Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
quote: where's your swing keel boat moored/slipped/stored?
I sold arwen (my oild swing keel) to a gentleman who keeps her about 25 miles upriver. I actually saw her this year when i did an overnight in July to watch the fireworks. This is Arwen in July with her new owner.
Here on the Connecticut River we have a HUGE mess of ice floes all piling up at a pinch point in the river. It's causing what's known as an Ice Jam where large slabs of ice about 18" thick by 5 feet in diameter or larger are stacking up every which way crosswise literally damming up the flow of the river and backing it up into homes, yards and buildings. It's torn up several marinas pulling down dock pilings and threatens more as the ice floes move downstream further with the tidal motion and the current. To add drama to the story, two coast guard boats were deployed to break up the ice jams. It's slow work and only Mother Nature can really undo what she has done. Photos and story are available at local news outlets here To see more go to google and search for CT RIVER ICE JAMS and select images.
Not so sure I would want to keep my boat in the water over a winter. I know people who have had their boats sink when the scuppers and bilge/bilge pump froze solid with ice, and the weight of the snow and then rain filling the cockpit eventually sank the boat. As rare as the bitter cold the Northeast has endured this year may be, when it happens bad things can happen to vessels in the water!
Peter Bigelow C-25 TR/FK #2092 Limerick Rowayton, Ct Port Captain: Rowayton/Norwalk/Darien CT
I also sail on the Potomac River up in the DC area. The Potomac River and marinas do not always freeze over the winter but last year they did and this year, they did for perhaps 2 weeks or so. Right now, there is still some ice in the Anacostia River that feeds into the Potomac River. We have some ice in our marina which is very close to the Washington Channel adjacent to the Potomac. Flow agitators keep some areas of the marina, ice free, all winter. But sometimes the agitators are not located close enough to some of the boats - The agitators are mainly to keep the floating docks free of ice build-up. Last year my boat was in ice - rock solid. That was perhaps first time it was so ice bound in many years. This year, for the 2-3 weeks when there was ice, my boat barely had wiggle room around it - Not quite rock solid. As it turns out, we just recently had a warm spell with temps hitting 60F. Another sailboat and I were able to negotiate the ice in the marina and in the Anacostia and were able to go sailing in the Potomac River. Total boats out were the two of us and two small motor boats. No sightseeing boats, harbor police or CG at time I was out.
Because of the Govt Shutdown, we had to report to work today to get our furlough slips. They may settle the shutdown today but as of now, I am at work and expect to be leaving very soon. But that's okay for today - It's a great day for sailing and my boat is only 10 minutes away. Temps are to hit 60F or slightly higher and winds predicted to be 5-10mph, last I checked.
What I do for keeping the boat in the water. all winter, I first of all, add marine anti-freeze to the sinks and open the seacocks just until the anit-freeze drains from the sinks and then I close the seacocks. When I sail and use the outboard, after sailing and shutting the outboard off, I raise the outboard vertically, leave it for awhile and then I manually start it for a few seconds, just to fling any residual water off the water impeller. Then, I am pretty sure that no ice will form around the impeller and outboard will be ready for next use after perhaps a cold night.
As far as the scuppers and cockpit concerns, I generally use a prediction of 4" or snow or more as my guide. If less than that, I do not do anything other than visit the boat from time to time to check it out. If prediction is 4" or more of snow, then I bring my cover down and install it - It covers most of the boat except for a small portion of the bow area. There have been times when I have put the cover on, then following a a dump of snow or ice forming on the cover, I have gone down and brushed it off when it was likely that a warm-up was predicted. Then, those times when temps warmed up and the sun was out, I have removed the cover and have gone sailing. Then sometimes, I have had to re-install the cover. So far, I have not had to use the cover this year and the cockpit has had no more than a dusting of snow.....but we still have to get thru Feb and March.
We had the bombcyclone run through here and cause havoc. Wind blew the tide out -2.9ft below MLL. Looked like a scene from a movie. We were on bottom (swing keel) and I remove the rudder from the boat every winter because of drops like these. You could walk right up to it!
After the tide started coming back in but still real low..
and right across the fairway...
Captain Rob & Admiral Alyson "David Buoy"-1985 C25 SK/SR #5053
Was that the one that happened on Jan. 4, Rob, or did it happen again after that? I had a friend let out the dock lines on my Cal 25 on Jan. 3, so it wouldn't be left to hang suspended by it's docklines when the tide fell.
I hadn't seen photos of it. That was quite a drop! The depth at my slip is about 7', so I'm fairly sure it never touched the bottom.
Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind" previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22 Past Commodore
Was that the one that happened on Jan. 4, Rob, or did it happen again after that? I had a friend let out the dock lines on my Cal 25 on Jan. 3, so it wouldn't be left to hang suspended by it's docklines when the tide fell.
I hadn't seen photos of it. That was quite a drop! The depth at my slip is about 7', so I'm fairly sure it never touched the bottom.
Yea, I think it was the early Jan storm. Consistent 20+kt wind for days from the NW coupled with the massive low pressure system running up the coast just sucked all the water out of the bay.
If you do the math and find the total area of the bay and multiplied by the water level drop to find a rough volume estimate, that's a whole bunch of water!
Captain Rob & Admiral Alyson "David Buoy"-1985 C25 SK/SR #5053
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.