Anybody ever leave a small heater in there boat to melt snow?
#12
Gold Member
Gold Member
Go to a pet store and buy 2 or 3 reptile heaters. They are a piece of ceramic that screws into a heat protected ceramic light socket. I used one on my boat with a lamp timer for numerous years. No open heat element! I bought 3 one between the engines and one on the outside of each engine. During the cold winter I went under the cover and the manifolds were actually warm...
#13
Shrink wrap with a steep pitch is the only way to go and it keeps the animals out also. I have seen many crushed windshields from homemade frames and tarps collapsing, why take a chance.
#14
Gold Member
Gold Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: west mi
Posts: 215
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
mine is stored inside a shed, I keep a small oil filled heater (looks like an old radiator), set to its lowest setting in the bilge with all the vents plugged. I monitored close for the first year, now I keep a cheap remote thermometer set so I can see the temp without opening the hatch. it stays between 40-50 degrees with a windswept below zero West Michigan day! I figure it saves the heat/cold cycles and cuts down on condensation.
bobbo
bobbo
#15
Member #154
Platinum Member
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: SW CT & Long Island Sound
Posts: 7,868
Received 850 Likes
on
312 Posts
Why not just have the boat wrapped? The snow will just slide off.
If your make shift cover is collasped by snow you will have a trashed interior come spring. Not to mention the shrink wrap provides a water tight seal, with a bucket of stay dri in the cuddy you will eliminate all moisture issues.
I have a friend that purchased a 388 slingshot that was left un wrapped for one winter. The cuddy still smells of mold, all wood backs of the cockpit areas have rotted. The headliner fell due to the high moisture. And the white floor of the cockpit turned yellow under the 8 months of sun and cold.
For $10 a foot have it wrapped and save your boat
If your make shift cover is collasped by snow you will have a trashed interior come spring. Not to mention the shrink wrap provides a water tight seal, with a bucket of stay dri in the cuddy you will eliminate all moisture issues.
I have a friend that purchased a 388 slingshot that was left un wrapped for one winter. The cuddy still smells of mold, all wood backs of the cockpit areas have rotted. The headliner fell due to the high moisture. And the white floor of the cockpit turned yellow under the 8 months of sun and cold.
For $10 a foot have it wrapped and save your boat
All my boats have been shrink wrapped and not a single issue with these sh!tty CT winters. I install a door and climb in once in a while to look around and also leave the engine hatch open enough to get in and poke around if I had to. The stuff is so slippery just a couple of whacks with a broom will knock off the snow. If the boat is the same temperature as the air then there's no chance of condensation. Introducing warm air will spell doom if the humidity is higher.
http://www.bigshrink.com/Shrink-Wrap-DOORS_c_15.html
#17
Shrink wrapped my cruiser just last week. Let'r snow!
Not sure a heater will be enough to melt snow, where as the wrap will. Just gotta vent it well
Not sure a heater will be enough to melt snow, where as the wrap will. Just gotta vent it well
__________________
Some people are like Slinkies - Not really good for anything, but they
bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.
Some people are like Slinkies - Not really good for anything, but they
bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.