Shivering our timbers over here

It's cold out, and getting colder! Checking the forecast last week, I saw temperatures predicted down just below the floor of normal, which bumbles along in the forties and fifties this time of year. That was enough to make me a little nervous; our hull paint, the big project we had planned this week, requires twelve hours over forty degrees to dry. With the predicted winds also making rudimentary tarp-tents impractical to keep the area around the boat at least somewhat warm and protected, I was getting a little nervous about going through with the scheduled haul-out at all, even though I had already obtained all the supplies I needed and though Don had already scheduled a flight over here to help out with the tasks.

My concerns only deepened over the weekend as the forecast got colder and colder. Now they are predicting temperatures below freezing all week, with lows in the twenties. I'm not brave enough to look outside right now and see what it is here in Hadlock, but I do know without a doubt it's going to be too cold to paint. So, as soon as the yard opens, I'm on the phone to cancel with them. The haul will have to wait for next spring.

There are other problems, though, with sustained temperatures so low... frozen boat plumbing! Normally, the waters of Puget Sound, frigid though they are, act as an excellent insulator for the boat systems. As long as the water isn't freezing, then generally nothing inside the boat will be freezing, either. But last winter, skeins of ice started to form in the marina slipways when it was cold and snowing, and I have little doubt the same will be happening this week.

Fortunately, haul-out or not, since Don is already on his way over, I'll be at the boat anyway and can keep the heat on and keep it above freezing inside, at least. That brings up another question, though, which is, exactly how much above freezing can I keep it? I have the built-in diesel heater and two small electric space heaters. None have massive BTU outputs, but in a small space, that generally hasn't mattered. But it's a small space without any insulation to speak of... if I can't pump more heat in than it is losing through the fiberglass skin in a given amount of time, it's liable to still be pretty damn cold aboard. We haven't before had to deal with living aboard when it's this cold out. Well, maybe Mandy has, but I haven't asked her about it. Either way, it is not without trepidation that I head aboard today... at least the boat will be preserved for future use and protected from expensive repairs by our presence, but how much we will enjoy the experience, I can't really say.