prkoch@att.net writes:

If your temperature drops below freezing, drain engine (fog
cylinders) and fill with antifreeze.  Same with head. Drain water
tank and pump nontoxic antifreeze through lines (some people use
vodka) and leave some in the tank. Through-hulls below waterlevel
should be freeze protected with a 40 to 60 watt lightbulb very close
to it. Put a 100 watt bulb under or close to engine (I have my
lightbulbs on a thermostat which comes on at about 40 F). Buy
"rural" (130V) lightbulbs, they last forever. Visit boat frequently
during winter.

George of Scaramouche1 in Lake Ontario, Canada who stays in the water
(with bubblers) every winter (7th year now).

P.s: I have seen a few boats sunk because of frost-cracked
throughhulls that were not lightbulb protected. What happens is that
the throughhull freezes and cracks in a sharp coldsnap  then during
an early springthaw the frost melts and lake/river happily bubbles
into the boat. Not a good situation...

At 11:49 AM 10/08/2001 -0400, Brian Hall wrote:

COMMENT
While I think Brian's  reply is somewhat strongly  worded; he does make a
valid point about  using suitable heaters.
A light bulb is a very wasteful and inefficient  means of placing heat wher
you need it.

A much better way is to use heat tracer cable.  Available in  many lenghts,
they are sold throughout the colder regiosn where snow accumulates on roofs
and create ice dams.

These  heat tracer cables come in lenghts as short as  six feet and include
a thermostat  which turns  on below freezing  temperatuers. This  protects
water pipes  underneath  houses and cottrages placed on pilalrs where
cold air can flow underneath the floors.
They use much less power and thus reduces the risk of  overloading  the
circuit breaker.

As for the remark "  >And lastly, if the ice is so thick that the water
UNDER the through-hull

That is not the problem.  The water under the boat  doesn't freeze.  In
fact the  bubblers or  de-icers  use a quirk of nature to force  warmer up
against the hull.  Water is most dense at  a temperature a few degrees
above freezing.  This dense water  lies at the bottom of the harbor basin
and  you can  use  a device for forcing this warmer  water up against the
hull and thus keep the ice from forming at the surface.
The real danger from freezing your  through hull fittings occurs if  very
cold air is allowed  to circulate in the  bilge areas.
When I lived aboard year round in Toronto harbor I blocked the engine room
vents  to  keep out the outside air which  on occasion reached -20F.
BTW, your  floors will be warmer if you  don't have  cold air circulating
under it.
I don't know about  cheap  chinese ceramic heaters  but  I have used  the
"Micro Furnace" brand name product  to keep  electronic cabinets  warm
during cold  Canadian winters.  My partner and I installed about 50 of them
in October and left them running  continuously until mext april.
You do not need  them set at full  heat, as long as they  keep the air
temp above freezing so a low or medium setting is just fine.
Proper placement  with adequate clearance  to the nearest wooden or other
combustible  material will  prevent  a fire hazard.

As for monitoring  the boat  while absent.  A simple thermostat  located
at a critical location ( coldest  place as measured with a  thermometer)
connected to an autodialer phone that calls a security pager  will alert
you to a problem even if you are away.
Or if the marina is  occupied and watched 24/7  it could simply  sound off
a horn.

I can't speak to the situation in Baltimore harbor but I know from personal
experience that  many people do live aboard  even in sub arctic  conditions
in the Great Lakes. Some marinas have so many people  doing it that
entire small communites exist.
A number of my acquaintances are among them.
Fire is not a major problem in my experience.  People who live aboard
generally have a vested interest in keeping their home.  Fires are more
likely  in stored boats where  owners only come out once ina while to brush
snow off the covers and  stay for a short while.

Cheers

Arild

A list member writes:

OK Al Golden, what do the insurance companies think about
clamping torches in the bilge?  Are you going to pay off
if we set our boats on fire?  Some have found the best way
to get into a new boat is to put a bulb in the bilge!!  I know of two
boats that the owners could not sell for the asking price. The insurance
company gave them above market value for their boats after
light bulbs burned them to the waterline (aways seems to happen between
the wee hours from  2 to 4AM) !!

Do you want to be docked next to a boat with a fire-bomb in its
bilge?

Light bulbs in the bilge is a criminal (also stupid) action.  The fires
are causing all of us to pay more for our insurance.  Shame on the insurance
companies for paying off on these loses!

Hello People!  Winterize your engine properly with anti-freeze and only
use approved heaters.

NEVER USE LIGHT BULBS!  As a marina owner this is one
of my (as well as my insurance company) worse fears!!!

FIRE FIRE FIRE!!!!!  Every year we lose boats to fire here
in the Baltimore area - Fires caused by light bulbs and cheap
Chinese-made ceramic heaters, or over-loaded wiring trying
to keep up with the outside temperture!

I have even seen light bulbs clamped to GASOLINE FUEL lines
to protect the engine!  Folks - an engine on fire will not freeze!

There is no safe way without building special brackets/guards and
clamps to safely secure open light bulbs.

Light bulbs to protect through-hulls are a quick, dirty, and dangerous
practice - owners do do build brackets- they use the cheap clamps
that come with the ligths.  The clamps holding the bulbs can fail
placing the bulb against flamable surfaces.

Use only approved heaters, light bulbs placed close to the
through-hulls and engines are placed too close to flamable surfaces!

And while your 130 volt bulb may last "forever", what happens
when a power-outage (tripped breaker, etc.) cuts the power
while you are asleep miles away from your boat?  Boat sinks?

And lastly, if the ice is so thick that the water UNDER the through-hull
can freeze - pull the boat out of the water or move it south!

Brian Hall
CHB 45 "Any Sea"
Old Bay Marina
Baltimore

---==========================
Brian-------I installed a relay that turned on my hailer in Fog horn mode
at high volume for when the AC goes out and a note in my window reading
reset breaker.
.
Captain Al Pilvinis

"M/V Driftwood"--Prairie 47
2630 N.E. 41st Street
Lighthouse Point, Fl 33064-8064
Voice 954-941-2556 Fax 954 788-2666
Email  yourcaptain@earthlink.net
Website http://home.earthlink.net/~yourcaptain

bhall@bcpl.net writes:

Brian: I never talked about OPEN light bulbs. I made the assumption
that any intelligent boater would (like I and my neighbours do) use
steel troublelight cages to support their lightbulbs and thusly
prevent them ever coming in direct contact with flammable material.

In six winters in the same marina with about 300 boats of which about
50 are liveaboards.
I have seen only one fire and that was from a Diesel heater exhaust
which was pointed directly at the dock. The dock was slightly
scorched, the boat untouched.
However, I have seen several boats go down because of cracked
throughhulls/gatevalves and other ice damage.

George of Scaramouche1, Frenchman's Bay, Lake Ontario