For Portlanders, that rapid swing in weather can be attributed to the wide-blue expanse on the far side of Commercial Street – the Atlantic Ocean.

We sit in what meteorologists like to call a coastal weather zone, meaning that temperatures and precipitation are tempered by the ocean, so we get lower summer and higher winter temperatures. But that doesn’t mean that we’re immune to old man winter’s icy grip.

Each year Portland averages about 62 inches of snow and our average temperatures hover around the freezing mark from about December to mid-March.

Already this year we’ve survived some whopping snowstorms and a January cold-snap that threatened to freeze our faces. Good thing the cabins are heated and we Mainers are made of hearty stock. And while we’ve enjoyed a brief January thaw, we’re pretty sure Jack Frost isn’t even close to being done with us yet (fingers crossed Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring!).

When a storm is forecasted, a lot of people reach out to ask us if we plan to keep running. Generally, the answer is almost always yes! There is no “magic number” wind speed at which we cancel service.  And our island communities depend on us to get them to work and school.  So we approach every storm with our game face on.

That being said, in major weather events, safety is the name of the game. And the Coast Guard has the ability to shut down the harbor or deem the conditions unsafe for operations.

So, what does all of this mean for our passengers? Because we make operations decisions on an hour-by-hour basis during stormy weather, it’s important to follow our Facebook page and sign up for our email list and text alerts. If you see nothing posted on the website or Facebook and have not received a text alert, you can safely assume we are running on time and on schedule. And if something does happen to change, we let you know across all of these channels as soon as possible.

On the bright side, there are less than 60 days until the first day of spring, and soon enough we’ll be basking in the glow of summer’s sunshine.

Stay warm everyone!

The post Weathering the Storm(s) on Casco Bay appeared first on Casco Bay Lines.

Just as you make sure you have a shovel at the ready and heating oil in the tank, Casco Bay Lines is bracing for winter and planning its annual fleet maintenance.

Each of our vessels is hauled out of the water for a complete US Coast Guard hull inspection every two years. This keeps our beloved ladies chugging along year after year, season after season. We intentionally schedule this for the middle of winter to accommodate the larger crowds in summertime. And while the boats are out of the water, we use this time to complete regular maintenance and make sure everything’s in tip-top shape. For the past several years, our boats have traveled up the coast to the seaside town of Rockland for their winter tune-ups.

Our crew delivers each boat to the shipyard, and then we get a little help from Mother Nature and an engineering marvel to hoist her out the water. It’s quite a sight. Then, the team quickly gets to work on routine maintenance and preparing the boat for the Coast Guard’s inspection.

This routine shipyard maintenance can include anything from pressure washing grass and barnacles off the boat to ensuring that the boat’s sewage tanks are in working order. And this is all done outdoors in winter weather conditions. Turns out, there’s no garage quite large enough!

You might be surprised to learn that one of our biggest challenges each year lies in the process of repainting each boat.  In addition to painting the topside, special attention is paid to ensuring the hull can withstand two years of seawater corrosion before its next excursion onto dry land—the paint on the hull is a critical piece of the anti-corrosion puzzle. The specialized paint needs a certain temperature to cure so the shipyard crew needs to work around the cold weather and snow to keep the fleet looking its best.

We plan for a full repaint of the hull, from the waterline down, each time we have the boat out of the water. While we’re down there, we make sure to check the propulsion shafts, rudders and propellers, and replace all of the zinc anodes—sacrificial pieces of metal that counteract galvanic corrosion on the hull—on the bottom of the boat.

Of course, maintenance doesn’t stop when the boats end their winter vacation at the shipyard. Maine winter conditions don’t take it easy on equipment. A triad of Casco Bay Lines maintenance team members performs regular preventative maintenance checks and makes small repairs on our boats every day. Daily tasks for this small, but mighty, team include regularly scheduled preventive maintenance items such as repairing doorways and gates, replacing alternators or pumps, and checking out anything else that needs fixin’. Because our boats run from 5 in the morning to nearly midnight each day, much of this work is squeezed in between trips or done early in the morning.

Phew, I’m tired just thinking about all the work! I guess I’ll complain a little less while I’m buttoning up the house and putting the snow tires on the car.

This winter, two of our ferries are headed for dry land for a short period of time. During that time, the schedule will be slightly adjusted. We know that the longer our boats are out of the water, the more impact our island communities feel, but our maintenance schedule is critical to keeping us up and running strong year-round. As always, we will keep you posted when this year’s dry docking is scheduled to start.

The post Prepping for Winter? So Are We! appeared first on Casco Bay Lines.