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Old 09-12-2017, 14:08   #1
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Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

I found heaven on earth(?) ... maybe ...
It's December and I'm still in the water on Lake Erie, in Huron, Ohio, with 4 or 5 other boaters.
If fear is a form of excitement ... I'm excited.
Temps got down around 20*F and the boat is heated to 70*F with a 750 watt and a 400 watt heater ... 70*F is now being maintained with the 400 watt heater. The 400W will keep the boat at about 67-70 for about 4 hours, then the temps go down. Then I also turn on the 750W(it's a 750W-1500W ceramic). So it takes about 1100W to actually heat the boat at 20*F. One heater at 750W, allows my boat to dip just below 60*F overnight.

If I go away and turn the heaters all off(WalMart), for 2-3 hour, I come back to a cool 50 degrees, which I figure is pretty good.

The odds of colder weather is about 100%. It's a matter of will the real cold weather be off & on, or will there be long spells?

I'm hoping I can get some real-world input here, since ratings on 120 volt, 1500W, heaters are all the same, even though the various different heaters warm different square footage.
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Old 09-12-2017, 14:40   #2
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Re: Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

What happens when the dock power goes out?
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Old 09-12-2017, 15:21   #3
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Re: Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

What are you talking about .....?

It's actually been on my mind and I'm not sure as to what I can do.

Maybe buy a lot of candles?
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Old 09-12-2017, 15:33   #4
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Re: Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

Yamaha 2400Watt generator for back up power ..... you will need it sooner or later.

Been living onboard near Toronto since 1994 (except winters we've cruised south like now )
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Old 09-12-2017, 15:35   #5
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Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul L View Post
What happens when the dock power goes out?
Hopefully he has a generator.
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Old 09-12-2017, 16:02   #6
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Re: Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

The Bristol 29 is a Hereschoff(sp), design, made for racing & cruising, which means the interior floor space is not very big and much of the floor(sole), is actually following the hull, so very little room for anything that needs to sit flat.
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Old 09-12-2017, 16:07   #7
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Re: Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

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Originally Posted by SURV69 View Post
The Bristol 29 is a Hereschoff(sp), design, made for racing & cruising, which means the interior floor space is not very big and much of the floor(sole), is actually following the hull, so very little room for anything that needs to sit flat.
Hopefully you'd put the generator on the dock.
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Old 10-12-2017, 08:38   #8
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Re: Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

Keeping the boat warm is one issue, but what about the water surrounding the boat? How are you going to keep it from freezing? And the inevitable snowfall on the docks, kind of risky shoveling a foot of snow off a skinny finger.
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Old 10-12-2017, 09:02   #9
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Re: Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

The best heaters we have found are the Caframo.

https://www.caframolifestylesolution...ns/true-north/

They don't last forever at 100% duty cycle but have a great warranty program. Often cheaper at Home Hardware under their house brand - same heater.

If you can't be 100% sure of the power you need a generator, or put in a small Dickinson diesel or propane wall mount space heater.
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Old 10-12-2017, 09:32   #10
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Re: Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

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Originally Posted by boatpoker View Post
Hopefully you'd put the generator on the dock.
Well ... on the dock for running, but in the boat for storing .... Not a lot of room in a Bristol 29 and most of what there is, is taken up.
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Old 10-12-2017, 10:01   #11
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Re: Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

I have no personnel experience but the people around here put in bubble machines to keep ice from the hull
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Old 10-12-2017, 10:04   #12
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Lightbulb Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

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Originally Posted by Restlessone View Post
I have no personnel experience but the people around here put in bubble machines to keep ice from the hull
Exactly.

+1
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Old 10-12-2017, 10:17   #13
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Re: Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

Well here is my perspective from snowy Michigan...
You're taking some major risks here.
Keeping the boat insides warm doesn't preclude ice forming outside the boat and pushing against it.
Using bubblers is only so good for only so long.. and is no guarantee that ice won't push from elsewhere
Snow will accumulate on top of the boat. Water is heavy. If you don't keep the topsides cleaned off, the boat will flounder from the weight of the snow and ice accumulated on top of her. This can be especially dangerous where the snow partially melts, then re-freezes, forming layers of heavy ice and snow.

My recommendation: haul her and don't press your luck.
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Old 10-12-2017, 10:41   #14
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Re: Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

Is the boat tented with a tarp? That will help retain heat. Years ago I wintered in Lake Erie just below a power plant. Always had warm flowing water. Then Christmas came and all the auto plants shut down for two weeks, so did the power plant. Within days I had solid 6+ inches of ice trying to crush the hull.
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Old 10-12-2017, 10:47   #15
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Thumbs up Great Lakes and Wintering in the Water?

The boat should also be shrinkwrapped if left in the water. Snow should slide off or not stick in the 1st place due to the pitch of the wrap. My $0.02.

Take care.

Cheers
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