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• WEST MARINE

THE PREVIOUS OWNER

A student of mine was commenting on his yacht, and used the term P.O. It was too funny. He said he heard it in a Catalina owners forum (referring, of course, to the previous owner). This article will explain why.   

Although we should thank the previous owners for passing on their finds to us, in the pre-owned vessel, some of what we see from the previous owner's activities can be quite questionable on smaller yachts, often the realm of new and inexperienced sailors. You will see final chapters of trial and error projects, but sometimes (unfortunately) not the actual endings. As new sailors yourselves, at least with respect to the little vessel in question, you will instinctively think of the anonymous, previous owner as something of a master of his/her domain. Like jealous thoughts to a loved one's previous relationship, you will sometimes feel that someone, other than you, had better knowledge/technique with the boat that is now yours. It is essential to think positive and have confidence in your own judgment, when it comes to dealing with these small vessels and their 'projects in progress'.

New owners of yachts all go through similar tasks in their first days. The big wash-down and 'spring cleaning' usually lives up to it's name, since most yacht acquisitions happen in the spring, and most of those yachts were abandoned all winter (or longer) by the seller. This is a good time to empty the yacht of all non-essential equipment. Clear out all personal trinkets and/or decorations which have accumulated, particularly easily damaged or corroded items. Leave only functional equipment. There is little space on a yacht for non-essentials, and clutter and weight have a detrimental effect on successful cruises. It is usually at this point that the yacht's previous usage can be deduced, and maintenance tasks planned accordingly. Lots of wine glasses and candles usually means work getting the boats performance and equipment systems up to par. Spartan interiors with heavy crew wear means the yacht was sailed hard (possibly raced) and will need to have all equipment checked for wear and damage. Regardless of the previous usage, remember that you are on your own when planning these minor jobs, as the deficiencies here won't be serious enough to show on a yacht's survey. It should be noted that waxing, staining/varnishing and polishing should all be avoided at this time. It is too easy to waste the approaching summer on cosmetics, and the truth is that the wood will be teak (needing little protection), the deck will get dirty anyway (and rinse clean) after your more important projects, and, (with the exception of corrosion) polishing will serve no preventative purpose whatsoever.

Identifying projects is next. If everything has been done correctly up to this point, you will be dealing with only minor issues with equipment, rig, and hull. You will have finished all your survey 'conditions', and now have a clean, empty yacht ready to sail, but it is usually at this point that mistakes happen. Especially if too much cosmetic work was done in lieu of the careful analysis of working equipment and systems.

A two dollar bag of parts will usually replace an entire yacht's inventory of cotter pins and, correctly installed, you will save your rig from falling into the sea due to failure of these simple locking devices. You will also avoid snags and injuries on incorrectly installed pins. Source out a good maintenance manual and install the new pins/loops cleanly without tape, if possible. This is the start or the 'P.O.' phase of your yachting, because you are guaranteed to find jury-rigged and or improperly installed cotter pins, if they are not missing altogether. Do not sail until this task is completed. Just because the previous owner got lucky and avoided what is usually a 'domino effect', caused by the simplest of gear failures, doesn't mean you will. Cotter pin issues are responsible far a large percentage of rig failures.

Next item up for checking is usually the ground tackle system. Keep in mind that only about 20% of yacht owners ever anchor, so the equipment will probably be rusted, incorrectly stowed, ineffective or (most likely) all of the above. Some previous owners have been known mount their heavy anchors on their decks with plastic brackets, even using self-tap screws. As was noted in the cotter pin discussion, don't assume that because a 20 pound anchor didn't break loose and maim the previous owner that you will be similarly lucky. If you can kick something loose on a sailing yacht, it is 'loose'. If you can figure out another means of freeing it easily, it will eventually be free. An anchor larger than the previous owner used is a good purchase at this time. There is no maximum size to ground tackle, only what you can handle (and always wear a weight-training belt and use proper technique when lifting). Keep the existing anchor as a secondary. If the previous
owner never anchored, there is no reason to assume the present anchor was of adequate size. Ratings are given by manufacturers, but can sometimes be speculative with very small ground tackle, depending on a particular yacht's behavior at anchor. The common Danforth-type anchor can also corrode and wear invisibly at the pivot point. It will give good piece of mind to start your yachting with a brand new, very large anchor, (as large as you can safely handle). The cost of a new Danforth-type anchor is very reasonable, considering the extra margin of security reliable ground tackle will provide.

Lifelines will probably have passed the yacht survey, but that doesn't mean they do not contain quick release shackles and or pelican books that are waiting to accidentally release. Lifelines should serve only the purpose they were intended for, and not have gates (if possible). Any loss of continuity in the lines makes large sections of the system structurally unsupported. Here you can use tape on the shackles and pelican hooks, or avoid using them altogether. Consult equipment manufacturers, as well as a professional riggers, on any modifications. Incidentally, do not secure anything (fenders, etc.) to lifelines or standing rigging, regardless of what the previous owner, or indeed everyone else at your marina, has done.

The last bit it work within the scope of this article is inspection of the 'running' rigging systems for incorrectly installed or incorrectly selected gear, such as blocks, fairleads, etc. Consult a good maintenance manual, as well as all available resources from the rigging manufacturers (or hire a pro) to make sure that correctly installed gear is being used under the right applications with the correct loading and load angles. A failure of loaded gear can transmit thousands of pounds of force. One of the worse instances of gear selection I have seen was a previous owner installing a quick release shackle on his mainsheet. The idea was sound; Disconnection of the mainsheet system during entertaining in the cockpit. An accidental release under load, however, would have sent a loaded mainsail and boom into the shrouds, resulting in a shock-loading and dismasting (plus removal of any crew standing in the path). In this case, the remedy was a simple removal of a 70 dollar shackle, and using it elsewhere, in a manner it was designed to be used (spinnaker halyards, etc.). This correction was a difficult sell to the new owner, however. You can also take this opportunity to replace or clean, and then reorganize any questionable lines. Dirty lines can be safely machine washed in cold to warm water in front loading (tumbling) machines. Wrap or burn all tails, and make sure lines are of sufficient length. If not, try to swap them around or replace them, paying strict attention to maximum safe working load data.

The truth is, all usually goes amazingly well, even on the worst-found yacht. When it doesn't, however, what was meant to be a pleasure activity can quickly become something entirely different. When the fault was (seemingly) not yours because you followed the techniques of the previous owner, you may apply the P.O. term in a derogatory manner.  Ultimate responsibility for crew and vessel safety, however, rests with you, the new skipper. Information and courses are more easily available for new sailors than it was for previous owners, so it is worth taking advantage of.