I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

[Thajeffski]

2004 Bayliner 19.5 ft bow rider.

With all this white crap (and an inch of ice this morning) that has been falling on me and the boat.........the tarp that I had covering it ripped and the mooring cover that was a secondary line of defense ended up caving in.

What happened next was I tried to clear it all off and in the end got a BUNCH OF SNOW on the inside.

At the same time I noticed the bilge is FULL OF ICE and even the carpet is frozen in some spots.

I winterized, removed batteries and the plug has been pulled since oct when I put it away......however I really don't like all this snow/ice being inside the boat, with the cover on.

What is a safe way to melt this? I have a bunch of electric space heaters. However I realize that these motors generate sparks everytime they turn on and off..... my fuel tank is FULL and I imagine I could place the space heater upfront, cover it and hope that nothing happens.......however I'm here for your advice.

What I want to do is melt the bilge ice (that is blocking the plug hole) and have everything melt and go OUT of the boat... a lightbulb will not do this.

any ideas fellow iboaters?

 

[smallboatlover]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

wow we posted just about the same thing at the same time i need help with this too

 

[Thajeffski]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

haha yea.

I have all these options at my disposal, but they all involve sparks and red hot metal (heat gun, space heaters, etc)... I can't imagine that's safe with 20 gallons of gas sitting right under the floor.

There has to be a solution, - I just can't figure it out.

 

[Thajeffski]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

I even have one of those OIL heaters.......but I know I see a spark fly everytime it turns on and off. NO GOOD on a boat with a cover on it!

 

[mphy98]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

The only safe way to do this is to take it inside a heated garage or pole barn. anything else is risky. One possibility might be those ceramic heaters, i just do not know enough about them to offer an opinion on those.

On second thought a trouble light with a 60 watt bulb might be the trick. did this on the carb on a 62 olds back in the day and it worked without a k-boom

 

[ziggy]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

can ya get it to a heated garage? that would work safely... if ya can move it???

man them ice storms suck. we had some of it with this last storm, but not like many did.
ice storms are what made me decide to use two covers in the winter. at least before the ice storms. not this storm, but others, i've let it ice up then removed the top cover later. works ok, but that ice it horrid heavy. don't think i've ever delt with an inch of it. yikes.

sounds like ya really made an effort to keep the crap out of your boat this winter. bummer the plan didn't work out. an inch of ice is asking a lot of any cover (or two) imho...

after thought. did ya use a snow shovel or the likes to get the heavy snow and ice out of it? even that would be helpful i would think.

 

[Thajeffski]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

I did try to keep the snow off it and the ice too......it got all screwed up last night.

I can't tow it right now because it has 3 feet of snow around it and my tow vehicle has a rotted out brake line! even if I could I don't have anywhere to bring it!

I guess if I don't hear any better ideas I'll throw a 100 watt lightbulb in the bilge and hope for the best.

I could start the ceramic space heater outside the boat, and then put it inside and hope it doesn't cycle on and off (that's when the spark would occur I believe)...

 

[smallboatlover]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

ya but the thing for me and probably you too then the top layer of ice melts theres water in the bilge and then the electric light it exposed to the water. in my boat i have water in it and then a layer of ice under it so i don't know if using the light would be good if it got in the water.

 

[Thajeffski]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

Yup. I'm in the same BOAT haha.

I guess a space heater (the kind with a fan) is the best thing I can do.

And just hope I don't hear a fireball at 2am

 

[Bob's Garage]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

If the snow is loose, you might be able to remove most of it with a shop vac. Hopefully you have been able to replace the cover. If so, or if your engine compartment has a tight cover, you could use a halogen shop light, with the cover closed which would produce a large amount of heat.

If you can't get it covered in some meaningful way, you are fighting a losing battle as any heat you bring to the boat is going to be wasted.

You might also try some non-corrosive (none sodium) de-icer to help the process in the bilge.

 

[Thajeffski]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

Hmm, that's a good idea.

My mooring cover is still ok, the tarp is trashed though.

and I do have a halogen shop light that produces a LOT of heat. ... I guess the filament holds all the "sparking" potential inside the bulb right?

 

[JimS123]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

If there was ever a reason to have a reliabale mechanic and let one guy do all your car repairs this would be the reason. My local shop goes out of his way to help customers.

I know what I would do. I'd call up John and have him pick it up with his towtruck and put it one of his service bays last thing Friday night before he closed. I'd meet him there and prop the bow up high. On Monday Morning I'd meet him there at 6AM before he opened and mop up any residuals, then have him tow it home.

I'm sure it would melt in that time, and he'd probably charge me 50 bucks for the tow, but it would be worth it. Then, next year I'd secure inside storage somewhere. If you look hard enough you can find it at reasonable rates.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

once you get it figured out, you have to determine how water got in the bilge. It had to be there as water before it froze, and therefore it wasn't draining before the freeze hit. Your cover collapsing from snow and ice did not put water in the bilge; in fact all that "water" is above the deck!

Of course I don't know your whole set-up but a couple of thoughts come to mind: a heat gun (air) or maybe even a blow dryer, against the bilge plug hole, might open up the hole and if the bilge water (which you said was "full") isn't frozen solid, you may get some drainage.

Meanwhile consider working from a different direction, and leverage off the heat rising.Put your heaters under the boat. No spark risk there. if you don't use flame heat, tent the underside with tarps hanging off the gunwales to the ground--or vent it if you use a burner type heater. Maybe an electric blanket tied up under the hull. Lights. In this process, though, keep that bilge hole open. You also want to guard against rapid heatnig that can cause cracks, delam, etc.

One thing to help you sleep: ice doesn't rot wood, so things aren't getting worse. If you put the boat up in October and froze in December, at most you have 2 months of water exposure in the bilge--no big deal. And if your temps are going to stay at freezing, you have plenty of time to deal with it. Ice in there shouldn't hurt anything; anything damaged from the expansion of the bilge water freezing has been done.

And I wouldn't get too paranoid about sparks; there are sparky things around boat tanks all year round, and less fumes evaporating in cold steady temps. Just be smart.

BTW that clown is really disturbing--is it you?

 

[paw2000]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

A simple way to thaw out a frozen bilge is to use farm tank deicer. I bought 1 from tractor supply last Saturday. it uses 110vac, completely sealed, thermostat protected, turns on when 35 degrees and off at 45 degrees. It is safe for plastic buckets. Can thaw out 25 gal bucket. http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...cast-aluminum-utility-deicer-250-watt-2170738

I set mine near the bilge pump, that was frozen, after 3-4 hrs was able to run the pump, I disconnected the hose and let water circulate, the next day no ice, pumped everything out. best 30 bucks I spent in a while.

 

[JimS123]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

One thing to help you sleep: ice doesn't rot wood, so things aren't getting worse. If you put the boat up in October and froze in December, at most you have 2 months of water exposure in the bilge--no big deal. And if your temps are going to stay at freezing, you have plenty of time to deal with it. Ice in there shouldn't hurt anything; anything damaged from the expansion of the bilge water freezing has been done.

A frozen bilge most certainly DOES contribute to the demise of a boat. Expansion under the deck will crack what was formerly sealed and let more water in during the season, thus contributing to rot. Soaked wood that has frozen will expand the pores of the wood, thus accelerating the rot when it gets warm again.

 

[NYBo]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

I can't tow it right now because it has 3 feet of snow around it and my tow vehicle has a rotted out brake line! even if I could I don't have anywhere to bring it!

Hmm. I have the same exact situation, except my brake should be replaced by the shop by now.

My covers are also still holding up, but I feel your pain. Anything with a thermostat that isn't specifically designed for bilge use will spark.

 

[cribber]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

Shop vac out all the snow you can and get the immersible heater that paw2000 posted above. I would think the 250 watt would do to clear the ice out of your bilge.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

Downspout heat tape. Plug it in and coil it as best you can in the bilge. You may have to move it around every day or two but it won't light anything up.

 

[fat fanny]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

If it were me I would clear all snow from around the boat and in it for that matter and then use a hose connected to my hot water heater and start a small stream of hot water on the ice build up in the bilge directing it in the area of the drain to start a flow and then use the hallogen light to finiish the job. If you don't get that ice out of there soon! your gnna have more problems come spring and or sooner. Good luck

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: I need to safely heat up my boat and melt all the snow that's inside it.

Infrared heat lamp(s). They are typically 250W and they operate by heating the OBJECTS instead of heating the air around them. They are quite directional. Screw one (or two) into a worklamp socket, clamp it somewhere safely in the bilge and aim it where the ice is. No sparks, no thermostat and quite safe.

As for the snow, do as others have suggested and clear it out while it's dry. Will make a very big mess if you melt it. It will not dry out before freezing again, and when it does thaw later in the season, you will have created a perfect breeding environment for mold.