Behind the scenes with the Fleet Team
At the end of each sailing season, our fleet team is tasked with the Winter maintenance of our fleet of yachts. Ensuring your yacht is well cared for over the harsh Winter months stands you in good stead to return to safe and stress-free sailing come Spring time. Winter maintenance is a big undertaking for the team and takes hours of labour and time so let’s find out a little more about what the guys have been up to!
On Aelous (Hallberg Rassy 36 MK2) the saloon table needed to be removed completely alongside the port saloon seating. The water tanks were also temporarily taken out alongside a fuel tank so the team could get access to clean the bilge and tighten the keel bolts. The nuts are torque-tightened according to the recommended keel bolt diameter torque settings. Keel bolts are heavy-duty fasteners securing the keel to the hull and are an essential structural component. It is advisable that the keel studs are inspected periodically, It always makes for good practice to inspect the keel while a boat is out of the water. Once the task was completed the team replaced all the boat's fittings before servicing other areas. As well as the work on her keel bolts the team replaced the manual bilge pump, cleaned, serviced, and resprayed the motor windlass, serviced all her through hull fittings and fitted a new sea smart sanitation unit for the heads. She also has new USB charging points installed throughout and a seasonal anti-foul.
A lot of the time the fleet team needs to work in tight spaces to service and repair particular areas of a yacht ( the perfect job for our junior technicians and more slight members of the team!) Gull (Beneteau Oceanis 423) had some pipework serviced on her heads as well as new headlining refurbishment. Often the finishing touch to the interior of many boats the headlining panel is commonly made up of several panels of vinyl shaped together to custom-fit each yacht. Serving as an interior feature but also to conceal under deck fittings the headlining helps to insulate a cabin. All of Gull's interior in the saloon has been completely vinyl wrapped with a traditional wooden effect. Now looking fantastically fresh, she also has new rigging bolts installed and had her cabling and white goods serviced.
Other yachts in our fleet have also been given much time and attention. Red Kite has been overhauled and coded for charter, a new yacht to the fleet she is an Elan 31 and a fabulous all-rounder! Jukebox has had a new custom-built water tank to replace her water bladder. Blue Otter has brand new guard rails installed and Nota Bene is having a gel coat repair on all cockpit lockers and her gas bbq has now been plumbed in. All the fleet's life rafts and life jackets have been inspected, serviced, and maintained.
Blueberry who is moored as Beaulieu also came to Hamble Point for her seasonal Winter maintenance, she has received gel coat touch-ups and a polish. Beneath the waterline, she has been sanded, had her antifouling completed and we inspected and serviced her prop. The fleet team added a proper splice to her anchor chain and installed guard rail netting alongside servicing all the winches. It's certainly been a busy few months, the team has put in some solid hard work, with the yachts reaping the benefits!
Winter maintenance is essential on any yacht, it takes hard graft but it doesn't have to be a headache. We always recommend preventative maintenance to protect yachts from deteriorating over colder months. With 25+ years of experience managing our charter fleet, we've got you covered. If your yacht is moored on the Hamble we have a variety of services to help make yacht maintenance that little bit easier!
Browse our services for yacht owners or view our recommended list of works for a handy checklist to keep you on track.
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- Brad servicing Gull’s heads in confined spaces
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- Sam in Aeolus engine bay
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- Steph painting and antifouling
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- Aeolus being put back together following tightening of her keel bolts
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- A thumbs up from Andy
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
This is truly a 5 * service. The team really looked after us both ashore on arrival and also while at sea. We were a relatively inexperienced crew but always felt the team ashore had our backs. Thoroughly recommended.
I just wanted to say Thank-you very much for the weekend charter. It was exactly what we were after (albeit cold!) plus Andy was an awesome teacher and great company. We’ll definitely be keen to book again soon!
We had a fabulous four days. Marina is ideally placed for the Solent, boat was in great condition, well equipped and a joy to sail. We were well briefed and the shore side team including the dog very friendly.
We charted one of the sailing yachts for a fantastic weekend cruise in the Solent. The boat was in superb condition and well equipped, the staff was very helpful explaining how things work on the yacht and there was also a video available with all the important information. 10/10 would recommend!
Had a fantastic week chartering Blue Otter, Alex was incredibly helpful and sent loads of information and date checking prior to booking. There was a handover video and both the handover and return were really smooth. The boat was lovely and well maintained and Lee was really helpful in recommending places to visit (and helping identify the steering issue as an autopilot takeover - doh!). Definitely will be back and would fully recommend!
Just back from a lovely week in the Solent. Great service from HPYC from first inquiry through to return handover. Very straightforward to deal with, and the yacht was in excellent condition. We've chartered from many companies in the UK and abroad and the attention to detail (and flawless inventory!) was second to none. Everything about the yacht and equipment had clearly been well looked after and was in immaculate condition. Great service, will use again.
Always very friendly service, and well-maintained yachts. Easy check-in and checkout. Will be back...
We had a great time and were very happy with everything. Your team were genuinely friendly and were very helpful when we needed it. Is a big contrast to many charter companies I have dealt with in the past.
Watching the sun go down with a glass of bubbly on the deck of a sparkling yacht was unbelievable. What a treat, and a much needed change of scenery in these troubled times. We will be back for sure
Fab service, nothing too much trouble, including my daft questions. I'll be a repeat customer for sure!
We had a great time sailing with Lee for a few days at the beginning of September. Hamble Point Yacht Charters supplied us an impeccable 45 ft Hanse yacht, which was handled with complete mastery by Captain Lee. It was a privilege to sail with Lee, who is clearly a highly skilled professional taking great pride in his work ... but who is also a fantastic character with a great sense of humour and plenty of fun stories to keep the whole family entertained. He balances the serious side of safety and learning about sailing with a whopping dose of amusement and good cheer. We sailed the Solent in some decent seas, visited Bucklers Hard on the banks of the Beaulieu River and learned lots about British nautical history. Our boys started somewhat of a fishing trend catching bass off the back of the boat in Portsmouth and we would love to sail with Lee again in the future. The man truly knows his stuff, maintained the boat impeccably and went to every effort to ensure that we had a great time. Many thanks to “Shippers” and Hamble Point Charters. We’ll be back.
Chartered bareboats with HPYC on numerous occasions most recently in Sept 2020. Always helpful and accommodating. Highly recommend.
We had a fantastic weekend sailing on Loxley B. Boat in super condition and spotlessly clean, Alex. and the team very thorough and always on hand to answer any questions. A great experience. We will be back. Thank you!
Lots of information from office with a friendly service. We selected a one of the cheaper yachts and was please with find everything work and was cleaned and tidy. We will definitely be back
This was the first time we had tried chartering and as experienced racing sailors we didn't know what to expect. Covid has closed down all our events this year so this was a chance to get afloat at least once in 2020. What a great experience and Alex and all the Hamble staff could not have been more friendly or helpful. We had a great three days and we will be back !! We would have no hesitation is recommending Hamble Point Yacht Charters.