Trojan Boat Forum

those of you who have seen my post here, know Im keeping my F 31 in the water this season while I work on it here in NY
anyway, the marina provides water circulators to prevent the water from freezing around the boat, and I run two heaters inside to keep everything above freezing and to keep myself comfortable while I work on the boat
anyway, last night I went to the marina to check on the boat as I often do at least twice a week, to check on my heaters etc, and noticed something that Im not sure I should be concerned about,
the back of the boat where the circulators work was not frozen, however the front of the boat was surrounded with ice, not sure how thick etc, but its bothering me,
do you guys think this is ok, or something to be concerned about. I was under the impression that they were going to keep the water fluid all around not just at the stern,
the boat is like not moving at all and looks to be frozen in the ice,
inside all is good, and the little bit of water in the bilge is nice and warm and nothing is near freezing,
however I called the marina this morning and they said its probably just a thin layer, but I dont think so,
they will check on it tommorrow when the crew comes back to work,
any thoughts???? this wont hurt my boat will it????

i would buy my own bubblers & make sure the boat is free.

Irun two here in brick one in front and one behind the boat to cover 94 feet of dock and pilings I bought them from Aeration Power Systems 1 866 221 3010 300 each for half horse power with thermostatic controls rebuilts from the factory.

well I thought they should run two as well, but they insisted that one was enought, they use their own,
and being that I paid them for winter storage and they said they knew whnat to do, I let them
no one at the marina uses their own cirulators.
I just hope my hull wasnt damaged, thats my real concern,

well I thought they should run two as well, but they insisted that one was enough, they use their own,
and being that I paid them for winter storage and they said they knew whnat to do, I let them
no one at the marina uses their own circulators.
I just hope my hull wasnt damaged, thats my real concern,

I had mine in the water many years here in Michigan and the marina had pneumatic bubblers around their dock pilings (didn't help around the boat too much) and I ran 1 sometimes 2 propulsion units (blade) pointed at the bow. but sometimes even with this my bow section would freeze in about half way back on the waterline. The boat never froze completely in and I assume the ice would push the boat back a little (I had to loosen the dock lines). But it would get to about 2-3" thick around the bow.

So I am not saying it is a good thing and I have probably been lucky but I went through a few seasons of this and I dont have a single stress crack or blister to show for it. She seems to be a pretty tough boat.

Oh yeah, and the marina did supply the units for me.

well that makes me feel a little better anyway,
but Ijust dont like their casual attitude towards it,
I mean its my first winter experiencem and just dont know what to expect
what I can tell you, is that my electric bill was 160.00 last month,,, for the heaters,,lol

If the marina is supplying the agitators as part of the overall cost of your winterizing, of course they will only want to give you one as it reduces their profits if they give you 2... Having said that, I have a friend who lives aboard, and is wintering at the western tip of Lake Ontario. He uses 2 agitators for his 43' Viking (one at each end), and it still freezes up a bit around him. At times the ice just gets bad (super cold, or with wind effects a bunch just gets blown in) and the agitators just can't keep up, and it is not uncommon for the live aboard community to make the rounds with picks and ice choppers, going from boat to boat, breaking up what they can near the hulls.
You could try telling the Marina you intend to hold them financially accountable for any damage, and see if a second agitator suddenly shows up.

ok, thanks for all your input, I will follow up with the marina, I was just real nervous about the boat being partially "embedded " in the ice, but I dont think there will be any damage,
when I tryed to "rock" the boat it didnt move at all, lol
I just found that funny, as far as how thick the ice is, not sure,
but I plan on going back tommorrow in the am, to see again, during the day
thanks again,

If it makes you feel better, go down to your favorite Hardware store and pick up a couple of sump pumps. Tie on a dockline and submerge fore and aft of the boat, about a foot or so... It's a lot le$$ expensive and works just fine churning the water and keeping it from freezing...

if your boat is in salt water,and as long as you have a bubbler system i wouldnt get overly worried,but i would check on it often just to make sure.if it were in fresh water i wouldnt do it,just do to fact that fresh water freezes very quickly and salt does not.

I have kept mine in the last two years at World's Fair in Flushing Bay.....we have a huge tide differential and hence very rarely freeze...even at the worst this year we had only a 1/8 of an inch skin. at the docks and only an inch from the shore out...so my bubbler has not even seen the water yet....