Safe Slips: Wear a Snubber

The Bay Area’s 10-day weather forecast looks fabulous. There are great days ahead for sailing. However, our being human, it’s often easy to put off important things like preparing your boat for winter. The news of horrific storms to the south contrasts with our walk down a sunny dock on the Bay, and reminds us how quickly things can change. We noted fenders, most docklines with a snubber, and covers on trailered boats that are ready for as-yet-unseen winter weather. If you’re seeing your boat this weekend, it’s a good time of year to make sure it’s protected. This is especially true if you can’t easily run down to your boat when the forecast changes.

The time to prepare for bad weather is during good weather. We’ll be delivering our November issue next Wednesday, November 1, which is generally the time the weather starts to turn. It’s a good time to check all your docklines, chafing gear, fenders, furling sails, open ports, cleats, dock connections and anything else that might cause problems when winter storms return. As a guide, here’s a downloadable checklist prepared by Mary SwiftSwan of Afterguard Sailing Academy.

If you want to make sure your boat is safe this winter, make sure it wears protection.

For a more complete list of winter protection suggestions see Mary Swift of Afterguard Sailing’s list here.