Our Sailing Pre-Departure Checklist Before We Head Out To Risk The Sea, Sailboat Exterior
Let me guess, you just bought a sailboat?
And you are here because you need to know what needs to be done before you go sailing?
Or you already have a sailboat, but you are unsure how to prepare properly for a sailing trip.
You are in the right place because if you read to the end you will learn how we prepare our boat for any sailing trip, which will, in turn, help you prepare your boat.
Sailing can be risky business if not properly prepared. So, I’ve taken the time to write out our pre-departure checklist of the things we do on our sailboat before we lift the anchor and set off for the horizon.
I’ve went ahead and separated the checklist into two separate parts for ease of use:
Sailboat Exterior
Sailboat Interior (another article)
I’m not going to lie, it’s quite the extensive checklist. It’s a lot to remember, so of course, I’ll say it, practice, practice, practice. How are you supposed to improve your already sick skills without it? Practice this checklist every time you go sailing and before you know it, it will all become secondhand nature.
Now that I've warned you, let’s go ahead and jump right into it. Also, figured I’d mention, there’s really no particular reason for the way this checklist is ordered, just as long as they all get done.
Side Note: The information you find below is subjective to our sailboat, Agápe, a 1988 Bayfield 32C. This is our checklist we use for our boat. Every boat is different, so make sure if there are any major differences, you add those on to this checklist. Our boat has no hydraulic systems on board and these systems will not be mentioned in this article. So just be aware, if you have hydraulic systems, that should definitely be a part of what you check before you leave.
Sailboat Exterior
This section of the checklist describes what needs to be done on the outside of your sailboat before you go sailing. I’ve listed the whole checklist in the beginning so you can jump directly to a certain part of the checklist if you need to and for those of you that need the whole checklist described in detail, keep scrolling to get to the good stuff.
Inspect Rigging
a. Tension
b. Fractures or Weak Points
Clean the Bottom & Underwater Safety Check
Chartplotter & Plot Course
Batten Down the Hatches
Fill Water & Fuel Tanks
a. Condensation
b. Don’t Run Out of Fuel
Store the Dink (Dinghy/Tender)
Set Up Sails/Take Covers Off
Lift Anchor
1. Check Your Rigging
The rigging on your boat is one of the most important things when it comes to the mechanics of your vessel. Without it, your mast would not be standing. So it’s very important to check your rigging before you plan to go sailing.
Before every trip we like to inspect our rigging. There are actually 2 reasons why we do this. And yes, we do this before every trip, small or large, because of all the movement the boat endured the trip before, it always has room to move a bit.
a. Tension
The first reason we check our rigging is because we want our rigging to be tuned to the correct tension. When your rig is too tight it puts far too much stress on the rig, causing it to stretch out over time which could cause it to eventually snap or wear out faster than normal, causing you to need new rigging.
If your rig is too loose, it could cause your mast to bend with the force of the wind which then puts stress on the whole rig. This could cause part of your rig to fail, snap, or cause fractures.
When your rig is tensioned correctly, wind will fill your sails perfectly without putting extra, unnecessary stress on your rig. This is obviously the ideal situation.
To tension your rigging properly, you will want to get a proper tensioner gauge.
These tools help you tune your rigging. They measure the amount of pressure on a particular part of the standing rigging. Each boat requires different specifications and therefore is not a one size fits all type of deal. My tool came with a guide and instructions on how to use it. It’s fairly simple.
b. Fractures/Weak Points
When checking your tension on your rig, go ahead and inspect for fractures in turnbuckles, pins, chainplates, shrouds, and all parts to your standing rigging and forestays. Just make a habit of doing this often, because the one time you didn’t check, it’s going to be the first time something fails.
We have a clipper bow style vessel, which means we have a bowsprit and a bobstay (part of the rig that attaches the bowsprit to the hull). Well, we were swimming one day and we both noticed a tee-tiny crack in the shackle holding the turnbuckle to the hull. Welp, this was not good. So we found a replacement shackle and pin and actually had to have the two welded together.
The point to the story is that had we not found that crack, we would’ve had some trouble sometime in our near future. It’s easy to fix now when noticed, instead of later after everything is messed up. Just check your rigging before you go sailing to prevent failures along the way.
This brings us to our next duty of preparing the exterior of the boat before we go sailing.
2. Clean Your Bottom & Underwater Safety Checks
It’s time to grab your scraper! We always dive under the boat before we go sailing. So, hopefully as a boater, you have fins, snorkel, and mask available to be able to do all of these things yourself.
Side note: you can always pay someone else to clean your bottom and if you can’t do it yourself, this is a wonderful option. We can do it ourselves so we do.
When I first started living on boats, before I met Bobby, I used to dive cleaning dirty boat bottoms for a living. I called myself a banacologist and it was a great way to learn how to take care of your bottom.
So, with that said, I’m telling you it’s not as hard as it sounds. We always just use a mask and snorkel to clean the bottom. There are other options as well that allow you to breathe while underwater. If that’s easier and better for you please consider investing in the necessary equipment to be able to do this. Bobby wants this Oxygen Cylinder so it can be easier for him to clean the bottom.
It can get quite pricey and it takes up storage on our boat that we do not have at the moment. So for us, the basic option is how we do it. One day we’ll have our own dive equipment.
When we dive on the boat, we clean any barnacle growth (soft or hard) that we have. Usually, it’s only green algae (soft growth). We have fresh bottom paint and clean fairly often, so we don’t usually get too much hard growth.
It’s absolutely necessary to clean the bottom of your boat before you go sailing, unless you like your top speed to be around 2-3 knots. Hard growth will 100% slow you down, so I highly suggest you get to cleaning before you leave on your sailing trip.
We use a 5-in-1 paint scraper and a green scrubby pad you use in the kitchen. We scrape hard growth gently with the 5-in-1 scraper and we clean soft growth with the green scrubby pad.
We usually split up sides to make it easier. I get port and Bobby takes starboard. To be honest, because this used to be my job, I'm a bit quicker at this, so I’ll focus on getting the keel and deep underside of the hull, while Bobby takes the prop, the rudder and water line area.
It’s also totally cool to split this up into a 2 day project if need be. If you’re riding solo or both parties can’t participate. Do 1 side a day. The closer you do it to departure day the better.
While under the boat, we check all through hulls (also getting barnacles out of there as well, using a small flathead screwdriver). Focusing mainly on the through hull for the motor, it’s the most important one.
We also check our prop. Quick story, our prop fell off once before. We think the motor was misaligned causing the shaft to vibrate. Which then caused our stainless steel cotter pin to shear off and our brass castle nut to back off allowing our prop to fall off the shaft. Luckily we didn’t lose our prop, but since then, we check our prop every time now.
This is one of the more major projects before leaving because it can be quite time consuming. Once it’s done, your boat should fly on the water for your upcoming trip.
Side note: be careful not to harm any of your transducers in the cleaning process. They are usually pretty sensitive, so just take extra care while cleaning the hull. We have a triducer, so luckily we only have one to worry about. We always clean the transducer as well and make sure the speedometer can spin freely.
3. Chartplotter & Plot Course
We recently spent 15 months refitting our boat and with that we got ourselves a new B&G Vulcan 9 Chartplotter. So happy because this is a serious game changer. Because the chartplotter was so expensive, we do not leave it in the cockpit while we are at dock or at anchor for fear of theft. So before every trip we must set up the chartplotter.
Plotting our course is vital to any sailing trip. So this step can actually be done at any time before you leave. Plan it before to save the hassle on the day of departure.
I am the navigator on our boat. It’s only because we like to delegate certain roles/duties on the boat based on each of our strengths. And navigating is one of my strengths. Still have a ton to learn, but for the most part I just get it and can get us from point A to B safely. I’ve trekked all over this world using nothing but a paper map. Now add the ocean and it’s a whole new level of navigation. Ocean currents, swell, sea state, wave height and so much more to study before leaving on a trip.
The main purpose of this article is to just plot your course before you leave, it’ll make your life easier on the day of departure. Plot and save if your chartplotter has that option.
Side note: always a huge suggestion to carry paper charts on board always, just in case of an electronics failure while underway. We also download navionics maps to our phones as well before we go offshore into the no internet twilight zone. We do it as a backup option for safety purposes.
4. Batten Down The Hatches
Before we leave, even for a day sail, we always tie everything down. Most people use the deck to store fuel cans amongst a plethora of other things. We too use the upper deck for storage. This is an easy step, so just make sure anything that could or would fall into the depths of the blue Davies Jones locker while underway is tied down in some way or form.
We try to keep gunnels as clear as possible for safety reasons. We try not to store too much on deck because we don’t have a ton of space. So mainly just a few extra fuel and water cans for us. Just make sure everything is tight and secure and you should be good to go.
5. Fill Water/Fuel Tanks
This should be pretty obvious, but it’s on our list, so here it is. We always fill every tank we have on board before we leave for any trip. It’s very important to us no matter how short or long a sail is to fill our water tanks. I don’t expect to be stranded for days or weeks on end, but when sailing, it’s important to prepare for the worst. It can happen to anyone at any time (being stranded I mean).
So, being the safety nut I am, I am always stocked up on food and water. I always plan on taking enough water and food to last 3x longer than the intended trip time. Basically I keep stocked up for about a month at any given time.
We have a small water maker (not currently installed yet), but even then I wouldn’t 100% rely on it. You never know what could happen, so please just fill your water tanks to the brim before you go sailing. We even have potable water jugs just to have extra water.
We try to always keep our diesel tank full, for a couple of reasons.
a. Condensation
If your tank is a ¼ or ½ full, there is now room for condensation to start in your diesel tank. You don’t want that happening because last time I checked, water in your diesel tank is bad juju for your motor. The fuller your tanks are, the less chance of condensation dripping water into your fuel. Water in your fuel tank can cause your tank to rust and corrode which could allow rust particles to cause further damage in the fuel system. Another thing that happens when water sits in diesel for too long, is that algae can and will start to grow and rapidly, once this starts it’s very difficult to eliminate. Try to keep your tanks full or at the very least monitor your fuel tanks on a regular basis to avoid these problems.
b. Running out of Fuel
The second reason is because it eliminates fear of running out of diesel. Which can cause a plethora of other problems. We ruined (seized up) an entire motor when one time we ran the motor out of fuel. When we were bleeding the system we were continuously trying to start the engine. Well, we didn’t know at the time you are supposed to close the seacock to the motor if you can’t get your engine started within 3 tries or within 15 seconds.
Long story short, the #1 piston backfilled with saltwater and we didn’t realize that happened and we didn’t run the motor long enough afterward to drain the pistons and it got seized up never to run again.
So, don’t run out of fuel. Keep your tanks full.
We usually fill water and fuel tanks the day we leave right after we lift the anchor. Sometimes that’s not a possibility, so we do it whenever we can before we leave. Also, when we come into port, we also fill all tanks again. Like I said, we don’t like to leave any of our tanks empty. We go on a lot of day sails too in between larger trips. It all works out in the end.
6. Store The Dink (Dinghy/Tender)
Mostly we do this right before we lift the anchor, of course after we take Sosa to shore to do his business. 99% of sailors have some sort of way to get to shore, whether that be a dinghy, kayak, or paddleboard. So we are all faced with what to do with your car of the sea.
Storing your dinghy can be easy for some and extremely difficult for others. Luckily we’re somewhere in the middle, it could be worse. At the time of me writing this, we had a used 10’ Port-A-Bote that we’ve had since 2017. We absolutely love these boats, by the way, they’re not too great in rough seas, but it never failed us and we pushed the limits with it.
So, that being said, Port-A-Botes are known for folding up to the size of a paddleboard. We’ve considered making a canvas bag to zip around it. Because of our new paint job, we put something underneath it if we fold it up and put it on the boat. Yes, I said if. We actually found a better, quicker, easier way to do it.
In appropriate sea conditions, we made a short bridle to connect to both stern cleats, we then tie the dinghy fairly close to the stern, so that in heavier seas the bow of the dinghy goes up with the stern of the boat so the bow of the dinghy doesn’t dump underwater.
We wanted and hoped to find a set of davits for this reason, but we never found the right set up for the Bayfield. Yes, we would love to have a sweet tower for the dinghy and our solar. Especially now that we have a different dinghy (used 10’ Caribe Inflatable with a hard bottom) that has not even been on a trip with us yet. Dreams! One day, we will find a set. We might even spend money to get a custom set made (and we try to never pay full price for anything, that’s how bad we want/need it).
Alright, we’re almost there, assuming you’ve already read part 1 of this article, we only have two more things to do before we go sailing. If you’ve made it this far, you’re going to love what I did. I saved the best 2 items on this checklist of things to do before you go sailing for last. So, without further adieu, let’s finish out strong.
7. Set Up Sails/Take Covers Off
Alright, we’re almost done! This is a very easy step in the checklist and one of the most fun because it means you’re almost ready to go sailing.
Our Bayfield is a cutter rigged sailboat and therefore, we have 3 sails. We have a roller furler for the headsail and we wish we had one for the staysail, but we don’t and so we have to hank on that sail. So if you have any sails you have to hank on, now is a good time to do it. Make sure after you hank your sails on, you lead the sheets to their appropriate places on the boat, so you can be totally ready for the moment you raise your sails. This step eliminates having to do this while leaving the harbor.
After you’ve got your sails hanked on and your sheets set up, now is a good time to remove your mainsail cover. Again, we wanted to add a stack pack to the boat during the refit, but again, we didn’t have time to mess with it, so we just have the normal canvas mainsail cover. We always remove the cover before we lift the anchor to just make that one less step we have to do while leaving the harbor.
Side note: we always use little ties to keep the mainsail from spilling out when we remove the cover and on that step we wait until we actually raise the mainsail before we untie those ties.
8. Lift The Anchor
Yay! It’s finally time to lift your anchor. Now this right here, is the best part of the whole checklist because it means you’re about to sail into the horizon. You are now ready for the last thing on the checklist. Grab your gloves and get ready to lift your anchor.
We are still doing it the old school way of actually lifting our anchor by hand. Well, I should say Bobby still lifts the anchor by hand. See, that’s one of his delegated jobs he’s good at. Lawd knows that is not one of my strengths. A lot of boats are equipped with a windlass to retrieve the anchor with the push of a button. We do not get to share in the convenience yet.
After you’ve lifted your anchor just make sure you have your anchor pin in place before you call it done. After you've done this, you can go sit back and relax because you are finally ready to go on your sailing trip and get ready for a ton of adventures ahead of you.
This wraps it up for the exterior of our sailboat. Thank you so much for taking the time to read our sailing pre-departure checklist of things we do before we go on our next trip. Hopefully it can help you along during your boating adventures. If you have anything you think I should add to our checklist that will help any fellow boaters please drop it in the comments below.
If you haven’t already read the prequel to this article, you can find it here.
Fair winds & calm seas my friends.
Peace & Love,
✌️❤️⛵️
Nikki
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