Tips for long-term winter sailing

[KelseyB]

Originally Posted by PineyWoodsPete

By the time you get into S. Carolina and through all of Georgia the tides will be 7-8', with significant reversing currents in the winding waterways through the salt marshes, so a tide & current chart is essential. Also, ther're paired-piling ranges to help keep you aligned in-channel - viewed either over your bow or stern -and off the shallows that tend to form off the inside banks of the curves. The water's so filled with the broth of life that you can't tell 6" from 6'!

I'm actually very glad you brought this up - this is unrelated to the cold-weather aspect, but if there's one "disaster" scenario I haven't totally worked through, it's what I should do if I run aground hard on an outgoing tide in those areas. This could totally be paranoia, and tell me if it is. I have a flat-bottomed keel, but I'm not sure it's wide enough to prevent the boat from laying over, and if it did lay over in the direction of the tide, it would swamp before it lifted. I'm not staying awake at night contemplating this situation or anything, but if anyone has any thoughts other then "get an anchor out to the side asap," or any stories of this situation going well or poorly, I would definitely like to hear those because this may be the one major design flaw in my boat that I've found so far

[PineyWoodsPete]

I would def. not anchor in the ICW itself, but on a slough off of it. If you have to, then in a straight section, using a Bahamian setup with a good 2nd anchor set from bow in the opposite current direction, and good attention to scope for max flood height. And a bright anchor light, with frequent anchor watch!

[NedX]

Icebreaker makes excellent base layers of varying thickness. They're merino wool. It's only really warm 3 months of the year where I sail, and those are the only months anything cotton touches my skin. Icebreakers are a tad pricey; they make an excellent early Christmas present.

It's the toes that get cold standing long hours on deck. Make sure that whatever you have on is self-wicking and leaves wiggle room.

[hpeer]

I have not used these but I sure like the idea, blow the hot air in the cockpit if needed.

Heat is less important at night when you can snuggle up in a sleeping bag. Its those Looong motoring bits that are killer. I can imagine some nice warm air in the cockpit would feel pretty good. I don't tolerate cold well and have done some cold water sailing, awful tempting to just retreat to he cabin when its miserable outside.

https://planarheaters.com/product/po...-planar-2d-12/

Another personal preference is a Mustang (or similar) cold weather onesie work suit, flotation suit. I find the wind creeps into any joint and chills me to the bottom of my soul. It drains my life force. The one piece work suit is fairly air tight and serves as a PFD flotation device.

https://mustangsurvival.com/products...31240046411821

[LLCoolDave]

I'll just add that electric blankets, while convenient are a big power suck. They probably average 5 amps per hour. Since you are motoring keeping the batteries charged won't be a problem. Just be careful at night you don't draw your batteries too much if you are at anchor. Sounds like you are going to have a great trip.

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by KelseyB

I've got the Waterway guide - I used it to make a rough itinerary to try and estimate how far I could get each day and where would be good overnight stops and good places to take a rest day, with a healthy mix of anchoring and docking. But I'm planning to balance the itinerary with what I'm feeling day-to-day once I actually start making progress. Is the dismal swamp open this time of year? I wanted to do it because of the scenery, but I read sometimes it's closed entirely due to low water or other reasons

Check with the Army Corps of Engineers before departure. There may be a phone number in your cruising guide. I just did a Google search and found nothing current. It was closed earlier this year.

[PineyWoodsPete]

Originally Posted by LLCoolDave

I'll just add that electric blankets, while convenient are a big power suck. They probably average 5 amps per hour. Since you are motoring keeping the batteries charged won't be a problem. Just be careful at night you don't draw your batteries too much if you are at anchor. Sounds like you are going to have a great trip.

Or a heating pad that could used under an outer layer under way and also at night turning it down to low setting. No idea of amp draw, tho, but must be less than the blanket.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by KelseyB

Luckily the boat is super dry - there's not too many places a steel boat can even leak, and I've rebedded and resealed my hatches, so I'm all good in that department. The trick will be not tracking moisture in when I come in after being wet outside

Moisture doesn't come from leaks - it comes from you, and propane or alcohol stove if you use one.

We travelled the ICW in February - like you we had a situation beyond our control that prevented our departure in Nov, and were frozen in through January. The only "closed" marina we encountered was Alligator River, but there was a guy on call; we were able to fuel up and had access to lounge, showers, etc. Most of the marinas we had to ourselves, with liberal access to facilities, courtesy cars, etc. We went the Dismal Swamp route - there's no power at the Information center, but as we were alone we ran the genny for heat. It was actually snowing. We had called the lockmaster (I think Active Captain has contact details) for a navigability assessment. We draw nearly 6', and found some speed-bumps (deadfall) but otherwise plenty deep.

Besides long undies and survival suit, we kept all the Isinglass sides on the bimini to be fully enclosed and shielded from wind - this made looking out from the helm more difficult, so a separate lookout was required, particularly to keep an eye astern. There wasn't a lot of traffic, but we were occasionally passed.

It is a nice peaceful trip, so enjoy it.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by KelseyB

I'm actually very glad you brought this up - this is unrelated to the cold-weather aspect, but if there's one "disaster" scenario I haven't totally worked through, it's what I should do if I run aground hard on an outgoing tide in those areas. This could totally be paranoia, and tell me if it is. I have a flat-bottomed keel, but I'm not sure it's wide enough to prevent the boat from laying over, and if it did lay over in the direction of the tide, it would swamp before it lifted. I'm not staying awake at night contemplating this situation or anything, but if anyone has any thoughts other then "get an anchor out to the side asap," or any stories of this situation going well or poorly, I would definitely like to hear those because this may be the one major design flaw in my boat that I've found so far

In my experience when first making longer voyages at precisely your age, I definitely had this happen. Especially trying to get my boat up into a tiny river of my college town. “Channel “ was marked with a twig or two put in the mud each spring. So I got stuck in a raging outgoing tide on the mud bank and dried out. Had to wait laid completely over for incoming tide of course. The boat floated before she swamped.

And that’s been the case with all the boats I’ve owned which I have careened to do various things to. It’ll float before any water starts coming in, assuming you’re not in surf. And you won’t be inside the ICW.

So don’t worry yourself about this situation. The boat will take care of itself even if it feels a little scary.

Why do you assume yours will swamp before floating? Is it a known behavior for these boats?

By the way: it sounds like you’ve done a tremendous amount of work on the boat. Good job there. Sounds like the boat will be very comfortable.

[malbert73]

I think if you run aground and dry out on a downslope it may be pssibke to swamp when refloating. So i think idea is somehow get the mast/hull to lie “uphill” of the keel as the tide ebbs

[SaltyMetals]

I was surprised to find that my electric blanket would also work with my 300W (220V) inverter. I thought it would overload the inverter but it doesn't. So whether i have shore power in a marina or am at anchor i have a nice warm welcoming berth.
Andrew

[dw1979]

First let me say I’m a trawler guy. So what I’m putting out there might not be appropriate. When I bought my current boat, it was early February and I moved the boat up the rivers to Sacramento. Much of this was done after dark. So was driving from the flybridge was necessary for visibilities sake. The top edge of the flybridge has what is called a venturi affixed to it It is typically plexiglass of some sort and angled forward. I was amazed at how it cut the wind below it’s level. Maybe you could make something like that out of any stuff material and strap it in place until no longer needed. Doesn’t have to look good. Just had to keep the wind off of you since you don’t have a dodger.
Lots of other good advice here. I sense there are a lot of people wishing it was them making the journey. Safe travels

[Don C L]

Looks like you got most of it, but there may be something else in this thread of use to you:
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ar-242952.html

also, may have missed it but "Mr. Buddy" propane heater might be a good addition.
30' is not too big, if you can find a Sea Swing single burner stove to keep soup or coffee heated along the way, that might be a good choice too. I sure love mine!

[HFWK]

I went down the ICW several years ago in Jan/Feb. Every night we tied off on a dock because we had a dog with us. I kept a journal of the trip and would be happy to share it with you if you PM me.

[Heathenly Twins]

Originally Posted by flyingfin

Buy one of those oil-filled electric radiator heater. Also invest in good long underwear and top of the line sleeping bag. On nights when it will be real cold, stop at a marina or fuel dock. Most marinas will have empty slips w/ electric but no water. Running the engine with the motor enclosure open will help heat the cabin.

You know that running a diesel engine with little to no load is extremely harmful and drastically shortens its lifespan, right?

Much better to just get a small generator than a rebuild. Cheaper on fuel and increased oil change requirements alone. Sorry to single you out but I feel like a lot of people don't know this so I'm just trying to save people from unnecessary rebuilds.