Winterizing my roylex boat

[Danny]

This is the first Wisconsin winter I'll need to keep my wood trimmed Roylex boat in an unheated garage. I've heard I should back out screws on the gunnels to avoid cold cracks. Does this mean I need to unscrew the gunnels completely or some variation of that?

Thanks

[ezwater]

The purpose is to allow the contracting Royalex to slide a bit along the non-contracting wood gunwales. My opinion is that you can partly loosen the screws toward the ends, but leave them alone in the middle. The stress should tend to increase the farther the screws are from the center of the boat.

[rainfoot]

Here is some additional online info:

http://www.canoekayak.com/canoe/coldcracks/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.madrivercanoe.com/education_ ... ld_cracks/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Enjoy those Wisconsin winters!

[ian123]

It's only a concern in tripping boats

[ezwater]

ian, can you explain why it is only a concern in "tripping" boats? Because their length causes more stress with temperature change? I think we may find some cases of cold cracks in 13' ww boats.

[ian123]

I think cold cracks are rare in any boat but I ve only ever heard of it happening in tripping boats.

If you loosen the screws in the front and back 2-3 feet of a 16-17 ft boat fixes the problem, then there is still 10-12 ft of boat in the middle. Should be fine, right?

It's anecdotal but I know a few people up here leaving sparks out in the winter without issues.

If people have other experiences, I d be happy to hear them.