Bubblers

[John]

Need to decide whether to leave the boat in its slip this winter with a bubbler systen provided by the marina. My understanding is that they take no responsibility if something should go wrong, i.e. loss of power etc. Would like the pros and cons, also has anybody ever checked with their insurer about their stance.Thanks

 

[Joseph Lynch]

I guess it all comes down to how much you trust your marina and how professional they are. Over hers in CT (Long Island Sound) the club we belong to is member maintained. So maintenance, or lack of is our own fault. We keep or boat in the water and haul her every two-three years. To clean her up and repaint. In nine years we have never had a problem

 

[Chris McLoughlin]

We have kept our boat in

the water the past 2 winters. We are at a reputable yard and never had a problem. (last winter was so mild here in CT I don't think the bubblers even came on).You dont say where you are, I would probably be more concerned if I were in the Great Lakes, rather then down here in balmy CT.Chriss/v Tidesong

 

[John]

Since '87

Been keeping my Hunter 25.5 in a bubbled slip during the winter since 1987. The marina has consistently been excellent at maintaining the system and turning it on when the temperature drops enough to form ice. The boat is on a fairly large lake in central Indiana where the lake ices over nearly completely each year. I have never had a problem and the slip has always been ice free. I would paint a different picture if the marina was not always on top of the equipment. One problem experienced at the marina, but not my part of it, occurred when a strong wind pushed an ice flow into the marina one year. The ice was well over a foot in thickness in some areas. This event pushed large slabs of ice into a number of docks, stacked ice a number of layers thick in some areas, and did considerable damage to some marina facilities. A few boats (in that portion of the marina) were damaged by the ice flow as well, but the marina was able to move many out of harms way before damage could be done to them. However, if the winds had continued, it is fair to say that there would have eventually been no safe location within the marina. It did not. I continue to keep my boat in bubbled slips in the winter and feel fairly secure. This allows me to sail both later and earlier in the season.