Joe, there's a good bit of debate on wood or steel for survival in ice. The Bowdin is planked with 2 3/4" of Oak & with an additional sheathing of 1 1/2" of Greenheart. She's steel reinforced on her spoon bow so she'll ride up & crush the ice. Wooden ships crush easier than steel, for ice pack 3/8" to 7/16" steel (1/2" might be considered by most to be overkill) is plenty as opposed to 4 1/4" of wood. But this is just an aside. Thought I'd seen in print a song about her, never heard one though, probably singing about wishing for a tropical isle & a sandy beach instead of the 6-12 months of frozen penguin piss on the rocks & warm polar bear blood pudding & the site of a hairy, stinking, salty, smelly, sharp toothed mate (we don't need no %&$#@ mate) just looking for a reason to bite off your ear. If I/we retire in a vessel it won't be to cruise the frozen regions of hell. Barry