Laying up in Malta: what actually needs doing

Damp is the real enemy

Nothing on your boat is going to freeze this winter. What will happen is four months of closed hatches, warm afternoons and cold nights — which means condensation, mould on cushions, and corrosion in every locker you cannot see.

So a Maltese lay-up is mostly about air and water: keeping air moving through the boat, and keeping rain out of places it should not reach.

In short

• Ventilate below and run a dehumidifier if you have shore power.
• Check covers after every storm — a pooled cover is worse than none.
• Run the engines monthly rather than “pickling” them (preserving them for long-term storage).

The eight jobs worth doing

In the order we do them.

1. Strip soft furnishings off the boat or stand them on edge so air gets behind them.
2. Empty the fridge, prop it open, and leave lockers and floorboards ajar.
3. Dehumidifier on a timer if you have shore power; passive vents if you do not.
4. Fuel tanks topped and treated, filters changed, water drained from the bottom.
5. Batteries on a maintained charge, connections cleaned and greased.
6. Bilges dry, pumps tested, and a note of the level so you can spot a leak.
7. Covers fitted so water runs off, not into a pool over a hatch.
8. Lines doubled, chafe protection on, fenders sized for a winter blow.

Chafe protection where the line crosses the fairlead (the fitting that guides it). Ten minutes, and it saves a cleat.

Three you can skip here

Antifreeze in the fresh water system, full engine pickling, and lifting out purely “for the winter” — none of them earn their cost in this climate unless the boat is coming out for work anyway.

If you are not on the island

The list above needs someone to walk the pontoon after each storm. That is what a full-year care plan is for: we check the boat every month and send you photos each time. The lay-up itself and winter engine runs are quoted as extras.