boats freezing up

You are spot on Dogwatch.

Freshwater is less dense and tends to stay on the surface of salt water. If there is any ice on the sea lochs up here is normally a result of fresh water run off.
 
It has a cill so i guess so, also maybe a bit brackish because of the Deben. One disadvantage then of a small draught cat is that the hulls are sitting in the coldest water /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
I am sorry I didn't see you, Happy New Year.

We toyed for a few minutes about coming over to the club, but it was so cold outside, -1°C by 2200. We had 23°C inside so got happily merry and had a prime spot for the fireworks.

The Eber ran pretty much full time for 2 days, bliss. Though it was too cold and I was too lazy to do some of the jobs I should have, *shame*.
 
"yes when it gets really cold the Thames freezes"

Bit of an old-wives this one. The Thames used to freeze (sometimes, not often), but is unlikely to do so now. It's nothing to do with winters being colder then than now. Rather, it's because the Victorians embanked the river, speeding up the flow, and it is now considered to be too turbulent to freeze, unless in exceptional conditions. At least, that's what the PLA told me once when I was researching Ice Fairs.
 
That is interesting, I didn't realise how much difference the embankment had made.

Do you know how much the current up river is affected when they close the barrier?
 
Re the Thames freezing - or not - there was a Radio 4 programme broadcast recently (New Year's Day) which was mainly cultural (about the Frost Fairs on frozen Thames) but included discussion with a meteorologist as to whether it could happen again. This is available as an I-player download from BBC website ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00g6t3m/Frost_Fair/ ) for the next two or three days only.

I haven't had chance to listen to it yet myself, but may be of interest to some here. Newspaper preview says "Between 1309 and 1814 the river Thames froze over 23 times, during which the river played host to fox hunting, oxen-roasting, swing boats and even elephant rides. FROST FAIR evokes the spirit of the celebrations and asks meteorologist Ian Currieif we'll be lucky enough to have another one".

I would have thought that the increase in flow/turbulence because of embankment would reduce the likelihood of freezing over but not rule it out. Other factors militating against freezing these days would be the high temperature of modern cities like London (about 4 degrees C higher than the rural surroundings IIRC), and the input of so much relatively high temperature waste water through drains and sewers (more, faster and warmer than in the olden days).

P.S. Always cheered by the diversity and arcane knowledge of denizens of the forum. Delighted that it includes a researcher of the Frost Fairs.
 
How many owners, after putting anti-freeze in their engines (boats out of the water), put anti-freeze into their heat-exchangers' raw water side, as this is a place where freezing water can do some damage? It's easy turning the motor over on land to empty the water from the heat-exchanger and adding anti-freeze into the system.
 
Not sure about the Barrier effect, but talking with the PLA a coupla years back, they said that figures on closure are misleading. Most often it is closed at low tide, to allow upstream flood waters to come down river more quickly, rather than at high tide to avoid storm surges.

Talking of which did anyone else see that carp (anagram) on telly last night called Flood?

(edit)
'nother thought - the sorts of intense cold conditions which might cause the Thames to ice are usually associated with stable high pressure weather systems - the sort of met that is unlikely to cause the Barrier to be raised.
 
On Sunday with the car showing the temp as 0 cent. An arm of the Thames was frozen at Reading. The river itself was not frozen, but the arm is quite long and being a dead end is still.
I was surprised to see a thin layer of ice.
 
I was surprised to find the fresh water partially frozen in the sea water strainer in my boat in its shed in Cornwall, I have now flushed a solution of antifreeze through, bit late I know! For the first time in 20 years the frost stat on the house boiler, which is is in the house but has an exterior door, cut in this morning around 0800 hrs.
 
After mulling things over, I shot off to Pwllheli this morning, by Bala the windscreen was freezing but as I got nearer the coast it warmed up a bit, was surprised to see the wetlands by the embankment in Portmadoc frozen. Got to Criccieth and it looked quite warm BUT when I got to Pwllheli got the shock of my life, the slipway was frozen by the HM office and their was a quarter of an inch of ice over the whole of the pile moorings. See pics
IMAG0139.jpg


IMAG0138.jpg


IMAG0140.jpg

Got to the boat and started the engine, everything OK but I added a bit more AF. There was ice in one of the heads and 2 taps were frozen, managed to free everything up and switched the domestic water to an empty tank and pumped all the fresh water out, also drained the sea water intercooler, it didnt taste very salty! dont forget 2 rivers run in to the harbour.
Anyway all ok to let jack frost play, I hope!!
But I wonder if the other boats on the piles will be OK? especially if it gets colder tonight!!
Stu
 
Lymington River partially frozen today - sides, not main channel. The river was frozen inshore of our mooring (just upstream of the Royal Lym SC), and it was quite hard work rowing the dinghy out (from near bandstand) through the ice, though obviously entertaining to folk watching from the shore.

Had to bash the oars down each stroke to break through the ice, so there was a channel of broken ice where the dinghy had passed, and either side of it a track of V shapes where the oar blades had gone in through the ice and back out in the same position but at a different angle.

Out on the boat engine fine and heads not frozen, but curiously footpump for the sink water supply solid. After a spin out on the Solent managed to get the footpump going, so it was obviously this alone and not the water tanks which live in the keel and are presumably nearer river/sea temperature than air temp.
 
Pendragon is in the frozen Kennet & Avon. I have put thick covers over the engine compartment. The engine water temp is only 1/2 degree below freezing. The canal water temperature under the ice cannot drop below freezing while still liquid, so there is not much danger. However, I have put antifreeze in the raw water circuit.

Philip
 
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