Crack Epidemic at the Boatyard

[Muttondressedaslamb]

Last week I went to get my cast iron Christmas tree stand ready for the season. I had left it standing upright on the patio where it filled up with rainwater all spring, summer, and fall. Recently there was a cold spell and the water inside froze, resulting in a large crack from expanding pressure. If ice can do this to a cast iron stand, just think what it can do to your boat. I am enclosing pictures of the tree stand, as well as a bilge typically found in a sailboat with a bolt on keel. Any water left standing in the bilge during the off season, has nowhere to go except outward, possibly cracking the hull. If you have an opening at the base of the mast for in mast furling, rainwater can enter through the opening. If there is enough and it gets cold enough, it might freeze and crack the base, rendering the spar useless for anything except recycling into beer cans and screen doors.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

A bilge isn’t a confined space as is your tree stand base. It can, however, damage bilge pumps, float switches and hose connections and for that reason can be problematic.

 

[PaulK]

We put antifreeze in the bilge to avoid problems from expanding ice. Pink stuff.

 

[dLj]

Sorry for your Christmas tree stand - that was a very nice one! You could go get that piece either brazed or welded and keep on using it - if you wanted to go to the trouble....

Just a note - the grey cast iron your tree stand was made from is a very brittle material. It will break before it stretches to any degree.

For sure, you don't want water sitting in your bilges and freezing, but it is not a fair analogy to compare with that grey cast iron pot...

dj

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Crack Epidemic at the Boatyard

Please @Muttondressedaslamb , do try to refrain from using such overly dramatic headlines to lead into an otherwise mundane write up on the freezing of water .

Here I had visions of a wild, over the top, out of control orgy down at your boatyard when it'sit turned out to be little more than a discussion of the coefficient of expansion of water as it transforms to ice.

 

[Muttondressedaslamb]

We put antifreeze in the bilge to avoid problems from expanding ice. Pink stuff.

I do the same, but some sailors simply pump it dry, let the remainder evaporate during the fall, then forget about it. Depending on the boat model, whether or not it is shrink wrapped and the angle on which it rests, water can still find its way into the bilge. Most yards store sailboats with the bow a few degrees higher than the stern. This lets rainwater that gets into the cockpit drain out through the stern if its an open transom or the through hull fittings if otherwise. Sometimes, however, this lets water flow into the cabin via the companionway slide. If the boat has the mast stepped on the keel, that is another possible point of water ingress.

 

[Muttondressedaslamb]

Sorry for your Christmas tree stand - that was a very nice one! You could go get that piece either brazed or welded and keep on using it - if you wanted to go to the trouble....

Just a note - the grey cast iron your tree stand was made from is a very brittle material. It will break before it stretches to any degree.

For sure, you don't want water sitting in your bilges and freezing, but it is not a fair analogy to compare with that grey cast iron pot...

dj

I would not have paid a welder $50.00 or more to fix something that I bought 20 years ago for half of that. Looking back, I could have used JB weld steel epoxy putty on the inside to make a repair. Ended up buying a plastic stand. You are right about comparing brittle cast iron to fiberglass which does have the ability to flex under pressure.

 

[Muttondressedaslamb]

Crack Epidemic at the Boatyard

Please @Muttondressedaslamb , do try to refrain from using such overly dramatic headlines to lead into an otherwise mundane write up on the freezing of water .

Here I had visions of a wild, over the top, out of control orgy down at your boatyard when it'sit turned out to be little more than a discussion of the coefficient of expansion of water as it transforms to ice.

Sorry if I got you hot under the collar then left you cold. Anyway, you probably would not want to attend any orgy that I might host. Just remember my avatar. Besides, Crack is Whack

 

[ShawnL]

Technically, since it's cast iron it should really be brazed instead of welded. But I understand completely.

 

[Muttondressedaslamb]

Technically, since it's cast iron it should really be brazed instead of welded. But I understand completely.

And on the eighth day, god invented epoxy putty sticks

 

[dLj]

Technically, since it's cast iron it should really be brazed instead of welded. But I understand completely.

Hahaha - well we could certainly get into some serious thread drift on this one....

Grey cast iron can be both brazed and welded. It's easier to braze. But I've welded a lot of grey cast iron...

dj