Travel Hauler

Below is a list of things to do in preparation prior to departure and upon arrival at the marina where you will haul out.

1. Be sure to know where inside the marina the Travel Hauler is. Marinas that have "Hard Storage can be like mazes. Take as an example Harbor Towne Marina in Dania. There are a lot of ways to go wrong and you don't need to be pivoting in unknown close quarters unnecessarily.

2. Get a fix on the wind direction on the day of at your destination as well as tidal flow. You'll want to know which way you are being pushed or drifting when you enter the concrete and/or steel edged bay where the slings are.

3. Hail the Marina on your VHF on channel 13 or 16 or 68. THey may or may not answer but the fact that you tried demonstrates you are taking steps for safety.

4. Announce your arrival formally into the marina " Securite, Securite, Securite(international Signal for a safety message)...This is Motor/ Sailing Yacht (Name) inbound to Harbour Towne marina making way to the Travel Hauler Bay. Concerned vessels respond on channel 68.

5. Make eye contact with the travel hauler operator and begin communicating directly with him.

6. Be Courteous to the haul out crew although don't necessarily expect that in return. They can some times be quite salty.

7. Have a mate roaming with a fender and a fender on each side about mid ships. Don't put fenders where slings will be placed ( See #8 below)

8. Be ready to instruct where to place the slings. With IPS and Shaft drives you need to place the slings typically forward of those and with a sailing yacht you will need to be aft of the stern section of the keel and forward of the forward section of the keel. You may elect to mark the spots where the slings can go in advance so you or your mate can easily demonstrate. You don't want to get caught in a "SLING"! pretty substantial damage can occur and the boat yard will put the responsibility on you to know your vessel.

9. Remember to remove the fenders as soon as the slings are set.

10. Shut down the engine and AC. Turn off the main battery switches and or address all items to be killed at the switch board/circuit breaker. It is often advisable to close the seacocks that serve the AC system so as not to loose the water in the system thus requiring a bleeding of that system later. Not all systems require this but its good to find out.

11. Be ready for instructions to get off at the bow.