Thick Ice / Moving a Narrowboat ?

[DHutch]

There as been ice this year?

 

- Its been so mild here the only ice I have seen is in the freezer!

 

 

Daniel

[ditchcrawler]

No, no, on pylons overhead so we can all have electric boats like the trains. Now let me see, the BSS requirements for 25,000VAC would be ....

Oh but that would still leave the ice. mmmm?

Not for long, think electrode boilers

[X Alan W]

I believe (and would be interested to hear from the experts on this) that the repeated impacts of backing off and then running at an ice sheet do the gearbox bearings and engine mounts no good at all as the drive train is abruptly decelerated.

I always found that although the boat might be brought to a halt the prop if the boat was in forward gear & the boat had been going forward just continued to spin in the same way as if you had run aground. Reversing into solid ice I kept the rudder in the straight ahead position so that the blade was the first to contact the ice once it started to break small movements of the rudder from side to side help in the breaking, the most efficent way is if you can get the fore end to ride up on the ice & the boats weight breaks through the ice vertically ( could be done more easily with an unconverted working boat by loading the back end to enable the fore end to ride up on the ice ) I can appreciate that a pleasure/leisure boat/boater would not want to subject his/her boat/self to these conditions but in days past trying to earn a living meant if possible you had as the saying goes "get ahead". In 1963 at Hawks bury the ice at one time was over a foot thick so that was a no go for several weeks.

[bassplayer]

Reversing into solid ice I kept the rudder in the straight ahead position so that the blade was the first to contact the ice once it started to break small movements of the rudder from side to side help in the breaking...

I've found reversing in ice particularly difficult and personally I wouldn't recommend it unless you have little choice. The technique you mentioned works with very thin ice, but once it's over an inch thick, the rudder will just slam over one side or another. It does worry me how much it is damaging tbe rudder.

[Emerald Fox]

Just a thought but for moored boats I wonder if plastic tarpaulins hung over the side with suitable weights attached would acts as a 'lubricating' layer and keep ice from contact with hull sides. They would only need to be cut into narrow strips, maybe doubled to increase 'lubricity'.

 

I was thinking this morning (as one does) and think this is a good idea - or has it been tried before? Dead simple.

I am now also of the opinion that it's silly to drive through ice, unless as thin as an After Eight Mint and a real need to get somewhere.

[bassplayer]

I was thinking this morning (as one does) and think this is a good idea - or has it been tried before? Dead simple.

I am now also of the opinion that it's silly to drive through ice, unless as thin as an After Eight Mint and a real need to get somewhere.

Some boats rely on supplies from working boats, and the supply boats rely on the custom, so some ice breaking really is justified. TBH, I just did it for the fun but in hindsight might not do it when it's so thick next time.

[X Alan W]

I've found reversing in ice particularly difficult and personally I wouldn't recommend it unless you have little choice. The technique you mentioned works with very thin ice, but once it's over an inch thick, the rudder will just slam over one side or another. It does worry me how much it is damaging tbe rudder.

I guess there is a possibility of damage to rudder assembly's on a leisure boat, my 15 years span of working, FMC GU & "Dustbin" boats on the occasions breaking ice no damage was caused to the rudder assembly.reversing into ice A stout pair of tiller strings helps with reversing into solid ice This included dragging BW's maintenance boat "Sagitta" backwards from the ice it had climbed onto while Ice breaking Norbury Basin? the ice being too thick for the fore end weight to break down through.

[Dave_P]

There as been ice this year?

 

- Its been so mild here the only ice I have seen is in the freezer!

 

 

Daniel

I was ice-breaking in the Black Country a week and a half ago. Thin though.

[Emerald Fox]

Perhaps people should just plan for Winter properly and buy more coal & logs & kindling before January & February?

Here's a thought, do the coal boats have transponders on them so we can look at a net site and see where they are, as with flightradar24?

All buses in Helsinki are equipped with these (and data is recorded so you can't make any short cuts of your own device - the garage inspectors will know where your bus has been!)

There could also be a net site so boaters can see where to find coal and logs (or is there one already?)

[cuthound]

There as been ice this year?

 

- Its been so mild here the only ice I have seen is in the freezer!

 

 

 

Daniel

The Coventry had a thin film of ice a during the cold spell about 10 or so days ago. My external thermometer (uncalibrated) recorded a low of -8.3 degrees C, +3.7 degrees C in the boat with 2x 700 watt oil filled rads.