Happiness Is A Warm Boat

Now that winter has settled in with snow, ice, freezing temperatures and all, we have made every effort to winterize Monster for our optimal warmth. And still, Gordon continues to work away at this on a daily basis.  Since his homecoming we have replaced our tarp with a much larger one that now
encompasses the whole boat, and keeps the snow off the deck. A block heater has been installed on the engine that keeps the engine room toasty, and in turn makes the bilges warmer, and hence the cabin sole! As the engine is below the cockpit the block heater also radiates its heat up making said cockpit a semi warm place to don or remove boots and outer wear.  We have also sealed all overhead hatches with Styrofoam except for the ever important Santa hatch. How else would Santa visit a boat without a chimney?  We have a super hard working infrared heater as well as a couple space heaters that keep the boat at a comfortable 65 degrees.  That said, we have learned pretty quickly to pull out ones clothes from their lockers for a warming before donning them!  This rule also applies to the dinner plates.

Most importantly we have rigged up two ice heaters/ agitators/ bubblers that work to keep water flowing around the hull of the boat, and help to avoid us freezing into the ice. Monster, being a steel vessel, can easily tolerate being frozen into the ice, but it's not ideal, especially for our recent paint job.  Ice is inevitable in the freezing temperatures we are enduring these days, and so some time is spent on a near daily basis tending to the ice heaters and breaking any surrounding ice to free the boat. It seems to be a social event here at our marina, as one person breaking ice will quickly draw out the neighbors. Even on the coldest of days, we all tend to congregate, kicking our feet to ward off the chill, whilst discussing and practicing the art of breaking ice among other things. The temperatures of late have been hovering well into the negatives, with wind chills ranging from the -20's to a bone chilling -30 this am. Despite the cold we bundle up as all good Canadians do, admire the beauty of the winter wonderland around us, and carry on.  I immensely enjoy taking moments to observe the Bay of Quinte (our front yard) throughout my day, taking in the ever changing scenery and effects of the sun, wind, snow and ice.  All said and done, our efforts have rewarded us with a warm and cozy home in which to endure the winter months ahead and to countdown the days to Christmas.