Missed the Window)= First Boat is Frozen in?

catsailor · Dec 19, 2010

Re: Missed the Window)= 1rst Boat is Frozen in?

I would speak to others in the same marina that have spent the winter in the water. Though I am only 18 miles south, the creeks vary a great deal in how they ice over and whether the ice moves.

A bubbler can be a good idea in very cold winters, particularly in marinas that are more fresh water. I have one but only use it very rarely (not the last few winters), but I like knowing I have it for that one-every-20-year supper cold stretch. Yes, they are $$$, but they last many years. You can think of it as a $75/year insurance policy, for the years you stay in.

Keep the heater in (safe wiring!), Winterize all of the piping, make sure there are no low spots in the discharge hose, and relax.

higgs · Dec 19, 2010

Re: Missed the Window)= 1rst Boat is Frozen in?

I was at the Peoria Heights YC on the Illinois River. The river is quite wide here and there were sailboats still at their slips, frozen in solid. They told me they always left the boats in all winter. Hopefully, you will be OK.

David10790 · Dec 19, 2010

When the Ice Goes Out

Rich Bright said:
Reassurance? I bought a 30' hunter and she was supposed to be Hauled 2 weeks ago)= Went down to do some work an Hour and a half Drive and Found Her Stuck in the Ice? The Bilge Pump float was frozen She is a dry boat (= So I put a little heater in the cabin and left the sole off. Pump is now working (= My worry is she is Stuck. Frozen into her slip? Will this cause damage? This is my first Keel Boat and of Course I have worries)= Wanted to move her close to home and the weather turned. I dont have allot of funds for a bubbler? Any Ideas or help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Rich

Around here the threat is not getting frozen in, it is the potential damage when the ice goes out in the spring. On a windy day very heavy chunks of ice can be moving around with bad results. Steel pilings get bent, docks get broken up into kindling. Nobody here leaves a fiberglass boat in over the winter except in very protected spots where there is no prospect of ice damage.

Ross · Dec 19, 2010

Re: When the Ice Goes Out

We had an abandoned boat left in over the winter when we got six inches of ice. The marina hauled it in the spring and I couldn't find an ice mark on it.

Roger Long · Dec 19, 2010

Re: Missed the Window)= 1rst Boat is Frozen in?

I remember the year the Eel Pond in Woods Hole froze over. The next summer, you could tell all the boat that had been left in for the winter because of the hockey puck marks all over their topsides.

Warren Milberg · Dec 19, 2010

Re: Missed the Window)= 1rst Boat is Frozen in?

First things first: I assume your engine, fresh water systems, and head are appropriately winterized? If not, do so at your first opportunity. Open any seacocks like your galley and head sink and pour in some antifreeze. Then close all seacocks. I would also double up on dock lines and make sure your boat has "wiggle room" in its slip. Use chafe protection on all lines that may rub on anything. I'd also cover your boat with enough tarps to keep snow from accumulating on any flat surfaces and in the cockpit. While I do not recommend keeping a boat in the water where it freezes, many to do this and report no damage. If you are in the Annapolis area, you can probably count on periodic thaws that might give you the opportunity to have the boat hauled then. Also, a number of marinas do not allow the use of unattended heaters being left in boats in the water. I'd check with the marina and insurance company before leaving a heater going in your boat. Good luck with the new boat.

kloudie1 · Dec 19, 2010

Missed Window

Funny, Roger.. Puck marks ..
My buddy on the South River, just south of Annapolis keeps his Tartan 37 in the water (10 years now, since we sailed her up from Houston) .. Last winter, the little underwarter motor and propeller quit and he had a little freeze-in.. There was no damage.. The pier is in the back yard, so he can keep an eye on her. She is winterized and has a small heater inside.

Ross · Dec 19, 2010

Re: Missed Window

We had a very cold winter one year and the ice would freeze tight around the piles at low tide when the tide came in if the ice didn't break and was thick enough it would pull the pile up a couple of feet.

bffatcat · Dec 19, 2010

wintering in the water

Around my neck of the woods Boston`s north shore: 95% of the boats get hauled.
The ones that stay in are at marinas with a bubbler system. Things usually work out ok

Prime Time · Dec 19, 2010

Re: Missed the Window)= 1rst Boat is Frozen in?

When I was a kid, my dad used to leave his Pearson Coaster in the water for a few seasons. There was no bubbler or any other anti-freeze device. The boat was fine. We used to sail her through the winter. It was a very heavy hull. If there was a thin layer of the ice in Huntington Harbor on Long Island, he would actually be able to break his way thru and get out to the unfrozen area. (I don't advise this with today's thin hulls).

We would pour antifreeze down the drains and close the seacocks in the galley and the head.

RJMilliman · Dec 19, 2010

Re: When the Ice Goes Out

I hope this will help. My dad wintered his boat in all the time, he used a bubbler that he made. he used used copper pipe that he bent to fit under his 35 ft Coronado ketch. it had a center pipe to help it hold shape. he used a plug in air pump that he put together from air hose and a small compressor. i am sure that he had calculated how much pressure and what size holes to have ect, but i'm sure that isn't hard to find or figure out. other boats froze in and from what i remember they used heat tape on the through hulls to keep the water from freezing in the pipes. i am sure you can freeze in or make a bubbler on the less expensive side if use pvc and weights to hold it down. (this is what the box of old nuts and washers thats in the garage can be used for, good luck on whatever you decide.
Richard

Freedom77 · Dec 19, 2010

I complain about the 110+ heat here in the summer but at least I can put the boat in the water. In the winter the water gets down to a comfortable 52 but at least it's not solid. Pray for early thaw. Fair Winds and Full Sails whenever....

Armychefmike · Dec 20, 2010

de-icer

We used to live aboard just south of annapolis. Some of our neighbors had deicers and I went to West Marine to buy one, it was over 400 bucks!!! I was like "SCREW THAT" for a little 1/4 HP electric engine with a propeller on it?!!

I already owned a 35 horsepower engine with a propeller on it. In the mornings I'd start the boat's engine, put her in reverse and let it do its magic while I went to the bathroom (on land) to shower and do my morning ritual. When I returned 20 minutes later, there was no ice around the boat. We'd do this for a bit in the evenings when I came home from work and never had any problem. Others would just let their boats get iced in. I was concerned abbot ice rubbing on the hull and cutting through. Never made a mark. I looked at other boats who just stayed in the ice and didn't see any damage.

Bill Roosa · Dec 20, 2010

bubblers, ice, and heaters

First off, I'd take the heater out. The huge currents heaters draw are lible to set your boat on fire much more frequently than any ice problem you might have.
I got froze in a few years ago and deployed the motor with a prop bubbler. I cleared out my whole dock. check with other boat owners on the dock to see if one of them is deploying a bubbler. you may not have a problem.
The boats on the other side of the marina which did not have a bubbler (about 4" of ice BTW) where bobbing up and down in little form fitting "ice births." Seems the wave action would make the boat pump water up from below and keep a small amount of space between the hull and the ice proper. Just a little bumping but no damage. If the weather got colder though (TPL has a web site with bay water temps and the announce it on weaterh radio) it could "freeze solid"
BTW, the wolly worms say that we are going to have a warmer and dryer than usual winter. Now if the solstice would get here for winter to start perhaps all this will be moot.

dooley1 · Dec 20, 2010

Get a used Ice Eater for under $200

Rich Bright said:
Reassurance? I bought a 30' hunter and she was supposed to be hauled 2 weeks ago. Went down to do some work an hour and a half drive and found her stuck in the ice. The bilge pump float was frozen. She is a dry boat so I put a little heater in the cabin and left the sole off. Pump is now working. My worry is she is stuck. Frozen into her slip? Will this cause damage? This is my first keel boat and of course I have worries. Wanted to move her close to home and the weather turned. I don't have allot of funds for a bubbler. Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Rich

Here's a recent post on CL for a like new ice eater. http://annapolis.craigslist.org/for/2117550313.html
You can probably negotiate and get it for $175. A worthy investment!

Chuckbear · Dec 20, 2010

Bubblers are to protect dock pilings and while they may keep the slip open, they are not necessary. The movement of the boat will keep some open space around it and unless you have a solid freeze, read feet thick, the worst you will have is some dings in the bottom paint at the water line. Many boats in the marina we are currently in spend the winter in the water with no bubblers. There is skim ice on the creek now. Chuck

Orion253 · Dec 20, 2010

Depending on your circumstances, wavy or not wavy, big or small tides, currents, shallow or deep dock; these things will determine whether or not you should worry about ice around your boat. Does your boat have conditions which will cause it to move in the ice? If the answer is yes, then you should probably do something.
You don't have to use a bubber, there is a much cheaper product out there . The Ice Eater has an electric motor, w/ thermostat and propeller. You submerge and position it under the keel with four lines, plug it in and walk away. It automatically turns on when the weather turns cold enough to freeze the water you are in, brings warmer water from the bottom up under your boat and melts the ice . You just need to get the water circulating and the ice will melt away.
Also, check your boat insurance, you may not be covered for ice damage if you leave your boat in and take no precautions against ice damage.
I left my Hunter 40 in the water for 3 years in New Rochelle, NY. One year the bubbler system broke and my boat froze in for 2 weeks. There was no damage done that I could tell but it was in a calm river-like inlet.
Good luck,
Tom

mark_swart · Dec 20, 2010

Of the three years I lived in Annapolis, I only had one cold stretch where it iced over. If you live closeby and can check on the boat when it's cold, you'll probably be fine.
I'd be leery of leaving the heater running. Another option is to put a shop light in there with a 100W bulb -- that generates a little heat to prevent a deep freeze and doesn't place the demands on the electrical system that the heater does.

Shooter II · Dec 20, 2010

I'd worry 'bout the bilge pump.
shouldn't be freezin' up.
I'm on the Rhode, just south of Annapolis and there was minor ice in marina yesterday.
Nothin' to worry about.

Missed the Window)= First Boat is Frozen in?

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