CANALS AND ICE

[davidphillips]

I'm planning to overwinter my boat (26ft Westerly Chieftain) in the canal du Bourgogne this year. I'm told it can get quite cold with a risk of the canal freezing over. Is this a problem for a fibre-glass boat. Has anyone had any experience of this?

 

[Talbot]

dont forget that this will be fresh water so you would nbeed to change your anodes.

 

[davidphillips]

Would this not slow down galvanic corrosion because of the poorer conductivity of fresh water??

 

[AndrewB]

Had the water freeze up around us a couple of years ago. No real problem though. With heat aboard it was always slushy immediately around our hull, and this seemed true even of unattended yachts. We found we could break our way out easily enough, but we do have a steel hull. However, this was just 3" of ice.

 

[Talbot]

In fresh water IIRC you need magnesium rather than zinc as an anode.

 

[vyv_cox]

Our boat has been frozen in in Holland many times with no problems. The year before we moved the boat there the Haringvliet froze right over and the ice thickness in Hellevoetsluis was 9 inches. Virtually all boats were left in the water and the harbourmaster told me afterwards that there was no damage.

Motoring through it is a different matter - floating ice is very sharp.

 

[Grehan]

Ice

Concur with Vyv
H2O's basin at St Jean de Losne freezes quite often (it's located at the southern end of the Canal de Bourgogne). Whilst we didn't experience this ourselves, it did get mighty cold and we were covered in snow for a number of weeks. No reports of freezing-over damage, there . . but we also know someone whose boat was holed and sunk by ice freezing, and thickening and expanding, around a hull 'trapped' against the bank (inland from Boulogne if I remember right). I think that that may have been exceptional - the skipper was, what shall I say?, well, not someone I would trust to captain any boat I was on. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Rather accident-prone.

Apart from that, yes, I do know of boats damaged - scratched and dented - trying to move through inland ice. It's quite strong stuff, sideways on.

 

[trouville]

Re: Ice

Where will you be staying?

Just one thing,when you live aboard a fan heaters really great and if the powers paid very good!But after a while the noise of the fan alnight drives you on deck!

You cant beat a good diesel heater,with a fan heater during the day!

Oh and if you fix in the mains water turn it off when your ashore if the hose comes off with the contant pressure its not good for the boat!!

 

[davidphillips]

Re: Ice

WE'll be at Veneray Les Laumes but off and on the boat

 

[roly_voya]

Re: Ice

Strange but THIN ice is more deadly to wood or Glass hulls because it can cut like a knife so take care underway. The old trick was to nail a copper band round the waterline but don't know how the nails would grip in glass!!!

 

[gunnarsilins]

I live in Stockholm and keep my boat afloat all year around. Have done so since 1992. Every winter she´s stuck in the ice from end of December to mid March. The thickest ice I´ve experienced so far was 70 cm, but normally the ice is about 20 cms.
I can assure you there is absolutely no problems, danger or risk to let you boat freeze into ice.
And that thin ice would be dangerous and cut through GRP is a myth. I been motoring long distances through very thin ice, only resulting in some lost antifouling at the bows.

 

[wagenaar]

Re: Ice

The solution seems simple: Don't move the ship when the water is frozen. I have been frozen in a number of times in the Netherlands with a fibre-glass hull and never experienced damage, although the marina was tidal. Make sure that the ice around the ship does not break due to the movement of other ships, such as professional boating. Being moored along the side of a canal could be dangerous in this case, inside a marina would not be a problem.

 

[davidphillips]

Thanks everybody - this has been very helpful and gives me confidence that we'll survive the winter!

 

[heerenleed]

If there is any commercial movement when there is ice, make small bundles of reed and float them arount your boat. This is the way the Dutch used to protect their wooden boats against ice damage. We have spent a winter in 15 inches of ice once where there was commercial traffic on the river, and we did have some damage on the waterline. Nothing major, though. So don't worry. Do winterize your engine if you intend leaving the boat unattended for any prolonged period ot time.

cheers

 

[bjames1955]

Just read your posting on ice, we are at the other end of the river Y'onne at Sens and have wondered about the freezing. We have a solid fuel stove onboard (53ft harbour service launch) and it is giving good service already! Hopefully being on the river we wont have a problem with ice just cold!
Brett & Sue