Protect Your Muskoka Boathouse From Winter Ice
Generations of summers happened on that dock. Arbrux helps it see many more.
The heart of a Muskoka property
On Lake Muskoka, Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph, the boathouse is often the first thing guests see and the last thing an owner wants to rebuild. Many of them, along with the crib docks around Port Carling, Bala and Huntsville, stay in the water all year.
That permanence is part of their charm. It also means they spend every winter held fast in ice.
Where Muskoka ice does its damage
- Slip doors and walls. Ice that forms against a boathouse front can pry at doors, bow walls and loosen framing in a single season.
- Timber and stone cribs. As ice expands and shifts, it shoves against cribs and can lift or rotate them, especially one that has already moved.
- Anything left in a slip. A boat lift or cradle frozen in place is at the mercy of the ice around it.
A Muskoka winter setup, step by step
- Measure the depth in front of the boathouse after Thanksgiving. Many Muskoka lakes are held lower through the winter, and an Arbrux pump de-ices best with 4 to 6 feet of water above it.
- Mount the pump to the boathouse or dock with the Dock Bundle and use the pivot bracket to aim the flow along the slip doors.
- Measure the boathouse front. One unit holds a 40-foot circle open, so a wide front or a long dock may need a second.
- Have an electrician confirm a ground fault protected outdoor circuit, then put up ice-safety signs before you close up.
Nobody heading back until May? Our guide to running a de-icer at an empty cottage covers the details.
Questions from Muskoka owners
My boathouse has two slips. Do I need two de-icers?
Often, yes. It comes down to the width of the front and where the doors sit. Send us a photo and the measurements and we will tell you what we would do.
Can the same unit help in the summer?
Yes. Aimed at the lake bottom, it becomes a circulator that keeps weeds and muck away from the swim area. The 360° Oscillator can sweep an even wider stretch.
Can I talk to someone before I buy?
Of course. Our team in Portland, Ontario answers weekdays at (343) 422-6224.
Give the boathouse a quiet winter
Four decades of Canadian manufacturing, UL and CSA certification and a 2-year warranty stand behind every Arbrux pump.
