Winter haul-outs

[Guest]

I know a lot of you trailer your boats.

I am curious about leaving ours in the water because our trailer is not in good enough condition to support the weight I fear.

Since it is a flat bottom and the ice here doesn't get too thick usually . . .

I would appreciate any thoughts you all may have on this.

[Rudeman]

Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not so much the freezing itself that is the problem. Eventually the boat will become "unfrozen" where it is not directly frozen in the ice, however will be entirely surrounded by ice. Think of this ice like a sharp serated knife - as your boat moves about it rubs up against the surrounding ice and this can cause damage to your gel-coat around the waterline area. In particular boats with outboard rudders (like the 7.9) tend to also suffer rudder damage as well, so at the very least take the rudder off and try to make certain that boat is reasonably snug on the mooring lines.

[Norwalk-ROTC]

Those are some interesting points. I had not thought of the ice damaging the gel coat. I had sort of considered taking the rudder off, though I don't know why exactly.

Thanks, I have learned some more that I didn't know.

[Tim Bosma]

If you drop a 'bubbler' in to keep the water moving around your boat, it won't freeze up. Several boats in the W. Michigan area (not 7.9's though) stay in the water year 'round.

[AJ Oliver]

Personally, I would be leary of leaving a 7.9 - or any boat - in the water over the winter months, bubbler or no. I am aware of at least two sail boats in this area (Western Lake Erie) that developed HUGE and expensive blister problems after not being hauled out for a season or two. (One was a Westerly and one was a C & C.)

PAX dudes, AJ Oliver
# 445

[David E]

I know some live-a-boards in CT that do not haul out annually. They simply go on the hard in April for a month every other year to do the bottom, change zincs and etc.

They don't seem to have any trouble in marinas where the ice is never more than about a half of an inch thick. I did rather like the thoughts on the scratching of the gelcoat by the ice though.

[hwpratt]

Quite a few years ago we had several non-7.9 boats frozen in "accidentally" part-way to the launch ramp during a quick Iowa late-late-season freeze. The hulls did just fine ... but the boats were easy targets for vandals during the winter and the owners lost a lot of gear.

[LarryE-old]

We have a problem here also. Water gets down to 62 degrees. Kinda COLD.