Spring Commissioning for the Bluewater Boat: The Jobs That Actually Matter

Every spring commissioning guide you've ever read tells you to check everything. Fair enough. But if you've been doing this for more than a couple of seasons, you know that some jobs are critical and some are nice-to-have. When your boat isn't just going day-sailing but heading offshore — maybe across the Stream to the Bahamas, maybe staging for a summer in the Med — the priorities shift. Here's where your time and attention should go first.

Standing Rigging: The Silent Killer

If your rig came down over winter (as it should for boats stored in northern climates), recommissioning is the perfect time for a proper inspection. If it didn't come down, you still need to go aloft and look.

What you're hunting for: broken strands in wire rigging, cracked swage fittings, crevice corrosion in turnbuckle barrels and studs, and any signs of fatigue at toggle pins and clevis connections. Run your hand along every wire — a single fishhook strand tells you the wire is done. Check that cotter pins are intact and properly bent back with ends taped.

For boats with rod rigging, look for any signs of bending or discoloration at the terminals. Rod doesn't give you the same visual warnings that wire does, which is why many riggers recommend replacement on a time schedule regardless of appearance — typically every 10 to 15 years for a cruising boat, sooner if you've been in the Southern Ocean.

The cost of a full re-rig stings. The cost of a dismasting 200 miles offshore is catastrophic. Don't defer this one.

Diesel: Beyond the Oil Change

Yes, change the oil and filters. But for an offshore boat, the real commissioning work on your diesel goes deeper.

Start with the fuel system. If your boat sat all winter with a full tank (as it should have), the fuel has been sitting too. Add a quality diesel fuel conditioner — modern ultra-low-sulfur diesel lacks the lubricity older engines were designed for, and conditioner compensates. Pull a sample from the bottom of the tank if you have a sump fitting. You're looking for water, sediment, or the dark sludge that signals diesel bug. If you find any, deal with it now — polish the fuel, treat with biocide, and clean or replace your Racor filters.

Inspect every fuel line, fill hose, and vent hose. You're looking for softness, brittleness, cracking, and any signs of weeping at fittings. Fuel hoses should be double-clamped with proper marine-grade stainless clamps — not the cheap hardware store variety with the slotted screw heads.

Check your raw water cooling system thoroughly. After a winter of sitting, impellers harden and cooling hoses can develop hidden cracks. Replace the impeller if it's more than a season old, and carry two spares aboard. Inspect the heat exchanger zincs and the transmission cooler.

Finally, run the engine at the dock for a solid 20 minutes under load if possible. Listen for unusual sounds. Check the exhaust for clean water flow. Watch the temperature gauge. A shakedown at the dock is infinitely better than discovering a cooling failure on your first overnight passage.

Below the Waterline

Haul day is inspection day. Before the bottom paint goes on, spend an hour with a good light examining the hull.

Check for osmotic blisters — small, circular bumps in the gelcoat that indicate moisture penetration into the laminate. A few tiny blisters on an older boat aren't necessarily cause for alarm, but monitor their size and number from year to year. Clusters of growing blisters suggest a barrier coat may be needed.

Inspect through-hulls and seacocks. Every one should operate smoothly — work them back and forth several times. Replace any that are frozen, cracked, or showing dezincification (pink discoloration on bronze fittings). Check that every through-hull below the waterline has a proper tapered softwood plug tied to it or immediately adjacent.

Examine cutlass bearings for wear, check the prop shaft for scoring, and inspect the rudder bearings and stock. On boats with fin keels, look carefully at the keel-to-hull joint for any signs of cracking or movement.

Electronics and Safety Gear

Power everything up. Every instrument, every screen, every antenna connection. VHF — transmit and confirm you're getting good signal reports. AIS — verify your vessel is showing up on other receivers. GPS and chartplotter — update your charts if you haven't recently. Radar — run it and check for dead spots or reduced range.

Test your EPIRB by pressing the self-test button (not the activation button). Check the battery expiration date and the hydrostatic release unit date. Do the same for your PLBs.

Inflate your liferaft if it's due for service — and if it's more than three years old and you haven't had it inspected, get it done. Check flare expiration dates. Test your MOB gear.

The Shakedown

After everything is recommissioned, launched, and rigged, take the boat out for a proper shakedown sail. Not a casual motor around the harbor — a full day sail in moderate conditions where you work every system. Fly the spinnaker or gennaker. Test the windlass. Run the watermaker. Use the autopilot in various modes. Cook a meal underway.

The whole point of commissioning is to find problems before they find you. Give yourself the time and sea room to do it properly, and the season ahead will be a lot more enjoyable.