Frozen Water In Cruise Boat

[Chrisarnold1]

I have a Stingray RX that I have to store outside. I went to check on it and found water got into the boat during a bad rain storm and froze. Not a lot of water but enough for a good amount to have frozen on one side of the boat and for it to have frozen near the rear corner in the engine compartment. It's unlikely to ever unfreeze and dry until March or April. Could this cause damage to the flooring or the transom?

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[nwcove]

it will cause damage if you dont do something about it. a heat source to slowly melt it then get rid of the water and fix whatever allowed the water in.

 

[tpenfield]

Got some pictures to share? Really hard to tell just by a description . . . .

Minor amounts of water are not usually a problem. It is only when water is trapped in a confined place and expansion from freezing causes it to break its confined space.

 

[Chrisarnold1]

Thanks for the replies. It's not a ton of water but enough to have maybe a half inch of frozen water near the back of the boat. And I would guess there's a little more frozen under the floor where the ski hold is that I can't see. I trimmed the trailer up a little more and probably drained a gallon out of it.

Fixed the cover so it should happen again just wondering if the flooring could rot. Aren't they made of marine wood with a fiberglass coating?

 

[MH Hawker]

Yes it can start things rotting

 

[pckeen]

1/2 an inch on its own is unlikely to do damage, but long term exposure to water may. Your best bet is to stick a space heater in there, defrost the area, and let the water drain out. Jasoutside bought a donor boat that this had happened to - the expansion of the water pushed in the oil case on the bottom of the outboard engine, which pushed in the oil pan and caused the crankshaft to strike the oil pan repeatedly....luckily the fix was simply hammering out or replacing the oil pan (I forget which).

 

[Chrisarnold1]

Alright will do! Thanks for the advice.

 

[UncleWillie]

Put the plug back in and pour in a gallon of Pink Marine/RV Antifreeze (<$5), or at least a gallon of Hot tap water.
You should be able to drain and sponge up all the water in a day or two.

Where are you located that you expect to be frozen continuously until March?

 

[H20Rat]

I'm going to go contrary to the advice above... Do NOT try to warm it up and get the water out! Other than personal ADD, there is no good reason to remove it now.

1) If it is going to damage anything, the damage is already done. Doesn't matter if it is there until spring or you remove it now.
2) Ice doesn't cause rot. Leaving the ice there until spring will not rot it out.
3) Applying any sort of heat in an engine compartment always involves a certain amount of risk. Risk of going KABOOM!

Anyway, long story short, don't worry about it. Doesn't sound like there is so much in there that it is a problem. The most I'd do is dump in a couple gallons of pink antifreeze. It will slowly mix with the ice and melt it.

 

[H20Rat]

Where are you located that you expect to be frozen continuously until March?

Don't know about the OP, but where I'm at (ND), march is often one of the worst winter months! For that matter, april is just as bad.

 

[Maclin]

If it has already frozen ice-block solid then any damage is already done and can't be undone by melting and draining now.

 

[tpenfield]

I think until we see some pictures, it is mere speculation on what damage may have or could occur throughout the winter. It does not sound like huge amounts of water, but pictures sure would help the visualization aspects.

 

[Alumarine]

I don't think antifreeze will melt ice.
I experimented with that a few years ago and I believe it did nothing unless the temperature of the antifreeze melted the ice and then mixed with it.
As mentioned pictures would really help. Frozen water isn't necessarily going to cause any trouble at all depending on it's location.

 

[smassey22180]

Put a drop light with a 100 watt light bulb under the cover. That alone may melt it in 24 hours.

 

[JimS123]

there is no good reason to remove it now.

1) If it is going to damage anything, the damage is already done. Doesn't matter if it is there until spring or you remove it now.
2) Ice doesn't cause rot. Leaving the ice there until spring will not rot it out.
3) Applying any sort of heat in an engine compartment always involves a certain amount of risk. Risk of going KABOOM!

Anyway, long story short, don't worry about it. Doesn't sound like there is so much in there that it is a problem. The most I'd do is dump in a couple gallons of pink antifreeze. It will slowly mix with the ice and melt it.

Wet boats rot in warm climates, for sure. But if the wood is wet and it freezes it opens up the wood and it'll rot twice as fast.

Yup, SOME damage is already done! How quickly it is mitigated will determine how many years the boat has left. Best plan is to get the boat into a warm place and once it melts mop it all up. Like air don't freeze, neither does dry wood.

I'd be afraid that the anti freeze (even if it did melt it) would just add more liquiid for the wood to soak up.

If the heat did in fact make a kaboom, that would surely be the fastest way to dry it up...

 

[UncleWillie]

Don't know about the OP, but where I'm at (ND), march is often one of the worst winter months! For that matter, april is just as bad.

I see it is supposed to be in the 40s next week around Bismark.
I am sure you can expect a few more thaws between now and March.

The OP must be a lot farther North if the next expected thaw is over 3 months away.
Each Thaw and Re-freeze will only add to the damage, if any.

The Glycol part of the Propylene Glycol (PG) Antifreeze is an effective Fungicide, and would be preferred to straight water in any water soaked wood, both for freeze protection and any rot issues in the future.
PG is a major component of embalming fluid. If the boat has damaged wood or not, it isn't going to hurt anything.

 

[pckeen]

I'm going to go contrary to the advice above... Do NOT try to warm it up and get the water out! Other than personal ADD, there is no good reason to remove it now.

1) If it is going to damage anything, the damage is already done. Doesn't matter if it is there until spring or you remove it now.
2) Ice doesn't cause rot. Leaving the ice there until spring will not rot it out.
3) Applying any sort of heat in an engine compartment always involves a certain amount of risk. Risk of going KABOOM!

Anyway, long story short, don't worry about it. Doesn't sound like there is so much in there that it is a problem. The most I'd do is dump in a couple gallons of pink antifreeze. It will slowly mix with the ice and melt it.

I get the theory, but.....

Ice won't stay that way all year - it may thaw on warm days, then freeze on others, which can create an ongoing contraction and expansion effect - safest route it to get all that you can out, and leave it that way.

 

[JoLin]

Fix the boat cover issue so the problem doesn't reoccur. Warm the bilge if you can, and drain off what's in there. Then relax.

With all due respect to those warning of dire consequences to having a half inch of frozen water in the boat, I understand the concern but consider it unjustifed. Unless the water is trapped in an area in which expansion would create pressure against some part of the structure, I'd consider it a non-event. My boat (and many larger boats like it) does not permit a complete draining of the bilge due to the position of the hull drain. My garboard plug is located in the bottom of the hull about four feet forward of the transom. It isn't at the lowest point and I've easily got a half inch sitting in the bilge. The boat is 22 years old and has lived in 'the north' all its life. The hull is completely sound.

My .02