Keeping a boat looking nice and everything working properly requires proper maintenance. The best time to do most of this work is in the spring before the boat is put in the water. Every spring the following work is done.

Hull Sides

While waxing the sides of the boat is not required, it does provide additional protection from the elements, and if done correctly can enhance the appearance of the boat. Waxing adds another layer of protection to the fiberglass and can minimize the effects of UV on the gel coat. In past years I've tried using boat wax, however applying wax to a boat is a lot of work requiring either a lot of elbow grease or the use of a power waxer. In cool weather it's even more difficult since the wax tends to clump and not flow nicely.
A few years ago I decided to try Poly Glow, an acrylic fiberglass finish that is supposed to be much easier to apply and maintain. So far it has delivered as promised. The first time you use Poly Glow you need to strip off all the old dirt and wax using Poly Prep, a heavy duty cleaner that strips everything off. After that you apply five coats of Poly Glow using a special applicator. Although five coats sounds like a lot of work, it was still much easier to apply than the wax and it sealed in the oxidation on my boot stripe. The results are the sides are now shiny and clean and easily made the boat look several years younger. For following years, all that is needed is one or two maintenance coats.

Deck and non-skid

While the deck needs very little maintenance other than an occasional cleaning, as Hannah is an older boat the fiberglass is starting to show its age and the non-skid is loosing some of its grip. I've been so impressed with Poly Glow that I decided to try one of their other products, Poly Grit. Poly Grit is essentially Poly Glow mixed with some grit that is applied on top of the non-skid. It adds a gritty non-skid surface and seals the original non-skid. The deck itself can be sealed with Poly Glow with the same results as the hull, creating a nice shiny appearance and making it easy to clean as dirt won't stick.

Hull Bottom

Every year the bottom is painted with a coat of Interlux VC 17m anti-fouling paint. Although this is something I can do myself, I prefer to have the yacht yard professionally spray it.

Propeller

Hannah has a Max-Prop two blade feathering propeller. When not in use, this propeller feathers to a very smooth profile and provides extremely low drag while sailing. Maintenance on the prop is very easy. Every year grease is added via the two grease ports and worked through the gears.

Winches

Hannah has a total of six Lewmar winches. The most important are the two Lewmar 40ST primary winches which are used extensively throughout the season. Since winches are very expensive and required to handle very heavy loads, proper maintenance is important to ensure smooth operation. Every year the winches are disassembled, cleaned, greased, and reassembled.

Teak

Of all the spring prep work, maintaining the teak is one of the most time consuming. Rather than use varnish to protect the teak, which can require up to 15 coats, I use Cetal, which is much easier to apply and requires only three coats. Most years I only apply a maintenance coat. To apply the maintenance coat we first clean and then sand the teak with fine grain sandpaper. All of the dust is then cleaned off using denatured alcohol and a tack cloth. All areas not to be painted must be masked off, and finally a fresh coat of Cetal is brushed on. The problems with the teak work are usually weather related. It must be done on a dry but not sunny day when the temperature is over 50 degrees.