Why pull boat in winter versus leave in water ?

[KrustyKrab]

Northern Chesapeake 2014

#1 my winter stick mooring buoy
#2 some of the thinner "shore" ice

I lost a mushroom mooring & buoy a few years ago because I took mild winters for granted. Ice flow just carried the whole rig away. Now I use a winter stick.

Even in a marina ice can be devastating.

 

[dnordic]

I has always pull my boat out of the water (Mackinaw Island) -35 degrees for 30 days straight, stored outside. From 1983.

My boat looks like new. I re do the teak every 4 years or so. sand and protect. I open the hatches and put plastic on the outside and and lock down.
For the past 5 years. I installed Bronze Perko Garboard Drain Plug - heavy duty. Glassed it in. Cut off T handle. It's about a 3/4" plug . Its like a thru hull fitting. I put it at the bottom and then I pour epoxy in the bilge to bring up the bottom so all the water in the bilge runs out. Before the garboard plug, ice was solid in the bilge. I removed the board pumps and poured in antifreeze but it was always ice. 12" deep. It knock off the paint/gel from the bilge.

I run the hose in the spring and wash out from one end to the other. all dirt....removed.

I saw a picture of a guy who put an extension on the outside of the garboard plug to get the flow away from the hull.

I don't remove the bilge pumps they are high and dry. I inspect them every year.

 

[Rob2435]

If temps can get and stay below 32 degrees, you have to winterize or risk freeze damage. The other option is to heat the boat, which can be expensive during a cold winter. I don't worry about temps, snows, ice, or electricity because I don't take the chance, I haul out every year, though I am further North than you. I don't want to worry about the boat every time I hear about the "Storm of the Century" coming our way.

 

[Pegfrayne]

Where to put your boat in the winter...

Newbie. 27 footer. Bohemia River, Chesapeake Bay, MD.

Seems most people in our marina pull boats - yet some leave in water.

Why would you leave boat in water? Cost? Convenience? Access?

We pulled our boat the first year, last year. But I'm always looking for "least expensive route."

Thanks!

We have a 1983 Hunter 20 in Brick NJ. We invested in an ice bubbler. We alternate years. One in the water at our dock behind the house. The bubbler keeps the ice off of the boat. The Next year we haul the boat which allows us to scrape, clean and bottom paint the boat. Of course we store all of the cushions and the engine inside the house. We don't race the boat so we are not so picky about new bottom paint every year. This boat survived Sandy in the water.

 

[thinwater]

It's funny on the Chesapeake how just a 50 miles and the difference in salinity make a HUGE difference. Flying into BWI makes it clear there is a line just south of Annapolis below which the water is generally ice free, and north of which folks get frozen in for weeks or months. I won't go out if there is any harbor ice, because while thin ice may be no danger tot he hull, I don't fancy the sound of ice going through the props.

While I spoke of staying in, I hope it was clear that in the fresh water of the northern Bay the rules are different. I would ask locally and likely haul for a few months. But I don't have local experience.

 

[mikenovit]

The reason to leave boat in water....it was designed and built for the keel to "hang". Pushing up on keel while on land is not the way the stress level upward was intended.

 

[tootalltony]

If you leave your boat in the water and the water freezes ---what happens is the water can freeze inside the hoses and expand and burst the hoses. The ugly part is you won't see these little tears in your hoses. So it could effect the engine cooling and all the other drains and scuppers. That's why when you see boats in the water all winter there is usually a bubbler installed around the boat to keep the water from freezing. And the bubbler is another mechanical devise that needs maintenance! My advise------ if the water in the harbor is going to freeze over-----pay the price and haul your boat and shrink wrap it too. Then your boat will be happiest!

 

[robert dros]

Newbie. 27 footer. Bohemia River, Chesapeake Bay, MD.

Seems most people in our marina pull boats - yet some leave in water.

Why would you leave boat in water? Cost? Convenience? Access?

We pulled our boat the first year, last year. But I'm always looking for "least expensive route."

Thanks!

I suppose the climate dictates this option, I leave my boat in the water in Sydney, we don't have frost and snow, even during the winter period we can still sail, you also need the facilities to have yachts on the hard stand, there are thousands of boats here, so hard stand is not an option.
Yes , I have to haul my boat out every year for cleaning and anti foul.

 

[redhead78]

I had some one tell me you could leave your boat in the water in Rock Hall for a dollar a ft per month!! This dosen,t sound right??? sounds cheap?....Red

 

[bffatcat]

in or out ?

In New england north of Boston There is no winter sailing other than a few frostbiters that drysail on a nice weekend afternoon. There are a few marinas with bubblers. over 90% haul out for the winter here. To leave my boat in for the winter and rent a slip would cost considerably more than a haul out since I have a trailer and store my boat next to my house I paint my bottom every year one coat with a good quality ablative. I am happy to have the boat nearby to work on it My boat is on a mooring There are no slips in my harbor. My insurance requires haul out by the end of oct.

 

[Gunni]

It seems every winter, within 25 miles of Annapolis some unfortunate soul slips off an icy dock or deck while doing the obligatory boat check - and dies of hypothermia or cardiac arrest. You would be surprised how slippery a snowy dock or deck can be.

A dock mate leaves his boat in the water most years, last winter (2014) his fuel line split where water had accumulated, filling his bilge with diesel. Luckily his bilge pump discharge froze solid before the boat could discharge the fuel overboard, but the resulting split bilge hose managed to spritz his interior with diesel.

In 2010 I left my boat in the water until January, the resulting ice that locked the hull and then ground against it managed to do $1,500 in damage to my boot stripe.

Check your insurance, most require no navigation during winter layup - or you can pay extra.

My rule: Nothing good can happen to a boat left in the water through the winter.

 

[DStegs49]

We aren't quite as far north as DougM (Muskegon) but with his reasons in mind, we pull and store on the hard. Have for 30 plus years. 3 feet of ice and no power makes it quite a risk. Also a key thing to do is check with your insurance company. Ours doesn't cover from Nov 1 to Mar 1. (or close to that) Would love to move it south in the winter but that is also a big expense.

 

[thinwater]

... To leave my boat in for the winter and rent a slip would cost...

Is that typical? Most marinas around here, if you haul you STILL pay for the slip.

 

[thinwater]

It seems every winter, within 25 miles of Annapolis some unfortunate soul slips off an icy dock or deck while doing the obligatory boat check - and dies of hypothermia or cardiac arrest. You would be surprised how slippery a snowy dock or deck can be.

A dock mate leaves his boat in the water most years, last winter (2014) his fuel line split where water had accumulated, filling his bilge with diesel. Luckily his bilge pump discharge froze solid before the boat could discharge the fuel overboard, but the resulting split bilge hose managed to spritz his interior with diesel.

In 2010 I left my boat in the water until January, the resulting ice that locked the hull and then ground against it managed to do $1,500 in damage to my boot stripe.

Check your insurance, most require no navigation during winter layup - or you can pay extra.

My rule: Nothing good can happen to a boat left in the water through the winter.

My thoughts...

1. I go ice climbing for fun. Why would I fall? And yes, good sense is required. However, if the boat is well prepared there is no more reason to check on a boat while there is ice on the dock than there is to check on a boat during a hurricane. Snow just doesn't last that long around here.

2. I've experienced serious damage from improper blocking. I think the risk is perhaps equal. Since the insurance company does not NOT charge more for the winter afloat (my policy is clear on this), I'm guessing they've done the math. I've seen a lot of damage on hauled boats caused by ice, covers that got loose, snow load, water freezing in bilge, split rudders (water froze--can't happen in the water), and boats blown off stands. In other words, a wash.

3. $1500 for a bootstripe? Was the gelcoat damaged, or do they just charge a lot for paint? However, if my marina were subject to moving ice, I agree, get out of there! I've frozen in a few times, but there is zero movement where I am. Additionally, being brackis, the ice is mushy; just a few miles north that changes. And yes, being dependent on electricity to run a bubbler is not a robust plan.

4. Sailing can happen. Wonderful, quiet, sailing. A cozy evening with the wife.

My insurance does require a 2-week layup, during which I cannot sail, which falls just before Christmas. Busy then anyway.

 

[Gunni]

I tried winter boating but my ice crampons were not suitably non-marking. And it didn't matter because my wife thinks winter sailing means 25 north or less. I would be concerned about hauling and blocking a mult-hull, but if anyone can do it I would say the boys at HHN would do it right.

 

[Kefaa]

Plan to leave it in this year....maybe

I am in Deale on Tracys creek and I have always pulled it - But maybe not this year.

However, I was working with a broker from Rock Hall and he stayed on his for 8 years in the winter - in Annapolis. He thought pulling was a good gimmick for marinas as natural boat movement kept the ice from forming.
I was considering leaving it in the water this year. I am charged $170/month to put her on the hard + haul out in addition to my annual marina rate(welcome to the upper bay).

As I typically pull in December and drop her back in April, it is about $900 I could save. However, if I need to invest in bubblers that is 800+(?) Like you I am conflicted. I was really considering leaving it in this year. If anyone has a suggestion for cheaper ice protection/bubblers/etc. I am interested as well.

 

[thinwater]

I tried winter boating but my ice crampons were not suitably non-marking. And it didn't matter because my wife thinks winter sailing means 25 north or less. I would be concerned about hauling and blocking a mult-hull, but if anyone can do it I would say the boys at HHN would do it right.

In fact, it was HHN. That is where I always haul, because they are very good... except that once.

That particular winter there was a very heavy snow load followed by a heavy rain, and they missed the bulheads with the jacks. Big dent and broken laminate. Obviously, snow load is more of a factor on multihulls, often reaching a good fraction aproaching the total mass.

---

The scariest part of winter sailing is not the dock but the deck. The typical sloping deck is COMPLETELY incompatible with walking when covered with ice or even frost. But I'm not certain crampons are the answer.

 

[thinwater]

I am in Deale on Tracys creek and I have always pulled it - But maybe not this year.

However, I was working with a broker from Rock Hall and he stayed on his for 8 years in the winter - in Annapolis. He thought pulling was a good gimmick for marinas as natural boat movement kept the ice from forming.
I was considering leaving it in the water this year. I am charged $170/month to put her on the hard + haul out in addition to my annual marina rate(welcome to the upper bay).

As I typically pull in December and drop her back in April, it is about $900 I could save. However, if I need to invest in bubblers that is 800+(?) Like you I am conflicted. I was really considering leaving it in this year. If anyone has a suggestion for cheaper ice protection/bubblers/etc. I am interested as well.

I'm on Rockhold Creek, across from the fuel dock, where there are 4 cats in a row.

Truely, few people operate bubblers in Deale. I have one but have not used it in ~ 8 years. I forget.

 

[shemandr]

The scariest part of winter sailing is not the dock but the deck. The typical sloping deck is COMPLETELY incompatible with walking when covered with ice or even frost. But I'm not certain crampons are the answer.

On the occasions that I got up on my boat to shovel, I was surprised that it was so slippery. Really dangerous - especially considering the 7 foot fall to the ground. But that's not to dismiss the danger of the snowy/icy docks. They are very dangerous. If you keep your boat in the water, and think that you can tend to problems with ice blockages or whatever, you may need to risk your life to do so.
We sail all winter due to a friend who keeps his boat in all year. I'm thankful for those sails. But, we mostly stay off the docks, or decks, when there's snow or ice. He's been in the cold water doesn't want to do it again. My earliest swim was in April and it was cold enough. No thanks in February!

 

[woodster]

winters coming 1. take a heading of 180 degrees
2. sail till it is 75 degrees on the thermometer
3. drop anchor and enjoy a cold one

what else does a man need