Maritime Transportation And Shipping Talk

We Better Prepare For Cold Weather! When I was sailing one of the things we always made sure of was to prepare the ship for cold weather.

We are heading north to cold weather and lots of ice. This time of the year it can be some severe weather conditions facing you. Better be prepared for some cold weather. One of the first things to do is to make sure that any water that can freeze is drained or protected. I’m talking about drinking water in the lifeboats. Pipe lines like fire lines, freshwater lines, ballast lines, lines for water to the anchor chain etc. They have to be drained and preferably blown with air to remove all water. You should add some antifreeze liquid to sounding pipes, enough to prevent it from freezing. Humidity can make for a lot of problem in the hydraulic lines if it has a chance to freeze. It would be a good idea to have the hydraulic system run so circulation is going. Certain areas might prevent you from doing all the above so other measures has to be taken. I lamp with some cover can be sufficient heat to prevent from freezing. Electrical heating coils or cables can also be used. There are many options available to you. Wheelhouses have a tendency to be cold in this climate. A trick to maintain heat in the wheelhouse is to have a fan heater on each side, very close to the door out to the bridge wing. This will act as a heat curtain and prevent the cold from accessing the wheelhouse. Having a fan heater blowing towards the wheelhouse windows or portholes will prevent them from freezing up on you. If started early, you prevent it from building up and it becomes easy to maintain.

These above are some simple things that can prevent a lot of headaches later on. You will have ice on deck so a couple of mallets would help you with removal. Ice buster or road salt is also of good help. Make sure you have warm clothing available for the crew. They will need it. You don’t need a bunch of sailor becoming sick on you with colds and flu etc. It can be a great experience going north in the winter providing you are prepared for it.