Could anyone on a boat test this and tell me if this works?

[fernandosmooth]

I read many books on sailing stories and one of the most common occurences I encounter is the wish of sailors to drink a cold drink while far away. The problems with refrigeration or simply because boats didnt have those at the time of the book was written.

So, you want a cold drink, right? I remember going snorkelling and wondering about those neoprene clothes and why people wore them. Then I dived deep enough, the water there is so cold.


If you want a cold drink while sailing, why not drop the drink to the ocean floor? Then pull it up again? It would come up cold, right?

I can see an issue with pressurized beer, it could blow up because of the pressure but on a suitable metal or plastic container big enough to handle pressure differences. It would work, I think?

Is this normal? Do sailors already do this or is there something I am missing that it would not work? Thanks

If you are going to test this, please **Dont** use containers that could shatter and break. If this thread is not suitable to this forum, let me know.

[fernandosmooth]

Oh and reason that I didnt test this myself yet, I simply forget everytime.

[Pete7]

Why would you want to cool down a perfectly good beer

What is your plan for the long piece of string out the back of the boat which goes all the way to the bottom of the ocean? and how long do you think this string needs to be?

Pete

[S/V Illusion]

is this a joke?

[David M]

Given liquids do not compress with pressure and a beer can is sealed, the pressure before going down and the pressure after coming up would be the same. The can would only compress if it has a gas inside, which would be very minimal with a full beer can. Eventually with enough pressure the gas inside would cause the can to partially implode. But I doubt it would be before a couple of hundred meters of depth.

I would try it and see how well it cools. It's not going to blow up in your face after reaching the surface....unless you shake the hell out of it.

We use what is called a CTD at work. One of the things it does is measure light and temperature at depth. Once the CTD is out of the photozone, the water temperature changes very little. The photozone (where light no longer penetrates) only goes down a few hundred meters at best, depending on the waters turbidity. What I am getting at is lowering the can more than a few hundred meters would have very little effect on cooling the beer even further.

One of the things us oceanographers do when we are bored is to put one of those foam heads used to display wigs on an instrument and lower it down hundreds or thousands of meters and to see how much it has shrunk from the pressure at those depths. Some of us really are modern day head shrinkers.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

is this a joke?

"You might think that, I couldn't possibly comment" - Francis Ewan Urquhart

[fernandosmooth]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Why would you want to cool down a perfectly good beer

What is your plan for the long piece of string out the back of the boat which goes all the way to the bottom of the ocean? and how long do you think this string needs to be?

Pete

Not a beer because I dont like that but a coke or juice.


Not the bottom of the ocean but about 10-15 meters down? Yes, a string.

[fernandosmooth]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

is this a joke?

No. Why did you think that it was? If it gets cold just 10 meters below, why would this idea not work?

[senormechanico]

Sailing, dropping it to the ocean floor?
Sounds like an anchor to me.
Even if it didn't reach the bottom, it would produce drag and you might catch it on something.
Around here, that would be logs, loose kelp etc.

We tried that at anchor a few times in 30+ feet.
Even after a few hours the temperature difference was insignificant.

We tried that at anchor in a few places, and checked the temp be

[fernandosmooth]

Originally Posted by David M

Given liquids do not compress with pressure and a beer can is sealed, the pressure before going down and the pressure after coming up would be the same. The can would only compress if it has a gas inside, which would be very minimal with a full beer can.

I would try it and see how well it cools. It's not going to blow up in your face after reaching the surface....unless you shake the hell out of it.

Right and I just cant test it because I am so far from the ocean right now. I think it could work, that would mean cold drinks anywhere now? Even though I agree with what you said, I would not try it wil a glass bottle but I wish I could try it with a plastic bottle now.

So if anyone is out there with a drink and a string.. do you mind.. thanks!

[fernandosmooth]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

Sailing, dropping it to the ocean floor?
Sounds like an anchor to me.
Even if it didn't reach the bottom, it would produce drag and you might catch it on something.
Around here, that would be logs, loose kelp etc.

We tried that at anchor a few times in 30+ feet.
Even after a few hours the temperature difference was insignificant.

We tried that at anchor in a few places, and checked the temp be

It is possible that I have dived in an unsual place, it was in the tropics though but the temperature just 10 m below was freezing cold. I dont know if if it was just that place. Like you are saying this temperature difference doesnt happen so much where you sail. Thanks though. I am still hoping some guy will come and say this is normal all over the caribbean though.

[Fiveslide]

I used to use a creek near where we camped to keep a watermelon cold. I'm sure it would have worked for other things. It was a pretty frigid creek, even in the summer.

I once saw a kid walking through the park carrying my watermelon. He was so happy he'd found an unattended watermelon just sitting the creek, I could tell he was so looking forward to eating my watermelon. It made me feel bad, taking it back from the boy. OK... I really didn't feel bad at all.

[Cormorant]

Depends a lot on the place. A hot summer day in Maine, with air temps in the 80s and sea temps in the upper 50s might give you the pleasant sensation of a cool beer.

But, say, Florida with air temps in the 80s and water temps in the 70s -- not so much.

Also some places have lots of vertical mixing with no pronounced thermocline. Other places, sure, you'll find it significantly colder 50 feet down.

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by fernandosmooth

I read many books on sailing stories and one of the most common occurences I encounter is the wish of sailors to drink a cold drink while far away. The problems with refrigeration or simply because boats didnt have those at the time of the book was written.

So, you want a cold drink, right? I remember going snorkelling and wondering about those neoprene clothes and why people wore them. Then I dived deep enough, the water there is so cold.


If you want a cold drink while sailing, why not drop the drink to the ocean floor? Then pull it up again? It would come up cold, right?

I can see an issue with pressurized beer, it could blow up because of the pressure but on a suitable metal or plastic container big enough to handle pressure differences. It would work, I think?

Is this normal? Do sailors already do this or is there something I am missing that it would not work? Thanks

If you are going to test this, please **Dont** use containers that could shatter and break. If this thread is not suitable to this forum, let me know.

Would work in higher latitudes where the water temp drops fast. Hereabouts (Barents sea) it's pretty much +6 to 7C at 30meters all year round.
There's an issue with compressing with neoprene suits in depth which is the main reason of getting cold, not the water temperature so much..

BR Teddy

[tbodine88]

Seems like the string only needs to be about 200 feet or maybe 1000 feet:
"A widespread permanent thermocline exists beneath the relatively warm, well-mixed surface layer, from depths of about 200 m (660 feet) to about 1,000 m (3,000 feet), in which interval temperatures diminish steadily."
Encyclopedia Britannica