Standing Rigging:

         Check all shackles to make sure pins and screws are tight. Inspect your standing rigging (side stays, forestay), in particular terminal ends that they are free of small cracks and corrosion. Clean and treat with a little CorrosionX, or similar, if minor corrosion or rust exists. Replace with pre-assembled / swaged parts if cracks or frays are found.  Factory parts to be the cheapest and most durable, plus they always fit. Make sure all pins are secured with cotter rings or cotter pins with the low ones near the deck taped. 3M electrical tape works well ...it’s UV stable, durable, cost effective, and available in lots of colors in the boating section of Home Depot and Lowe’s. If you use the non-sticky rigging tape, use it as an underwrap first layer, then cover it with 3M electrical tape; non-adhesive rigging tape does not tolerate line chafe.

Running Rigging:

          Inspect running rigging, including halyards, and sheets for frays, badly damaged covers, and UV damage.

          With a Ronstan rigging tool or pair of pliers, check all rigging shackles and screws that they are tightened down very firm. Jib sheet block shackles tend to come loose first. Word of caution, do NOT over tighten screws that go in to the hull, you’ll crack the gel coat!

          Check the halyard winch box by pulling the jib and main halyards all the way to the stop, exposing the entire winding spool. Inspect for corrosion (usually white gray, rough looking spots or blotches), clean and treat with CorrosionX or similar. Even if there is no corrosion, it is best to put a couple squirts of CorrosionX on the winch spools once or twice a year. Next, check the backlash brake pad tension spring. This is a piece of stainless spring steel that holds the small brake pads in place. You should feel moderate resistance when you wind the halyard with no sail attached. Also you can check backlash brake tension by winding 6 feet or so of halyard on to the spool, then pull the winch handle out with the lock pawl released – the spools should not spin, some wire may un-tension. 

Lubrication:

          Really the only part on your Scot that needs lubrication once or twice a year is the axle on centerboard winch drum. Apply a couple small dabs of extra light grease that contains Teflon or Silicon or Graphite. 

-          You can also spray the boom and mast sail tracks, and rudder head (where tiller slides in) with a little dry silicon lubricant such as McLube Sailcoat; we use McLube because the propellant they use is not supposed to eat sail material.

Hull:

         Pick a nice day to give your Scot a bath with water and plain car or boat wash soap. Do NOT use soap with wax in it (one step wash-and-wax soap). Wax the hull only (not the deck and cockpit) with Starbrite PTFE (wax with Teflon®) or similar. A Starbrite wax job usually lasts 6 months, helps keep your Scot hull free of staining and muck, and looks so shiny! 

          Clean up the deck and cockpit scuffs, marks, minor gouges and scrapes with mild rubbing compound, available at most auto stores and boating stores such as West Marine. You’ll be surprised how much a minor gouge will become hard to notice if you appy a little rubbing compound and elbow grease.

          Inspect, check, and clean (soap and water or damp rag) gudgeons, cleats, jib tracks, bow plate, mooring rings, cheek blocks, screwed in eye shackles, etc. Check that screws are screwed in moderately tight. Do NOT tighten down hard any screws on your Scot. It’s overkill and usually will cause your gel coat to crack. If any screws are loose, get a small tube of marine caulk such as LifeCaulk, back out the screw, put a dab of caulk on it and reinstall to firm tightness. The caulk seals the hole and core from water penetration and also helps keep the screw in tight. 

Sails:

          Winter is a good time to order new sails and have your favorite old ones repaired. You’re much less likely to have long lead times waiting on new sails in the winter.