30+" of snow, is the weight a problem?

[stormchaser]

So, we're in the middle of a real blizzard. Winds gusting to 40, and we have 12-14" on the ground and are expecting a total of 24-36". I woke up this morning to a boat that was listing about 5*, maybe a bit more (see pic, the camera was level). It was disconcerting. I soon figured out that the covered dock (I am on the T outside the covered area) was partly protecting the baot, causing the port side to get a LOT more snow than the starboard. Any thoughts on whether snow weight is a problem? I shoveled, but its coming down faster than than I can get rid of it. Sure is pretty...

 

[REBrueckner]

no worry....It's a Hatteras!! With all that hatteras weight a little snow is no problem..besides the snow can't build up much because of limited outside deck/roof area...it collects to various levels and then blows off before becoming uniformaly deep....it can't weight more than the equivalent of a few kegs of beer!!!!

However, I would suggest sealing off that forward hatch (vent) as a dry snow can easily blow into the vents....I kept on an extera soft cover button on the outside to keep out snow (and also a layer of clear vinyl inside on top of the screen...to create an air pocket of insulation.....since I kept heat on all winter..)

 

[stormchaser]

....it can't weight more than the equivalent of a few kegs of beer!!!!

I suspect I shoveled several THOUSAND pounds off. haha!

 

[saltshaker]

The weight won't hurt the boat. Make sure anything that collects snow such as canvas, sun shades, hard top etc. don't collect too much. Be very careful on the decks. They get real slick when covered in wet snow. Try to keep the snow from building on one side as ice will form from the wet snow running under the snow on the opposite side. Standing on the dock with a good leaf blower is a safer way to clear much of the snow.

 

[MikeP]

I've have personally had bimini tops/etc collapse/tear/etc from snow accumulation so be careful with that. I have seen boats at Whittier in AK sink due to heavy snow accumulation that weren't attended to periodically by owners or folks hired to keep the snow down to reasonable levels.

Obviously depends on the snow conditions or situation but frankly I can't imagine that a Hatt is more buoyant but than any other boat of the same general size. So I don't think I'd assume it could handle more snow weight just because it's a Hatteras. Snow weight is not something that boats are generally designed to deal with...

 

[Angela]

That photo...that's just wrong!!! Shoveling snow off the boat...you live in the wrong latitude.

 

[saltshaker]

I've have personally had bimini tops/etc collapse/tear/etc from snow accumulation so be careful with that. I have seen boats at Whittier in AK sink due to heavy snow accumulation that weren't attended to periodically by owners or folks hired to keep the snow down to reasonable levels.

Obviously depends on the snow conditions or situation but frankly I can't imagine that a Hatt is more buoyant but than any other boat of the same general size. So I don't think I'd assume it could handle more snow weight just because it's a Hatteras. Snow weight is not something that boats are generally designed to deal with...

Good point. I wasn't thinking about buoyancy, just the load on the boat itself. I've always been on land when dealing with heavy snow.

 

[Carver370]

First post here! Been lurking a while trying to get all of my knowledge and confirm if I want to move to a mid to late 80s 53 MY. I spent a winter in the Chicago river and the best thing I could have done was shrink wrap the boat in a way that made it very accessible but kept snow off everything I didnt want to keep shoveling. It snowed a few times before I was able to get all the wrap up but the best thing I found to remove the snow was my scrub brush I use to clean the boat. The one thats on a pole.

It killed 2 birds with one stone, basically washed/scrubbed the decks and removed the snow without damaging any of the fiberglass. We had ALOT of snow in Chicago that winter. While Yachtsman Bill was high and dry, I was still boating! Christmas eve I took a cruise up the river through the city and back to my dock, it was beautiful.

 

[stormchaser]

Been lurking a while trying to get all of my knowledge and confirm if I want to move to a mid to late 80s 53 MY.

The answer to that is YES. Renting out the house and moving onto the boat was the best decision we've ever made. We're even loving it in the middle of a blizzard. DO IT! You wont regret it.

 

[SeaEric]

Decks get amazingly slippery with snow on them. One of the few times I have fallen overboard happened when I was sweeping snow off my boat in Winter. Luckily I was able to muster an adrenaline scramble to get back aboard the boat and change clothes. That was 30 years ago when I was still knew everything. Now that I'm much dumber, I would never attempt to replicate that event.

Be careful on boats and docks in the snow! A deserted boat yard in Winter is not a good place for swimming.

 

[SeaEric]

Stormy, Are you on the T-head, left side at the end of the shed at Hartge's?

If so, That's a lucky dock for me. The largest boat I have ever sold was in that exact slip when I sold her. She's an 83' Broward "Miss Mimi" now back to her original build name "Jonathan III" The new owner has done a beautiful job on her restoration.

The seller had lived aboard on various boats in that slip for a decade.

 

[Carver370]

The answer to that is YES. Renting out the house and moving onto the boat was the best decision we've ever made. We're even loving it in the middle of a blizzard. DO IT! You wont regret it.

I loved living on board for the winter in Chicago, the downside is there really aren't winter liveaboard friendly marinas around me and our winters get brutal here. I lucked out and we had a mild winter that year with the river never freezing. Last year it froze with a few feet of ice!


I would love to move aboard somewhere a little further south however theres this whole inconvenient work thing I haven't figured out how to get out of in the Chicago area.

 

[stormchaser]

Stormy, Are you on the T-head, left side at the end of the shed at Hartge's?

Yup, that's me. I took over the slip in June 2009. I LOVE this slip, the view is gorgeous, very well protected, easy to dock, and being at the end of the T is wonderful, I get the advantages of the view and sunlight but have a covered walk from the car to the boat in crappy weather.

 

[stormchaser]

That photo...that's just wrong!!! Shoveling snow off the boat...you live in the wrong latitude.

Tell me about it. After living in Belize for a few months, this sux. Actually, it doesnt...its peaceful and beautiful.

 

[REBrueckner]

In general, rather horizontal areas of 'canvas' material, like a cockpit cover, flybridge cover, and many bimini tops (if left open in place) need a framework under to support the weight of snow....at the least fabric stretches..... and can rip in weighty snowfalls. It's also important to have such covers shaped in such a way that even with snow weight snow melt can drain off...pockets of snow and ice can really stretch and perhaps rip a cover.
Because 48 YF cockpits, with fiberglass drain channels embedded in the floor, are subject to water/freeze/thaw damage I always kept my cockpit covered in NY winters....I used 8 1" x3" wood pieces, tied in place, from bridgedeck aft to cockpit stern combing, to support the cover...a little snow might drift in ladder openings and such, but the cockpit remained essentially free of snow and ice all winter.

 

[stormchaser]

Other than the aft EZ2CY panels (side are glass on the aft deck), I have no canvas out. The bimini is folded & covered and that's about all the canvas I have other than the rail covers, so non worries about torn/collapsed covers.

 

[jim rosenthal]

If we paid extra we wouldn't have it. As in paying extra to move South.

I shoveled a path to my truck today to get Xmas wrapping stuff out, and broke the snow shovel doing it. Snapped off the damned handle. My 4wd is over in my storage garage....not getting it out tonight. With two feet of snow in the driveway, I don't know how I'd get there. I'm snowbound, unless I want to walk out of here....not doing that. Fortunately there's lots of food around. And stuff to do, if only I'd buckle down and do it. More fun to surf the web, though.

I was in the grocery store yesterday afternoon, before all this hit. Lots of folks buying milk, bread, and toilet paper. I guess they're going to spend the weekend drinking milk and eating toilet paper sandwiches...personally I'd rather have peanut butter and jelly.

 

[Glory]

I always try to remove all of the snow befroe it has a chance to freeze.

JM

 

[stormchaser]

This is what she looks like after being shoveled FOUR TIMES today! And as you can see, its still coming down at a good clip.

 

[Brian Degulis]

That's Global warming for ya!!!


Brian