Life Behind My House

[Warren Kaplan]

This is the scene from the floating dock behind my house nearly 24/7 for the past few weeks. I can't wait until spring!!
Click on the image to see the video.

[dennfri]

For someone who "commutes" 50 mins each way to get to the slip, all I can think of is how cool it must be to have a slip in the back yard!

For someone who grew up on long island (manhasset bay), all I can say is you have a great cruising ground over in oyster bay. As a 3rd year cape dorian, I look foward to bringing the boat through "the gate" and re-aquainting myself with the sound this summer.

Den

[Warren Kaplan]

If you're ever headed to Oyster Bay, let me know and maybe I can meet you!!

[Sea Hunt]

Warren:

I am embarrassed to ask this question, but I have waited two days for someone else to ask or to discuss/explain what is in the video and no one has done so.

Sooooo, I will ask. Exactly what is the "bubbling" action being caused by

I assume from what I can see on the dock that you may have some type of aerator hose and that you are agitating the water in an effort to keep ice from forming. If this is the reason (it would be a lucky guess on my part), why do you need to keep the ice from forming around the floating dock

In any response you may provide, please remember I am a "Miami boy" who has not seen lake or pond ice or snow in many, many years and be gentle in your response.

[Warren Kaplan]

Suspended just below the surface of the dock, by the lines you see in the picture is an ice eater. Its a brand name for a propeller that brings warmer water to the surface. That, and the disturbance of the surface, disperses the ice or prevents it from forming all together.

The purpose:

We all know that ice floats. Just look at those ice cubes in a glass of water. There's warmer water below. Now imagine that during a real cold spell ice freezes hard to those poles holding the dock in place. There's still some water underneath. When the tide comes in, and there still is a tide, it lifts the ice and if that ice is frozen hard to the poles, it lifts those anchor poles right out of the bottom. Any lateral movement of the ice will snap those pole or crush the dock or both. A very costly loss and if the dock breaks free it can do mucho damage to a neighbor's property.

So the propeller keeps a narrow circle of free water around everything in very cold weather and a larger circle around in "warmer" cold weather. The fact that the neighbors also have them helps.

As an added benefit, the ducks love it too because they have a place to swim and more important, dive down and feed when everything else is frozen solid!

[dennfri]

If you're ever headed to Oyster Bay, let me know and maybe I can meet you!!

Sorry for the delay in response. I hope we can hook up this summer, it would be a delight to meet such a staple on the message board. I have some family in Bayville, so It would be a fun trip to Oyster Bay. I will let you know if and when I can make it! I would be coming from Haverstraw, N.Y.; it will be my first trip through the gate since I bought the boat in Port Washington (also a cd 27).

Regards,
Dennis

[Warren Kaplan]

If you're ever headed to Oyster Bay, let me know and maybe I can meet you!!

Sorry for the delay in response. I hope we can hook up this summer, it would be a delight to meet such a staple on the message board. I have some family in Bayville, so It would be a fun trip to Oyster Bay. I will let you know if and when I can make it! I would be coming from Haverstraw, N.Y.; it will be my first trip through the gate since I bought the boat in Port Washington (also a cd 27).

Regards,
Dennis

I do believe I once saw what is now your boat when I was anchored near the Port Washington YC in Manhasset Bay a few years ago. She was a nice boat then and I'm sure she is a nice boat now.

I'll be lookin' fer ya' if you head to Errsta Bay this season!!