On The Hill: The Spartina gets hulled out of the water for some much-needed off-season maintenance
Some boat repairs require that it’s out of the water. Boats too large for a trailer get hauled from the water at a boatyard. Boatyards are different from shipyards. As the names imply, boatyards work on boats and shipyards work on ships. I’m not sure what distinguishes a boat from a ship, but I can usually tell one from the other.
Vessels that end up in boatyards often fall under the subheading of “yacht.” Yachts are fancy. By fancy, I mean yachts are well-kept and well-appointed with varnished teak or mahogany, shiny brass and stainless steel. Fancy means yachts operate using several sophisticated and robust systems. Working on such vessels requires lots of technical ability and finesse. Boatyards generally employ a smallish workforce of 20 people or less. The better boatyards employ well-trained and cross disciplined workers. When the time comes to haul out, I prefer a yard that allows me to work on my own boat. For one, this saves me money. Secondly, I become intimately familiar with my own vessel.
To haul boats, boatyards often use a huge steel framed rolling contraption known as a travel lift. Boats float into the travel lift’s slings, then get hoisted clear of the water. The travel lift wheels the vessel to some convenient place in the “yard” where it gets “chocked up” on wooden blocks laid under the keel. Adjustable jack stands placed on the lower sides balance the boat on the blocks. A hauled vessel is colloquially referred to as “on the hill” or “on the hard”. Boats of higher priority get chocked up closer to the center of activity. Boats hauled for storage, or those on their way to abandonment, end up farther away.
At present, Spartina is “on the hill” in the Chesapeake at the Deltaville Boatyard, where she’ll get a new paint job. She’s in the good hands of boatyard owner and former Folly Beach resident, Keith Ruse. With the mast un-stepped and on sawhorses next to her, I’ve got great access to the masthead that was otherwise 59 feet above the water. While it’s down, I’ll rework the mast by replacing the aging wires, wind sensor, antennas, and navigation lights. Spartina, who may once again become a yacht, thankfully rests in the higher priority part of the boatyard.
Capt. Anton DuMars, longtime Folly resident and coastal geologist, spent the summer visiting marshes in coastal North Carolina and the Chesapeake Bay. He loves your feedback. Contact Anton here: sailspartina@gmail.com
