Now that winter winding down, starting to think about Zodiac cruising before boat launch. Putt around Annapolis, Sassafras. Today it says Bay is 45 deg. Thats cold. At what water/air temperature would you feel safe launch a zodiac to cruise around?
For me it's air temp and somewhere in the 70's or above. As far as water temp goes, hypothermia is a real concern no matter what age you are, but the older you get the worse it gets. I would not be in a zodiac until the air temp is in the 70's unless I had too. The water temp is another story, but nothing where the water temp is in the 40's. Again, unless I had too. Too much to risk for a leisurely poke around. But to answer your question I wait until May to put my dink on the back of the boat and don't use it until then either. By then the water is in the upper 50's or 60's. You won't last long even in 50 d. water. https://westpacmarine.com/samples/hypothermia_chart.php
https://www.coldwatersafety.org/air-water-temperature https://www.gobair.org/Resources/Documents/Cold_Water.pdf
Back, late 80s, a lot younger, in December or January i had a 10’ zodiac with a 8hp Mercury. So i take up to Georgetown, clear snow of a pier, pump up the zodiac, mount engine. Now im blasting down river, shallows had skim ice on top. Im about 6 miles out near Ordinary Point and bere comes DNR blue lights flashing, i stop, he says, for real, What the f*k are you doing? I had no clue so i said, I’m boating. He checked my safety gear, let me go, thought i was nuts. Oh to be young and stupid again!
Getting antsy as well. Going to start up the engines and generator St. Pat's day weekend. Hopefully that will help a bit. Weather is still too cold to do anything outside though ...
As much as i want i looked at month forecast, i dont see me being able to touch up bottom paint or outdrive til 2nd week April earliest. I am winter stored at my mechanic marina. Currently they but a big derelict sailboat in my slip, so i cant go back til its gone. Just chilling, but lots have to happen before i can launch. But i still have the zodiac.
Been 3 years since i had the boat buffed, its badly oxidized. Being white its not bad just dont shine. They want $25 a foot and i dont have the arm strenght anymore to hold a buffer all day. Even the mescans at Home Depot at 7am want no part of it. I asked. Kids these days. I thought whole purpose of the illegals was cheap labor. Somebody lied. They charge more than my doctor.
It was 35* air and about 33* water. There was ice on the sides 20' high in some areas. Pretty fun ride.
Many years ago I had my 330 Sundancer and went out with a GF and another couple one October night. We tied to a mooring buoy and had dinner. When it came time to leave we discovered the mooring line had wrapped around the chain that secured the buoy. I tried to idle the boat upstream and have the guy unwrap the line from the chain but in doing so he let it loose and it got caught in the props. I dropped the anchor and tried to figure out a solution. The only thing I could think of was for me to go beneath the boat with a knife and cut the lines loose. So, with a steak knife 'tween my teeth and a Kel-lite between my legs I went in. It took me several tries to come up beneath the swim platform, take a breath, go below and start cutting then come up for air when I needed another breath. It worked but it took me 35 minutes in that 53* water to finally get all the line cleared. When I came up and got back on the boat I put on a jacket, fired her up (the boat, not the GF), hoisted anchor and headed for home. No hypothermia or anything, no shivers, just glad to be back on board and in a jacket. Ahhh, yes, memories are made of times like this.
