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Fiberglass boats and Ice

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Hello everyone

As someone who has just bought an old fiberglass boat to refurb and joyfully chatting about it to diferent friends IM worried about ice.

I know its not likely just now but how do you protect a fiberglass boat from being cut by ice when the canal freezes?

thanks.

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RLWP Veteran II

RLWP

Posted
Posted

Hello everyone

As someone who has just bought an old fiberglass boat to refurb and joyfully chatting about it to diferent friends IM worried about ice.

I know its not likely just now but how do you protect a fiberglass boat from being cut by ice when the canal freezes?

thanks.

 

Don't know. Does it actually happen? I've asked on here for evidence that it does and nothing turned up

 

Richard

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Posted
Posted (edited)

Hello everyone

As someone who has just bought an old fiberglass boat to refurb and joyfully chatting about it to diferent friends IM worried about ice.

I know its not likely just now but how do you protect a fiberglass boat from being cut by ice when the canal freezes?

thanks.

 

There was much discussion on here last winter - consensus seemed to be that the biggest threat was from flying sheets of ice sent across the ice by moving boats rather than the hull being crushed by 'pressure'.

 

Boards hung on the non bank/towpath side of the boat seemed to be the suggested solution.

 

I'll try and dig out the thread.

 

I'll try and dig out the thread.

 

:banghead: well I would have done but forgot the forum search cannot search for three character words like 'ice' :banghead:

 

What I posted was I think the gist anyway.

Edited by MJG
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I wondered if tyres used as fenders right down to water level would help.

My consearn is the flying ice you mention more so.

I saw some pictures on the dawncraft forum earlier showing ice damage but cant find them now!

thanks.

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I wondered if tyres used as fenders right down to water level would help.

My consearn is the flying ice you mention more so.

I saw some pictures on the dawncraft forum earlier showing ice damage but cant find them now!

thanks.

 

I suspect anything that prevented the ice sheets hitting the hull would help - I do think it is recognised as a pretty low risk mind.

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Barnfather Engager

Barnfather

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The only time I have refused to get on my cruiser in the marina was when the water was frozen solid, as I worried that the extra weight of stepping on could cause problems.

 

That said, I've not heard of any GRP boats having any ice related incidents. Naturally, most are tucked up in marinas in those sort of conditions anyway.

 

More concerning with the icy conditions would be problems with seals on boats with inboard engines. After the icy spell, one american sports cruiser at Sawley sank on our pier when the perished seals let in water when the temperature rose. (At least thats the theory).

 

But outboard-engined boats, tucked away in their berth should be fine.

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Naughty Cal Veteran II

Naughty Cal

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Our boat was in the water all winter in ice upto 10 inches thick in places. We still used NC every weekend and she suffered no damage at all due to us being aboard. We gave her no additional protection and when the ice had thawed somewhat we were the first off our berth ice breaking our way out of the marina. We pulled her out of the water recently for her annual spruce up and there were no signs of ice damage at all.

 

That said an expensive US sports boat in our marina had its hull crushed causing serious cracking to the hull. A salvage team was called in to cut the ice around the boat with still saws before clearing a hole, sending divers in with slings and then lifting the boat with a long reach crane from the car park. So damage can happen but this was by the ice pressure crushing the hull not passing boats. The ice where the boat was cut out was 12 inches thick.

 

If NC were moored on the canal/river during a freeze I still dont think we would bother with ice boards or any other additional protection, but that is our choice.

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Andrew B Engager

Andrew B

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I once saw car tyres completely all over hull on both sides but each tyre had a piece of wood fastended to tyre. It didn't look pretty but it would stop ice forcing against the hull as the wood would take the impact.

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Naughty Cal Veteran II

Naughty Cal

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12" of ice! That's impressive.

 

Not quite so impressive as the damage it did to a 30ft GRP cruisers hull. There is some crushing force in ice.

 

Burton Waters freezes quite badly in the more sheltered extremeties of the lakes. Luckily our berth is quite open and is one of the last to freeze and first to thaw, hence why we only had 10 inches of ice!!

 

The only incidents of boats sinking in icing conditions that I have heard of is when un-isolated sea-cocks freeze and break.

 

Tone

 

Saw plenty of that type of incident last winter.

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Thanks for the replies.

I dont plan to have a sea cock but I imagine I will be on a winter mooring somewhere as I intend to use this boat to spend a year cruising the entire system.

Naturally carrying tyres around during the unfrozen times will be a pain.

I would rather take the precautions though.

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Naughty Cal Veteran II

Naughty Cal

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Thanks for the replies.

I dont plan to have a sea cock but I imagine I will be on a winter mooring somewhere as I intend to use this boat to spend a year cruising the entire system.

Naturally carrying tyres around during the unfrozen times will be a pain.

I would rather take the precautions though.

 

It neednt be tyres. A few scaffolding boards hung along the waterline will have the same effect and could double us a boarding planks whilst you are cruising. :)

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carlt Veteran II

carlt

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Thanks Phylis but dare I suggest you are teasing me?

Two thirty foot planks stored on my roof!

Either way IM going to look like a proper so & so but I will find a way :lol:

You don't need protection, bankside, and besides, you can't get 30' long scaff planks, anyway.

 

Two 13' planks should be fine, for your waterline and, painted up, won't look too silly, on your roof.

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Graham Bowers Collaborator

Graham Bowers

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I've had my grp cruiser moored on a marina canalside mooring at Shardlow for 5 years and it has been there for far longer as far as I know, with no ice damage.

As far as I'm concerned, its a theoretical but unlikely problem.

Graham

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canaldrifter Experienced

canaldrifter

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Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to scan in the photos, but my ol' mate Martin Bowers of Basingstoke and Wey Boatmaster fame, bought a book from the Goole Waterways Museum yesterday which showed Polish crews cutting away ice from around the hulls of their barges to prevent them being crushed... but the ice was a foot or so thick, it seemed!

 

Just out of interest, I came across this list of lost whalers. Obviously sea-icing conditions in the arctic were far worse than on inland waters, but vessels can be crushed by ice if conditions are severe enough as this extract shows:

 

SWALLOW 1766 NEWCASTLE Wrecked in ice.

 

PITT 1766 LONDON Crushed to pieces in 3 minutes, crew saved.

 

PEGGY 1794 LONDON Lost in ice.

 

PEGGY 1799 LIVERPOOL Cut in two by the ice. Crew saved.

 

OAKHALL 1809 HULL Lost in ice.

 

KONIGSBERG 1811 HULL Wrecked. Crushed by ice.

 

BIRNIE 1813 GRIMSBY Wrecked in ice Davis Straits.

 

THREE

BROTHERS 1818 HULL Crushed in ice.

Crew saved by 'Ingria'

 

DEXTERITY 1826 PETERHEAD Crushed in ice,

crew spread amongst fleet.

 

NEPTUNE 1831 LONDON Lost in ice at Melville Bay,

Davis Straits.

 

RIBY GROVE 1838 Lost in ice.

 

HECLA 1840 PETERHEAD Lost in ice.

 

BON ACCORD 1847 Lost in ice.

 

CALEDONIA 1847 Lost in ice.

 

ALFRED 1847 Lost in ice.

 

SUPERIOR 1849 PETERHEAD Crushed.

 

LADY JANE 1849 NEWCASTLE Crushed.

 

GERMANIA 1854 HULL Wrecked in ice.

 

HEBE 1854 HULL Wrecked in ice.

 

VIOLET 1854 HULL Wrecked in ice.

 

EIRA 1882 Crushed in ice. Crew saved.

 

http://explorenorth.com/whalers/features/whalewrecks.htm

 

Edited to add that I know these boats weren't made of grp!

 

Tone

Edited by canaldrifter
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