There is only one reason
I can think of for leaving your boat in the water over the winter in an area, like where we are, that could freeze: saving some money. I can think of numerous reasons to haul out, however. In the end, if your boat is damaged by freezing water, the savings you expected will disappear quite quickly -- and could even turn into a major loss. It not unrealistic to think that a bubbler, dependent of shore power, could fail just when you need it the most: during a big ice or snow storm. Then what? While it may be anectodal thinking on my part, I also believe it is "good" for a boat to be out of the water for a couple months. The one year I left my boat in the water in the Chesapeake over the winter was awful as I worried about it all the time whenever the weather turned ugly. And it did that year. We had a big snow storm (for this area). A day or two later, I tried to get to the boat to see how things were. I had to park my car at the edge of the marina and trudge through snow to get to the docks. The dock was treacherous to walk on. The boat was covered with snow/ice and frozen solid in the slip. Getting on safely was risky. When I did, I realized I didn't have any tools to get the snow off the boat, etc., ad nauseam, ad infinitum. You get the picture. If you really care about your boat, haul it out over the winter. This will have the added benefit of allowing you to check all the below-the-waterline things you ought to check each year.
