Trojan Boat Forum

The highest water level I have ever seen on Lake Ontario leaves me stuck in the boathouse. Now the problem gets worse. The windshield is only 2" from the ceiling. I will need to remove my windshield. Any suggestions on how to dismantle it? Started this evening and found it to be a huge job. Not much time as it is still rising,..hard to believe.

How much height do you need to reduce to get out of the boathouse? Easiest fix is to pull the fuses for the bilge pumps and flood the bilge to lower the boat to float it out, if that is safe and enough to do so (if your cabin floorboards are under water, bad idea..... if they stay above, this is an option - the pumps will catch up when the fuses are put back in and you (hopefully plug in to hydro and have chargers set up to make sure batteries have tones of power).

Staying outside will cost you maybe $50/day, so a months worth of outside at Confederation Basin or other facility (Olympic basic or Collins Bay) is probably less than your deductible or related premium increase / insurance ramifications of you get crushed against the ceiling. Bottom line - get out if you can!

Pulling the windshield - can't help you, and a job that I wouldn't wish on anyone.... ugly. Getting it off is one thing. Getting it back on and sealed is a whole other ball game! As is the norm with most boats, pulling it takes a certain effort, putting it back takes 2-5x t he effort.

Thanks, I have an outside dock, no worries there. I need about 10" - 12" to get out. I can't sink the boat that much with bilge water. aarrrggg.

Any chance you could move the boat within the boathouse or remove a roof panel? Might be easier if you can get permission.

Well, at least you're in the water

Barrie wrote:Well, at least you're in the water

You would have to be there. How are the water levels on Lake Erie?

The couple marinas in Port Stanley are just finishing the slips.
The water is up about 15-20" from last fall.
Last week while visiting my future slip, which is in a river dumping into Lake Erie (all the marinas are on this river) the water dropped 7" in 30 minutes.
The water was just at the top of the slip planks and dropped to about 3" below frame.
Partly due to wind on the lake pushing water up stream.

When you come in from the lake you have to watch the river before attempting to dock to see which way the water is flowing...up stream or down

Our boat is going in at the end of the month, we're getting pretty excited!

Jimbo,

You may be in luck in that I believe water levels are beginning to diminish. 3rd day in a row here on the Rideau lakes. Good luck.

Rick

Jimbo,

You may be in luck in that I believe water levels are beginning to diminish. 3rd day in a row here on the Rideau lakes. Good luck.

Rick

Thanks Rick, here's hoping

Id get 40 of you fattest friends with the promise of free beer. They are sure to show up for that. Calculate the total weight required to sink the boat 8-10 ".... Id put most down below for ballast as any good captian would.

Dont forget to take pictures..... Good luck. I really hope you can get her out with no damage.

Jimbo,

Water levels continuing to drop up here near Ottawa. How's that windshield?

Rick

Lower water levels in the Rideau and Trent-Severn canal systems will eventually help lowering water levels in Lake Ontario, which is controlled by the locks in the St. Lawrence, but with Quebec flooded that is not happening anytime soon. The American's have a lot to say as well (Army Corp of Engineers) My windshield is less than 1 inch off the ceiling. Probably July before I will be able to remove the boat. My hope is that it does not rise further. Thanks for your concern.

Sorry to hear that!

There might be something to loading the boat until it sits low enough to get under the door. Between filling the bilge and adding weight low down, you might be able to sneak it out. By calculating the volume of water you need to displace (area of hull cross section at 12" above water line should allow you to calculate volume then weight), you can see if this is viable before actually doing anything.

WayWeGo wrote:Sorry to hear that!

There might be something to loading the boat until it sits low enough to get under the door. Between filling the bilge and adding weight low down, you might be able to sneak it out. By calculating the volume of water you need to displace (area of hull cross section at 12" above water line should allow you to calculate volume then weight), you can see if this is viable before actually doing anything.

The idea of over loading hit me a few days ago too, but didn't get around to posting it. When we hosted my sister's wedding aboard we had 17 people on the boat. Here are a couple of shots:

With everyone aboard -- observe the boot stripe and swim platform relative to the surface: Once we unloaded, take another look:

Add to that, a bit of flooding of the bilge (NOT to the floorboards) and you might get 10" or more out of it.

Can you rip the side off the boat house or hack a big notch over the door?