Winter Houseboats - can a house boat freeze in the water, or in frozen lakes?

by Robert
(Detroit, Michigan)

Looking at winter houseboats, can a house boat freeze or stay in the water in a cold frozen lake during the winter months?

I have a 37 ft steel River Queen houseboat with no engine. I have been told because my hull is steel and I have no engine, I can leave it in the water during the winter, is this true?

Up here in Detroit, the water freezes for a few months, and I don't want to cause any damage to the boat.

Thanks, Robert, Detroit, Michigan.


Reply - Answer
Well Robert, I can understand your hesitation about leaving the boat in the water during the frozen winter months. The fact that the Riverqueen's have a steel hull is definitely a bonus.

You didn't mention if you were going to live-aboard, since leaving the boat in the water unattended is one thing, and living aboard is certainly another scenario. I will presume that you just want to leave it in the water.

A lot of folks will leave their boats in the water during the winter, and if the water will freeze, they often use a Bubbler System or a Dock De-Icer to move and aerate the surrounding water around the boats hull, this way the water won't freeze.

Since you don't have an engine, you have less winterizing to do in that department, yet you would likely want to put some light-bulbs in the bilge and bulkhead compartments to keep the temperature elevated.

You would naturally want to winterize any plumbing that you have with anti-freeze to eliminate any broken pipes and thru-hulls, and complete your normal winter storage routine.


Lastly, hopefully some of our readers and visitors will share and post comments about their winter houseboat, freezing water tips and experiences. Feel free to use the "Click here to post comments." link found near the bottom of this page.


Thanks again for sharing, IAN - from www.all-about-houseboats.com

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