Leaving your boat in Malta for a month or more: a checklist

A boat left afloat in Malta has three things working on it while you are away: sun and heat in summer, damp in winter, and wind. The worst gales come from the north-east, the gregale, mostly in autumn and winter, and they push swell into the harbours. Nothing on this list needs special tools. Work through it the day before you fly, not on the way to the airport.

Power, water and gas

• Decide what stays on. Normally the battery charger and the automatic bilge pump. Everything else off at the panel.
• Test the bilge pump. Lift the float switch, which turns the pump on when water rises. The pump should run with the battery switches where you will leave them.
• Shore power. Plug pushed fully home. Cable led so it cannot chafe, hang in the water or pull tight as the boat moves. Ask the marina what happens if the supply trips.
• No shore power? Leave the batteries fully charged and everything but the bilge pump off. Summer heat is hard on a bank: see why batteries die in the heat.
• Seacocks. These are the valves where water enters or leaves through the hull. Close every one except those that must stay open, such as cockpit drains. Hang a tag on the engine key to say the cooling inlet is shut.
• Fresh water. Pump off at the panel. Dock hose disconnected from the boat. A burst pipe with the pump on empties the tank into the bilge.
• Toilets. Flushed through with fresh water. Holding tank emptied.
• Gas. Off at the bottle, not just at the cooker. Gas is heavier than air and settles in the bilge.

Below decks: bilges, fridge and damp

• Bilges. Sponged dry and photographed. Any water found later is then new water.
• Fridge and freezer. Emptied, wiped, switched off, doors propped open. Take all food off the boat.
• Cushions and mattresses. Stood on edge so air gets behind them. Bedding and towels taken home or bagged.
• Lockers and floorboards. Left ajar.
• Air. Leave open the vents that keep rain out. In winter, a dehumidifier on a timer if you have shore power. Our lay-up guide covers the winter in detail.
• Sun. In summer, blinds closed or covers over the hatches, so the cabin does not bake.

On deck: covers, lines and fenders

• Covers. Over the helm, instruments, windscreen and cockpit table. Cockpit cushions below.
• Canvas. Bimini (the folding sun canopy) and sprayhood folded and lashed, or taken off. Canvas left up is the first thing a gale takes.
• Sails. Sail covers tight. A furled headsail gets extra turns of sheet around it, and the furling line tied off. For a whole winter, take it down.
• Lines. Doubled on the side a north-easterly will come from, and led to separate cleats. If you are berthed stern-to, the bow lines must be tight enough that the stern cannot reach the quay when the swell comes in.
• Chafe. Hose or leather wherever a line crosses the deck edge or a fairlead, the fitting that guides it.
• Fenders. On both sides, at the height of your neighbours, tied to something solid. One spare. The gangway lifted clear and lashed.

The full routine is in the ten-minute berth check before a gale.

Tender, security and keys

• Tender. Ashore, or lashed down on deck. Not left in the water. On davits, drain plug out and the tender lashed so it cannot swing.
• Outboard. Flushed with fresh water, then locked to its bracket or stowed below.
• Valuables. Portable electronics, papers and anything tempting taken home or put out of sight. Hatches and lockers locked.
• Photographs. The whole boat as you leave it: lines, fenders, covers, bilge, panel.
• Keys. One set with whoever checks the boat. The engine key out of the ignition.
• A one-page note. Where the battery switches, seacocks and bilge pump switch are, and what you left on. One copy on the chart table, one emailed to the key holder.

What to arrange ashore

• A key holder on the island. Someone who can be at the boat the same day.
• The marina’s first call. Give the office that person’s name and number, ahead of yours. You may be asleep in another time zone.
• Insurance. Read your policy for conditions about unattended boats. Some say how often the boat must be checked and what you must do when a storm is forecast. If in doubt, ask your insurer in writing before you go.
• A storm plan. Agree who watches for warnings from the Met Office at Malta International Airport, who goes to the boat before the gale, and who goes back the morning after.
• Authority to act. Say what your key holder may do without calling you, such as adding a line or replacing a fender, and when they must ask first.

This is what our care plans are for. A care visit is a washdown and a visual check that everything is still in order, with a dated photo report each time. Every plan has a set repair response time and a discount on repair labour. Gold adds a 24/7 line and a berth check when a storm warning is issued. A care visit does not include running engines, working seacocks or measuring battery voltage. Those, like repairs and parts, are quoted separately.

What to ask whoever checks the boat to send you

• Dated photographs after every visit, taken from the same places each time so you can compare them.
• The shots that matter. Each line at its cleat. Fenders on both sides. Covers and canvas. The waterline along both sides. The shore-power plug. The cabin.
• Three lines of text. What was found, what was done, what needs your decision.
• After any gale, a visit and photographs the next morning.
• Before any spending, a written quote.

Keep the photographs. A year of them is a useful record of the boat.