I keep a boat, not my wake boat, moored and I am starting to get concerned with the lake freezing. How much ice does it take to damage a fiberglass hull? Normally the lakes here do not freeze and there isn't a problem keeping a boat moored, but this weather is not typcial and am hoping my boat doesn't get crushed like the Endurance expedition. I was out chipping away 1 inch thick ice this morning.

Why is your boat in a frozen lake?

pry too big to trailer...

I keep my sailboat in the water over the winter, and know of others who do so also, including liveaboards in the Northeast. In a lake, you are not dealing with tides and currents, so there are basically no crushing forces as a result of water and ice movement. The water below the boat is not frozen, until you freeze to below your draft, and that would take several feet in most cases. Hopefully you are not that far north... <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0> The sun heats the boat, and any interior spaces, further keeping the hull above freezing. <BR> <BR>I was chipping inch-plus ice from around my sailboat last week, and I know I am in thicker ice now, but I am not concerned as the boat still has a thin line of water around it; the ice is not going to freeze in such a manner that it will squeeze the boat, as long as you are in still water, like in a lake. <BR> <BR>Your bigger concern will be water in any thru hulls freezing and expanding to the point that the thru-hulls crack, especially if they are below the water line. If you crack a below-the-waterline thru hull and then thaw, you likely have an open hole now that will allow water in and you can sink. Check those very carefully! <BR> <BR>Phil <BR>Kicker

Its a sail boat so lifts are not really options and lakes in AR usually do not freeze. Darn global warming!!! <BR> <BR>This is my first rodeo with a sailboat moored year round and glad to learn there is not much to worry about other than the through hulls. The only one I may have to worry about might be my cockpit drains. Guess I can poor in some pink stuff just to be safe. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by bmartin on January 06, 2010)

Sail boats are better than most in the ice. If they get pressure the displacement hull usually rides up to release the pressure. Pull the rudder if you can, but don't worry too much. <BR>And if the ice gets to eight inches pick up some hockey sticks. If it only gets to three inches it's not even safe to walk on, or ice fish so you can see that the pressure won't be too bad.

It would take like a foot of ice, and then it would need to start moving (like from a current or wind) for it to damage the boat. <BR>If it's a big concern, you can install any kind of pump under the boat that will keep the water moving around it. <BR>Frankly I'd be a little surprised if the lake froze though. It usually takes like 2 or 3 weeks of really cold temps (like under 20) to freeze our 700 acre lake. That will vary with the size of the lake &amp; any wind.

They have a bubbler to put in the water under the boat. It will prevent hull damage when the lake freezes.

I was out at my sailboat last night. 'Could have walked around it! The ice is about 5" now here in Stillwater Oklahoma, and we had an arctic mass roll in overnight. It is 12 right now, 17 for the high today and it will be 1 in the morning. Fahrenheit... <BR> <BR>I think Saturday morning we will have the hockey pucks and sticks out... <BR> <BR>bmartin- what kind of sailboat do you have? My Catalina's cockpit drains through the transom, so I have just been shovelling snow to keep the drains clear. BUT, I realized something last night. My boat is a swing-keel and I am ever-so-slightly concerned about the location where the keel cable comes up through. There is a rubber hose that attaches to the cable thru-hull, which is formed in fiberglass. If the water freezes up in the fiberglass tube, it could expand and crack. It is deep and in the middle of the boat, so I do not think it could have frozen yet, but I may go take a cheap reflector lamp and a 60 watt bulb down there this afternoon and put the light in next to the cable thru-hull to hopefully prevent that from freezing... <BR> <BR>Phil <BR>Kicker

I have a Catalina 22 and have the swing keel too. The rudder is already off, pink stuff poured in drains. Haven't done aything with the swing keel cable housing though. No ice under boat...yet. I guess splashes of ice can get in there slightly above the water line. Hopefully not enough to crack housing. I have no power there so will have to resort to prayer.

Or battery &amp; solar recharge?

"In a lake, you are not dealing with tides and currents, so there are basically no crushing forces as a result of water and ice movement" <BR> <BR>Maybe on some lakes, but not all. On my lake, people that don't pull there docks, come back to a twisted mess in the spring. My concrete seawall has been pushed back at least a foot over the years.

bmartin- <BR> <BR>I am a C22 sailor too! What year is yours? Mine is an '87, but if you have poured RV antifreeze in your cockpit scuppers, you must have a pre-86. I used to have a '77 so I am familiar maybe with yours; those front cockpit drains on the older models can be a pain. <BR> <BR>I was just by the boat a little while ago, (again) and I checked the "volcano" thru-hull for the keel cable. The keel cable hose is stiff, but nothing appears cracked, not at the moment. I do not think it is frozen in there. <BR> <BR>The boat is firmly frozen in place, but I am still comforted to seee a thin line of liquid water all the way around the boat. <BR> <BR>Shredhead, I have to suck it up and say the wind is howling out there today, and I noticed that at the mouth of the cove, the ice is piling up at the ice-water transition as a result of wave action. I would not want to have my boat tied up in that transition zone for sure! SO... I will amend my comment to say that on a lake, IN A PROTECTED COVE you HOPEFULLY have no crushing forces... bmartin, I hope that is your case... <BR> <BR>Good luck with it; keep us posted. <BR> <BR> <BR>Phil <BR>Kicker

A few years ago the wind kicked up on our little 700 acre lake when the ice was melting. We ended up with like 15 car-sized slabs of ice being pushed up on to our beach. We had a number of dock sections &amp; picnic tables sitting there that were tortured pretty bad. Anyone who left their dock in the water that year had it destroyed. <BR> <BR>Good luck.

Phil - I will have to remember your WW ID. Mine is a '77 and am having fun learning to get around the lake without having to bring 5 gal gas cans to the dock and now have something to do when the lake is blown out. Sailing is a better boat speed for the wifee too. Just painted the hull and topcoat so it looks pretty new for a 30 year old boat. Wasn't thinking of buying a sailboat but an unbelievable deal came along and thought what the heck. <BR> <BR>I'm in a protected cove as long as the wind does not come from the NE...which seems typical after heavy rains. Two weeks back the lake 'flooded' and I am near the shallow end of the lake and a lot of the crap that gets picked up in the floods ends up along my bank....pulled out a fridge that floated on my bank but luckily it didn't bang into the lift or boats. It blows me away what people will throw in creeks and lakes. I guess we will have to keep an eye out for the 'icebergs' when this cold snap gets over.

with just a little ice and a sail boat I wouldn't panic. I'd worry more about if it melts partially and there's a strong wind. A sheet of ice being driven into the side...that might be the problem.