hurricane prep

[67hat34c]

NEED URGENT HELP.

OUR BOAT IS IN STUART FL. ON OKEECHOBEE WATER WAY. PALM CITY BRIDGE, RIVERWATCH MARINA.

THE MARINA WANTS TO HAUL THE BOATS AND BLOCK THEM. I DO NOT BELIEVE THEY WILL BE TIED D0WN. THEY ARE PUTTING THEM IN BETWEEN THE 2 LARGE SMALL BOAT WAREHOUSES. THE BUILDINGS ARE FACING EAST WEST.

WE HAVE A 1967 34C. MOST BOATS THAT ARE BEING HAULED APPEAR TO BE LESS THAN 40'.

[Mike36c]

I also live in Stuart on the intracoastal and I'm going to try and block my 36 if the storm looks like it will hit us. Check out www.yachtsurvey.com and click on hurricane prep. He has a lot of good no BS info on dealing with big hurricanes. Good luck, Mike

[DeeRow]

Steve?
I live in Lighthouse point, about a mile west of the Rosevelt Bridge. The canal behind my house is protected. I need to talk to my neighbors about tying my boat in the middle of the canal. There maybe room for a 34' Hatteras assuming that you have enough line to tie it across. Email me at Mark.Desrosier@adelphia.net (This address is in my profile. Why don't folk's register?). Include your phone number in the email.

Mark

[Genesis]

Not a bad strategy, BUT, make darn sure where they intend to put the boats is WELL above any POTENTIAL surge or flooding waterline!

[DeeRow]

Riverwatch marina is about 7 miles up river from the inlet. However, the ground there is not likely more than 8 or 9 feet above sea level (as is almost all of south Florida!). The floor of my house is 8' above sea level. It is not clear to me how far inland a storm surge will come. Houses on the river (2 blocks from me) are required to be 9 feet about sea level by FEMA. Yet I'm only required to be 8'. Fortunately, my house which was built in 1968 is 8' above sea level where some of my neighbors are not.

www.yachtsurvey.com's articles indicate boats tied up in canals did ok during Andrew.

[saltshaker36]

The 2 biggest problems with boats on land during a storm are
1. If the surge floods the marina even slightly, the blocks can be undermined and the boats tip over. You don't need a lot of water for this to happen, 12" of water sloshing around can easily loosen the ground which in a marina is most likely sand or crushed stone. If the yard is paved then the main concern with regards to water, would be flooding enough to float the boats off their blocks. Don't just worry about how much water it would take to float your boat, its the small boats you need to worry about. They float of easily and start crashing into the bigger boats and often can move them off their blocks. Which leads to problem #2.

2. Small boats on land can be knocked off their blocks by high winds. The small boats hit the larger boats and once one tips you end up with a domino effect with a bunch of boats piled up on their sides.

I keep my boat in NJ and we don't get the heavy Hurricane weather you do in FL, but we do get the surge and some heavy wind. We also get severe wind and flooding from Nor'easter. The marina where I keep my boat is about 5 miles in and on 1 of 2 rivers that lead to Sandy Hook Bay. This creates plenty of room for the surge to dissipate, yet the marina does still flood during very heavy storms, and I have seen both of these problems at several marinas around here.

I would prefer to stay in the water providing you have a good place to keep her. If you do haul the boat, don't pull any drain plugs. Be sure the batteries are topped off and the bilge pumps are on. If she does float off, she will then float around as opposed to floating off and then sinking. As far as what FEMA requires homes to be built at. I believe it is at the highest flood level of any storm over the last 100 years.

Good luck and stay safe.

Jack Sardina

[PascalG]

it's a little early to start hauling boats in central/south florida, errors at 4 or 5 days are hundreds of miles...

the 11am forecast has shifted a little to the north and the NHC discussion confirms that most models have. the NHC forecaster also states that they are waiting for the next model runs to confirm the trend and significantly revise the track.

unfortunately, we won't know till tomorrow , by the 11am and 5pm who is going to ge hit...

on the bright side, if the storm makes landfall north of your position, you don't have to worry about storm surge...

pascal
miami, fl
1970 53my

[jim rosenthal]

We had this problem about a year ago, when Isabel came through here. Some of you may recall seeing photos on the national news of folks swimming past parking meters in downtown Annapolis. We had nearly a nine-foot storm surge at its' height.
My boat came through unscathed because we had more water than wind, and because we were able to get to the dock to let the lines out as the water came in, and them take them in as it receded. In Kent Narrows, about seven or eight miles away on the other side of the Bay Bridge, the terrain is very flat and nearly at sea level. They hauled virtually all their boats and put them up on jackstands. When the surge came in, they all floated off the stands and into one another. Some sailboats hit a power line and burnt to a crisp.
Any hurricane is dangerous to boats. Based on what I have endured to date, and the fact that I have been very furtunate never to sustain anything other than minor damage, I am a believer in staying put with extra docklines set up as long as they can be made, storm anchors if possible, and taking down all the windage stuff above deck. I believe Isabel was a category 2 storm up here, certainly no more than that. I think in storms fiercer than that, there is very little hope of an undamaged boat, but maybe an unsunk boat is not too much to hope for. Good luck, to you and all of us. Anyone who owns a boat is sooner or later held hostage to nature.

[ttom02]

I am in NC and as you know, we seem to get a taste of every storm that goes by. I live inland from the ocean about 20 miles and have had good luck anchoring out with a bahamian mooring for recent storms. However, we have not had anything over about 115 mph with Bertha and Fran. This monster could hit land at 150 mph or more. I have stayed aboard my boat thru all the hurricanes over the past 10 years and I question if any boat will stay anchored at 150 mph. I still believe that, if in a good location, your boat will fare better in the water than on land - it's made to be in the water. If it comes this way, my plan is to chain the bow to two trees on the shore in a deep corner of the river and place two anchors off the stern out towards the channel. Hopefully the protection of the trees on shore will give some protection. I would love to see this one go out to sea, but it looks like someone between Stuart and Cape Hatteras will feel the pain.
Good luck all,
Tom

[davesommers]

It is a tuff choice to make, stay put, haul and block or run for better cover. Having my boat in Cape Hatteras I have dealt with many storms. Locally, there is just one yard to haul at and it is not always the best choice. The last Hurricane drove the sound water thru the yard and destroyed anything in the way. Same thing happened in Emily several years ago. So I am not a fan of hauling. I run from the really big ones, like Isabel last year.

If you are to stay in the water, pick a spot that doesn't have any fetch to the expected wind and should have protection from a direct rush of tide surge. I move the boat across the marina to achieve this. Use really long lines to ride the surge and make them adjust from the dock if possible. Always use chafe protection and double up everything - I end up with at least 12 to 14 lines. Check that your cleats are on solid as they can get worked loose - Isabel worked two of mine loose during the ordeal and just streched out the lines to the point I tossed most of them.

The Hatteras boats are tuff, and can bounce the dock a while before being chewed up but make sure the spring them well so that doesn't happen. Of course nothing will protect us from the monster storm or the goober that doesnt do anything to prep his boat and it breaks loose and trashs yours...

Don't wait, do your prep, haul or run now if in the high probability areas. I have the luxury of waiting a few days for this one, if you are in FL you do not, especially if you decide to haul.

Best of luck and please don't stay on board, you can always get another boat.

[ttom02]

Just so you'll know, yards in NC are already hauling out boats in advance of the storm - and it doesn't look as if it's coming this far up - but who knows? Jarrett Bay Boat works has been hauling since Monday! Don't wait too long to get ready.
Tom