As any boat owner will admit, the maintenance and upkeep of one’s boat is a never-ending process we all must go through, and it’s no different for SY Mahayana.

I’m positive, we’ve all written down a list of jobs that must be done, but I highly doubt if anyone’s ever seen this magical list ever completed!

This is why an annual haul out is such an important process for us.

A haul out is where we take the boats out of the water and park them in a yard for an extended period of time, thus allowing us to complete jobs that would otherwise be near impossible while sailing in Thailand & Myanmar.

Such simple things like having a constant power supply, water supply and even being on land and therefore close to hardware stores makes such a big difference in shortening the amount of time needed to complete maintenance jobs.

As you can imagine, when a boat is used for commercial purposes, the use of it increases. With the increased use, the greater the wear and tear.

Therefore, it has always been our aim to haul out for a few months each year, typically in the low season (so as not to interfere with supply and demand) to allow for the necessary maintenance to be conducted, ensuring our sailing yacht always meets the expectations of our guests.

This year is no different, if not more exciting.

Over the past 12 months, we have seen a rapid degradation to the body paintwork to our sailing yacht SY Mahayana.

As you can see from the photos, the green paint, well, no longer looks green.
Due to the harsh conditions, boats are put under (continuous exposure to strong sunlight, abrasive saltwater, and of course the standard knocks and scrapes) it is about time for a much-needed face lift! This year will see us completely rejuvenate the look of SY Mahayana with a repaint.
Extensive work will be done to the interior and exterior woodwork, replacing weather damaged sections and re-varnishing a large portion of the interior and exterior woodwork so as to cope with the extreme weather conditions and usage.

But even more importantly, both SY Mahayana’s Diesel engines will be taken out for a serious overhaul and re-tuning. After several years of usage, or a certain number of hours, it is important to give the engines the TLC they need.
Not only is it important to us to make sure our boats look beautiful and well-kept to our guests, but it is more important that they remain in a perfect working order, because knowing that the boat has been well looked after, offers a piece of mind that they are seaworthy and safe.

Frequently asked question:

I am regularly asked why it is necessary to take a boat out of the water, considering the costs involved to do so.

The simplest and most constant reason is to do with the Anti-fouling.

Anti-fouling is a type paint. This anti-foul paint is painted to the part of a hull that sits below the waterline. We’ve all seen objects that have sat in saltwater for a long time. We know this because the object is usually covered in growth. Well, it’s no different for a boat! What anti-fouling does is slow down the build-up of this growth (algae/moss/barnacles etc.) However, it’s a short-term solution and needs to be redone every couple of years, if not every year, and to repaint this section, SY Mahayana must always come out of the water.