealing the high-tech speed secret that allowed her to sail past every modern production boat she came across on the Bay this season: her NACA section deep fin keel!
Once blocked it was time to prep her for storage without a cover. I will need regular access below this winter, and I have a variety of items on deck that need to be re bed to replace the cheap sealants Hinckley Yacht Services used. Shrink wrap or a cover would have inhibited access too much.
All halyards, sheets, furling lines, etc were removed to get them out of the weather. All turning blocks were taken down below as well.
Winterizing a 1988 Sabre is a lot easier than the Hylas 54!
We learned in Fort Lauderdale that boat trailer bunking is an excellent material to protect varnished teak on deck. While permeable enough to let water through, it also dries very rapidly and wicks water away again.
Two large rolls allowed me to quickly cover both the handrails and the eye brows. It will also partially cover the inexpensive plastic opening portholes Blue Moon came with. These were a poor choice by Sabre (and Hinckley when they were recently replaced) as the cheap gaskets often leak even when properly dogged down. I will most likely replace them with the same metal ones my ’42 and our Hylas came with. I will strip the varnish from the toe rails in the spring and oil them, so there was no need to worry about covering them. All done – ready for winter projects!

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