Winter Sailing, Boston or NY

[Amfivena]

FWIW: As I remember my policy originally stipulated on the hard after Nov 1. When I questioned it, my agent changed it to include a marina slip (but not mooring). Ended up being a very small adjustment ($20 or less). Not sure if it actually says I can't sail. I would certainly check if I ever had a desire to winter sail. I have to confess to never fully reading the fine print...

[SVPendragon]

You may find you have an "Ice Damage" exclusion - damage caused by the boat being frozen in the harbor - is excluded.

[Sandero]

Ice damage is pretty rare for sailboat hulls.. marinas that do in-water winter storage use bubblers or propellers to agitate the water and prevent ice.

Jef
sv Shiva
Contest 36s

[SVPendragon]

For the last 5 years I have been living-aboard, full-time year round in Boston Harbor. I have yet to see any marina put in bubblers in the winter - they break up the ice with the work boat occasionally and you can install your own (any pay the electric to run it). For liveaboards icing generally isn't a problem as there is a ring of free water around the boat.

On a cautionary note: I have heard that a marine in Chelsea uses bubblers, but have not seen these with my own eyes. Trouble is they do not use them continually only at night when it is the coldest. One night they forgot to switch them on or the power went out so the water froze. On this one boat the water froze into the seacock splitting the fitting (I think they were marelon). Once the bubblers came back on the water in the seacock melted, causing the boat to flood – ice/freezing damage not covered by insurance.

[ssullivan]

Same experience here. Marinas use workboats to break up ice and the liveaboards don't worry so much, since as you heat your boat, a lot of that heat goes right through the hull into the surrounding water. The ice forms, but doesn't touch the boat.

[hellosailor]

The last decade in the northeast US has been, relatively speaking, like a swimming pool full of p*ss. Traditionally ice damage to any kind of hull has been a problem. Going back to the winter of 1776, NY harbor froze over so well and so thoroughly that there was carriage traffic to Staten Island for a full WEEK.

Granted, that's on the extreme side as well, and global warming may make that a faint memory. But our "normal" New England winters can make the water awfully hard, don't let the recent warm ones mislead you. There are still USCG icebreakers on the Hudson to keep that open all winter, and they have been used in recent years to free traffic stuck in the ice.

[ssullivan]

That's true, Hellosailor - it's a bit of a crapshoot, just like hurricanes. If push comes to shove and the hard ice is forming, it's certainly best to get a bubbler set up.

[coot]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

Same experience here. Marinas use workboats to break up ice and the liveaboards don't worry so much, since as you heat your boat, a lot of that heat goes right through the hull into the surrounding water. The ice forms, but doesn't touch the boat.

One great thing about this forum is that you can see how different the experiences of other people are.

We don't get much ice in Baltimore, but it happens now and then, especially in January. It forms right up to the edge of the boat, with maybe 1 or 2 mm of clearance caused by the boat rocking a bit. (e.g. from wind, people moving around in the boat)

It only ever gets maybe an inch (2.5 cm) thick at the worst, though. If it bothers me, I break it up with a boat hook. Of course, it is frozen again by the next day, but it takes more time to get thick, so it is easier to break up the second time. I just push the broken chunks of ice away, where they pile up on/under the ice; when it starts to melt, I have minature icebergs.


w.r.t insurance: I've never had an insurance broker try to tell me what a layup period should be, but they ask because they will offer a lower premium for that time. I go sailing in the winter, so I don't have a layup period.

If you plan to sail regularly in the cold, I can really recommend the Mustang "work suit". It is intended for routine wear, and has enough floatation and insulation to be a PFD and immersion suit. Like anything, it won't keep you from getting cold if you're sitting still, but I have to admit to surprise the first time I had to open up the suit because I was getting too hot -- not something I expected, since the temperature was 0 C / 32 F.