Winter in the Water?

[drb9]

I'm curious whether anyone leaves their boat in the Chesapeake over the winter. I've tended to have it hauled. It's in the middle Chesapeake, Herrington Harbor South. What do others in the area do? Is a bubbler necessary for brackish water in the mid-Atlantic.

[Jim Evans]

I'm at Shipwright Harbor in Deale, MD. I'm pulling out every other winter. That seems to be a common haul schedule among many owners at Shipwright. I am hauling for the month of April, though, just to wax the hull, check the zincs, clean up the waterline and so forth. I use a year-round boat cover, and that saves a lot of wear and tear on my varnish, etc. I highly recommend a cover - they pay for themselves.

[Will Wheatley]

I haul out every other year as well. I keep Suzi Q on a cove off Mill Creek in Annapolis. Capt. Ed who owns the marina puts a bubbler in the water if it freezes but that doesn't happen every winter. I know that if the ice is not too thick it doesn't make a big difference. In the night the ice gets harder but in the day it thaws a bit and a boat will settle down and break the ice around it. If I had the choice though I would go with the bubbler.

I have seen many boats frozen in in Annapolis and can't remember too many issues. Probably the biggest worry is the possibilty of the seacocks or the hoses leading to them freezing solid and cracking from the expanded ice. I have poured rock salt into my cockpit scuppers in the winter to alleviate that and I guess it has helped since I have not had a problem even when the boat was covered with foot of snow. A few years back it snowed like crazy and I went to check on Suzi Q the next day. There was so much snow onthe boat that it looked like a sailboat snow cone. The entire cockpit was filled up to the cabin top. As I recall not much was visible except the hull and the mast sticking up out of the snow. She was sitting low in the water from all the wieght as well. I learned that day not to use a metal shovel to shovel to cockpit. I have a few nicks in the gelcoat as a reminder.

Happy Wintering~~~~/)~~~~

[Trawler Joe]

I'm in Shipwright too (28 Flybridge power), and hauled now until April. I don't think I'd use it very much over the winter months, and the break I get on insurance for being out of the water for 5 months partly covers the on-land storage costs. I'm also curious about how many boats stay in the water all winter and what preparations are necessary.

Jim, I'd love to come by some time to see your CD33. I'm on D-dock, but right now hauled and blocked right behind the office. Trying to get lots of work done this winter, so I'll be there fairly frequently, esp. on weekends...