A boat doesn’t break down from being sailed. It breaks down from sitting still. For twenty-seven years I’ve watched people arrive at Port Garraf after months away from the pontoon, hoping to set sail that same day, only to find the boat won’t start, won’t respond or needs a technician before they can even cast off. This is what really happens, in order of how often it happens.
The battery, the first thing to die
A battery that isn’t charged or used discharges itself within a few weeks. Below a certain level it starts to sulphate and loses capacity for good, even if you charge it later. The most typical result: you arrive at the boat, turn the key and nothing happens. And if the battery also powers the fridge or the bilge pumps, the problem isn’t just that it won’t start; it’s that the boat has had no electrical protection all that time.
The engine suffers if it isn’t run
A diesel engine needs to reach working temperature every so often so the oil lubricates all the parts properly and condensation doesn’t build up in the sump. Months without running it, especially in winter, encourage internal corrosion and make an expensive breakdown more likely when you finally start it. You don’t need to go sailing; a short, regular run is enough.
Damp, the silent enemy
A cabin shut up for weeks without ventilation builds up damp. Mould and bad smells appear in the upholstery and woodwork and, in the worst cases, electrical connections down below, out of sight, start to corrode. It’s one of the problems that takes longest to notice and costs most to fix once it has set in.
Mooring lines and fenders after a storm
When it blows hard, a boat moves in its berth far more than people imagine. A badly placed fender or a line that has gradually tightened can end up rubbing against the pontoon or the boat next door, and if nobody goes down to check in the following days, the damage is found weeks later, when it’s harder to know exactly when it happened.
What neglect costs, compared with what care costs
None of these problems is expensive if it’s caught in time: a battery can be saved if it’s recharged before it sulphates completely, running the engine takes fifteen minutes, airing a cabin is free. What’s expensive is always the repair after the fact: a new battery, an engine that has to be opened up, upholstery that has to be replaced. If you want the full breakdown of what it costs to keep a boat for a year, it’s in this other article; what matters here is that almost all of that spending shoots up when nobody has been keeping an eye on the boat between visits.
Who this is a real problem for
If you live near the marina and drop by the boat every two or three weeks, your own routine is probably enough. The real problem is for people who keep the boat as a second home, live outside Catalonia or abroad, or simply don’t have time during the week to get down to the pontoon. That’s when months without supervision become the norm, not the exception.
Your boat ready whenever you want, without having to think about a thing
Regular checks, engine runs, battery and damp monitoring, an inspection after every storm, with a photo report on WhatsApp after each visit. No long contract. See our boat management service