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camp guy · 01-21-2009, 02:10 PM

I live off the water at this time, but I, too, struggled with the question of what to use, and I did, in fact, try both over time. This thread comes up each winter, and the usual comments are made, and, as has been the case in the past, the comment is made that it isn't so much during the winter that problems occur, it is when the ice breaks up and 'goes out'. Well, this is true, but it is also true that during the winter there can be major problems. I had to completely redo my pilings because the ice had formed tightly around them and due to some shifting (I can't explain the technical process) of the HUGE ice plate the pilings were actually lifted up and left the decking totally askew. In the spring, when the ice was breaking up, both my wife and I spent hours out on the dock with long poles (think pieces of strapping) pushing the ice aside so as to miss our dock during is travel. The wind is critical to the survival of your dock during ice out. It doesn't take much wind to create a large amount of momentum which can easily damage a dock.

01-21-2009, 02:10 PM	#31
camp guy Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: formerly Winter Harbor, still Wolfeboro Posts: 1,189 Thanks: 301 Thanked 527 Times in 294 Posts	Bubbler vs circulator I live off the water at this time, but I, too, struggled with the question of what to use, and I did, in fact, try both over time. This thread comes up each winter, and the usual comments are made, and, as has been the case in the past, the comment is made that it isn't so much during the winter that problems occur, it is when the ice breaks up and 'goes out'. Well, this is true, but it is also true that during the winter there can be major problems. I had to completely redo my pilings because the ice had formed tightly around them and due to some shifting (I can't explain the technical process) of the HUGE ice plate the pilings were actually lifted up and left the decking totally askew. In the spring, when the ice was breaking up, both my wife and I spent hours out on the dock with long poles (think pieces of strapping) pushing the ice aside so as to miss our dock during is travel. The wind is critical to the survival of your dock during ice out. It doesn't take much wind to create a large amount of momentum which can easily damage a dock.