Every autumn the travel lifts at Manoel Island, Kalkara, Marsa and Marsaxlokk start working through their lists. Malta has only a handful of yards, so haul-out slots go early — and the owners who book the cover at the same time as the lift have the easiest winter.
How the season runs
Most boats in Malta that come out for the winter do so between late autumn and spring. The first boats out are usually the ones wanting a full antifouling cycle; the busiest weeks follow once the charter season has properly ended; and by spring the yards are busy putting everything back in.
There aren’t many yards on the islands, and the bigger lifts have limits on the size of boat they can handle. That means the slots that suit a particular boat — the right lift, the right week, space on the hard for as long as needed — can be booked up well before the season starts.
Why plan the cover with the lift
A boat on the hard is more exposed than one afloat. It sits higher, catches the wind across the yard and collects dust from the work going on around it. The best time to fit a cover is in the gap between the boat being blocked off and the first contractor arriving — which is easy to arrange if the cover is booked with the lift, and awkward if it isn’t.
Booking both together also means the cover can be designed around the winter’s work: stopping at the waterline for antifouling, doors where the engineer needs access, or a containment enclosure if there’s sanding or spraying planned.
What to tell the yard and the cover fitter
Your boat’s length, beam and weight; whether the rig is coming down; what work you have planned and who’s doing it; and when you want to be back in. Those few things let the yard pick the right lift and slot, and let us plan the frame, vents and doors around the work.
