I love it when a plan works..

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this or not but here goes.

We've been out of town for a couple of days and the temps have been in the single digits at night, low 20's during the day. I went to check on the boat this morning and here's what I found on the fairway behind us....


and off the bow...


So, like a good skipper, I went home to get the necessary items to take care of the boat, which included my not-too-happy Galley Wench...


and this pump....


We had to break through about 3/4" of ice at the bow, about 1/2 along the sides, and a bit less at the stern. We lowered the pump below the boat and plugged it in and here's what we had before we even left the dock to go home...

The bow area was completely ice free....


and the ice along the sides was just about gone....


I love it when products work as they're supposed to and a plan works out the way it's supposed to. I've had that pump sitting in the garage for several years and this is the first time I've used it. I'm very impressed with how quickly it got rid of the ice.

All it cost me for today's laborer was a glass of Chardonnay at the watering hole at the top of the dock.

Now that's some cheap labor, only a glass? I'd be a guessing man but when you get home pour her another as special thanks for putting up with your demands (request). Gotta love a Admiral that will go along at subfreezing temps help you to set up a deicer and still hang out with you for drinks!
There was a movie about those deicers and the gents that invented them. Great thing those deicers for sure! Hopefully I never have to use them again.

We got iced up bringing Dan and Kathy's boat in from Edmonds yesterday. Nothing like freezing spray, wind chill and darkness to make for a difficult trip.

bshillam said:

Now that's some cheap labor, only a glass? I'd be a guessing man but when you get home pour her another as special thanks for putting up with your demands (request). Gotta love a Admiral that will go along at subfreezing temps help you to set up a deicer and still hang out with you for drinks!
There was a movie about those deicers and the gents that invented them. Great thing those deicers for sure! Hopefully I never have to use them again.

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By way of an FYI, we were out of town to attend the Seahawk Rallye in downtown Seattle. We stayed in Cle Elem (her home town) on the way over because that was her preference. As it turned out the closest we got to the rallye was about 4 miles. To make a long story short, we could have gotten downtown to the Clink, but we may never have gotten back to our car in the south end of town.

So she'd been wined and dined for a couple of days before this ordeal, but I do appreciate that she's willing to jump in and help with boat stuff....no matter the temperature. She's helped me change impellers on the gen and the engines, helps to change the oil & filters, etc. She's definitely a winner/keeper IMHO.

You are a lucky man as am I. Good women are such a never ending gift!

One word: effective.

For liveaboards the water moving device is great.

The dockside use of the FW pipes to blow air thru bubblers must be avoided as the sound inside the boat , of bubbles for months on end is disturbing. Heck its disturbing for 15 min!!!

Select your winter home dock with care!

Freezing in all winter is fine , esp if the boat is level .

The ice only needs to be cleared from the hull when the spring thaw comes and there is now motion to the boat .

With the melting around the boat , and enough wind that the paint would be chewed up at the waterline.

FF said:

............. Select your winter home dock with care! ..............

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Florida would be good!

I gladly exchange you the sub-zero temps for the heatwave we are experiencing down here in Buenos Aires! Even sitting naked on an ice bar you sweat to death! BTW: didn't know that kind of deicers: is it a sort of submersible pump that moves warmer water from the bottom to the surface?

yes...there's a little propeller on top that circulates the warmer bottom water upward.

It´s the kind of gadgets I love: simple, yet effective!

neurodoc said:

It´s the kind of gadgets I love: simple, yet effective!

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actually they aren't as reliable as it may appear..man I know have had issues and if not the unit itself...they are prone to clogging with debris..

I could have sworn I've seen them with screens...but then they too just get covered and ineffective.

A bubbler system is usually more trouble free...but as FF stated...drive liveaboards nuts...

I had Willy entombed in 3"of ice in Thorne Bay several years ago. It was strange steeping aboard w absolutely no movement perceived.

Most of t he time the relative heat of the hull will keep things thawed right next to the water line.

I'm sure it's not like that now in Thorne Bay as I hear they are having a heat wave. Much of the time lately it's been in the 50s.

16 year liveaboard in Toronto with as many as 67 liveaboards in the harbour some years. I think I've seen two agitators burn out in that time (one of them was mine). Sounds reliable to me.

Kasco Marine deicers have a stainless wire cage around the top to protect the propeller and keep it from getting clogged up with debris. Debris isn't a problem in our marina but it's nice to have that on there.



We went by the boat yesterday and there was about a 50' radius open area around my entire slip. It's keeping my slip free of ice and the sides of the slips on either side of me open

These things aren't cheap, but they're cheaper than pulling a boat up off the bottom because ice damaged the hull. The model I have runs just a bit below $600 at West Marine.

The instructions that came with mine said it should hang about 4' below the boat. The water down there is warm enough to melt the ice and the moving water keeps it from reforming.

I'll need one for next winter.
Good to know.

Sitting at anchor off of Sanibel (off Fort Myers, FL) this evening safe in the knowledge that I will never own or have a need for one of those things.

Ted

O C Diver said:

Sitting at anchor off of Sanibel (off Fort Myers, FL) this evening safe in the knowledge that I will never own or have a need for one of those things.

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Ditto, until the next ice age hits central California.

Mark Coot looks really really wide here .. what is her beam?

"Fatso" has a 13'1" beam (versus 31'8" waterline). Contributes to the wide side decks.