Have you thought about adding bubblers to your boat dock in the winter? If you live in a high altitude area or in an area where the water freezes, consider adding bubblers to your boat dock and boat. Dock bubblers prevent icy damage around your boat and boat dock, especially fiberglass and wooden watercraft.
Water can enter between the planks of a wooden boat dock and freeze. When the water freezes, it causes the planks to spread apart. This may lead to the boat sinking due to the major leaks in its structure.
Although boats made from fiberglass are more durable, ice can collect around the boat’s hull, causing major damage to the prop and rudder. The fiberglass boat constantly hitting the ice can damage the gelcoat and you’ll need to repair it later. A dock bubbler can prevent damage to both your boat and boat dock and protect it from major damage due to ice.
How Do Boat Dock Bubblers Function?
Water contracts when it cools and freezes. When it reaches the freezing point of 39 degrees Fahrenheit, it starts to expand, turns into ice, and starts to float on top of the water. With the ice floating on top, the water underneath it remains warm.
Dock bubblers keep the ice away from both your boat dock and boat by bringing up warm water to the surface. You can place a perforated hose along the bottom and connect it to an air compressor, which you can control using an air thermostat.
The hose releases the air bubbles that force the warm water to come up from below and create room for unfrozen water above the hose.
Dock Bubblers for Non-permanent Floating Docks
Dock bubblers are an ideal choice for people with a permanent boat dock, but for those with removable floating docks, they need to consider these details:
Sheets of Ice
Dock bubblers won’t protect your boat and boat dock from moving sheets of ices. Your dock bubbler protects your boat from ice that’s around it, but if strong winds break a piece of ice that’s further away from your boat dock, it may come floating in your direction. Your dock bubbler is useless in these instances.
Low Lake Levels
Dock bubblers aren’t a good option for people with a boat dock installed on a lake with low water levels. Winter can cause the water level to drop drastically. In low lake levels, your dock bubble may malfunction, as it’ll only be in 7” waters.
There should be at least a minimum clearance of 1-foot from the base of the dock bubbler to the lake bed. This provides you with enough space to stir the water and move it away from the boat and boat dock. This also pushes the ice sheet away.
If you want to install a boat dock bubbler, the best time to do it is in the summer. We recommend installing it any time before winter.
For those who need to install a boat dock, do it before winter. For all your boat dock installation needs, you can call EZ Dock Texas at 800-654-8168 for a quote if you live in Texas, Oklahoma, or New Mexico.
