Is cold water 'harder' than warm water?

[tuned]

You know how weird discussions pop up after a couple hundred beers? This was the topic that actually heated up amongst a number of Captains during an after-season gathering. It almost came to fisticuffs
The actual assertion by the guy that started the question was that in the late fall, a boat rides 'rougher' than in the warm summer months.
A quick google search doesn't yield much info. I won't go into all the theories posed. I will leave that to all of you.
So waddaya think?

And NO FLAME WARS or I'll have to send Guido and Rocko out to do some kneecappin'

[Ron Burgundy]

Cold water is slightly more dense than hot water so it probably is a little 'harder'. I'm not sure if it is a big enough difference to notice while riding on a pontoon boat. I haven't noticed any discernable difference of the ride in winter.

[Texoma Toon]

After a couple hundred beers I couldn't tell if the water was cold or hot...... Just sayin

[wwind3]

I know you go faster in the winter. 1 to 2 mph for me.

[jimrs]

I think it's harder in the winter after the freeze.

[RonKMiller]

The hydrostatic pressure P at a distance h below the surface of a fluid is given by
P = P0 + g h where P0 is the pressure at the surface of the fluid and is the density of the fluid.

The hydrostatic pressure exerts a normal force on all surfaces in contact with the fluid. As a result
there is a net upward force, called the Buoyant Force FB, whose magnitude is equal to the weight
of the fluid displaced, a relationship known as Archimedes’ Principle.
FB = g V

Temperature affects density, since cold water is more dense than hot water, there will indeed by more
buoyancy of your boat in cold water. ...and yes, you could say the water is "harder" but that's a very inaccurate way of describing fluid density. The boat may indeed ride "rougher" but once again I doubt if it is discernable from a seat of the pants feel.

How the increase in bouyancy affects performance is anyone's guess, but my bet is it would be incredibly small given that we're only talking a spread of perhaps 40F? That really isn't significant...

There's probably more of an effect on speed due to a colder air intake charge and slightly upped horsepower, and potentially the prop having more "bite" as well.

Think I'll go have a beer or a hundred.

I've always wanted to mount an air boat engine on the back of a pontoon boat and take it for spin on a snow covered lake. This 450 hp engine and prop combination should do the trick.

450 hp airboat engine.jpg (45.01 KiB) Viewed 2408 times

[Doctordeere]

The hydrostatic pressure P at a distance h below the surface of a fluid is given by P = P0 + g h where P0 is the pressure at the surface of the fluid and is the density of the fluid.

The hydrostatic pressure exerts a normal force on all surfaces in contact with the fluid. As a result there is a net upward force, called the Buoyant Force FB, whose magnitude is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced, a relationship known as Archimedes’ Principle.
FB = g V...

What's the air-speed velocity of an unladen pontoon?

[BoatCop]

What's the air-speed velocity of an unladen pontoon?

What do you mean? An African or European pontoon?

[Doctordeere]

You have to know these things when you’re a king, you know.

[badmoonrising]

After a couple hundred beers I would think anything would be harder

[tuned]

Tis just a flesh wound.

You guys just frickin kill me sometimes

[tuned]

Here are a few more items to consider that I brought up during the argument, but by no means all. After several hundred beers, a lot of thinking gets done. Any of the following may lead to the PERCEPTION of a harder ride:
-In the fall, the weather tends to be disrupted, leading to 'choppy' conditions.
-In colder weather, boat seats tend to be harder.
-In cold weather, boats themselves may be a bit stiffer.
-In colder weather, my old bones seem to notice it. Even my truck seems to ride harder until I warm up in it. Maybe my ass is harder.
-I tend to agree with RonK (excellent Bill Nye description BTW) in that the water is indeed 'harder' but only very marginally. I think that particular effect is basically not noticeable.

This was such a fun topic. It is still being debated by the boys by text now. Try it out on your friends........avoid whiskey drinkers

[bassn386]

Shit! When I read Ron's dissertation I thought for a second I had mistakenly clicked on the MIT web site. Then I remembered, I don't even know if I'm smart enough to be able to get on their site!!
Maybe we can have NASA explain it in between making Muslim's feel better about themselves.

[badmoonrising]

Women's boobs tend to be firmer in cold weather

[Texoma Toon]

Women's boobs tend to be firmer in cold weather

I need more research before I can offer an opinion.