Would you store your boat in ice?

摘要

In the Northern Hemisphere, as in Scandinavia, waters freeze and prevent yachting. All activity dies down for the winter and starts up again in spring, when the boat owners return to clean, wash and polish their boats before the start of the season.rnIn Scandinavia, craft are lifted from the water before severe conditions. Only in sheltered locations are they left in the water. In some areas there are dry dock facilities which can also be used for housing, parks etc.rnThe authorities of Helsinki City have asked VTT Manufacturing to study a possible alternative to lifting the boats, i.e. leaving the boats in the water and allowing them to freeze into the ice. This paper gives an overview of the project. It covers the presentation of the possible technical solutions to minimise ice problems, often called ice handling methods. The long-term durability of the wet glass fibre laminate during continuous freezing and thawing periods is shown. Finally, the possibility of leaving boats in Helsinki City marinas are demonstrated by a pilot project during the winter of 1998-99. The pilot project contained ice force instrumentation both for the boat hull and for the ice itself, environmental data collection and testing of a pneumatic air bubbling system.