OK Elsa, time to let it go...

[h=1][COLOR=var(--ricos-custom-p-color,unset)]Seriously, she has officially passed and is actually north of Tampa Bay now. But how did we fare here on Pau Hana in Fort Myers? Well, the starboard galley slider window needs pulled out just enough to put butyl tape in then rebedded with new screws in the frame. The bow deck hatch weatherstripping needs replaced (never leaked before unless it was unlatched). The doubled up lines did their job, the fenders did theirs, and my homemade rain diverters for the flying bridge scuppers worked better than expected while not looking too redneck engineered. Scrap pieces of isenglass glued into the scuppers to make half-moon runoff diverters.
I'd say we came thru with flying colors. None of the leaks that happened in this storm's passing had happened before.[/COLOR]

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Really a non event in Madeira Beach. But you always have to assume things can go south quickly. My 46 was pinned to the dock while winds were strong out of the east but the new large inflatable fenders handled it perfectly. Now that winds are out of Southwest she is just hanging off the dock like nothings happening.

Mine was pretty much pinned to the pilings too. Water got up over my lower seawall and 6" deep on the walkway at high tide. No apparent damage here.

That was a good kiddie-pool class storm to find rain weakness. Did the wind even get above 35mph? We got about a foot of rain and I'm so glad nothing leaked anywhere. We had 60mph gusts from a thunderstorm just last Thursday.

When an actual hurricane comes along, it'll be a different kind of exam. With 150mph + winds, like Charley, you need to get your boat away from everything because it'll smash everything. It's a great time to make a plan about what you'll do when a big one comes along. Maybe figure how you can tie her up so it won't pound against anything. And you have to do so while allowing for a 10' spread between high and low tide, at least.

In Charlie, my 9' deep canal was blown dry and then filled back up 5' above average tide. If I had been tied to a fixed dock, that 14' tide change would've broken something - probably the lines and sent her floating off.

I remember first seeing this 53 on YachtSurvey.com so long ago. It took out all the pilings nearby and landed on the hard - and had no damage. Freakin' thing is a hammer.
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Originally Posted by JuiceClark

That was a good kiddie-pool class storm to find rain weakness. Did the wind even get above 35mph? We got about a foot of rain and I'm so glad nothing leaked anywhere. We had 60mph gusts from a thunderstorm just last Thursday.

When an actual hurricane comes along, it'll be a different kind of exam. With 150mph + winds, like Charley, you need to get your boat away from everything because it'll smash everything. It's a great time to make a plan about what you'll do when a big one comes along. Maybe figure how you can tie her up so it won't pound against anything. And you have to do so while allowing for a 10' spread between high and low tide, at least.

In Charlie, my 9' deep canal was blown dry and then filled back up 5' above average tide. If I had been tied to a fixed dock, that 14' tide change would've broken something - probably the lines and sent her floating off.

I remember first seeing this 53 on YachtSurvey.com so long ago. It took out all the pilings nearby and landed on the hard - and had no damage. Freakin' thing is a hammer.
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Been thinking that one thru long and hard. Apparently during Irma, the marina here had no damage and boats similar in size to mine docked where I am came thru with little or no problem. That's from other long-term residents, not the marina either. So that is a good feeling. Station Fort Myers Beach stages their SAR response boats here for the duration of the storm warnings/passage, another point in favor of my marina choice. I still remember Andrew and what I encountered post-storm along the Alabama/Mississippi Gulf Coast.

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Originally Posted by rwaldrop13

Been thinking that one thru long and hard. Apparently during Irma, the marina here had no damage and boats similar in size to mine docked where I am came thru with little or no problem. That's from other long-term residents, not the marina either. So that is a good feeling. Station Fort Myers Beach stages their SAR response boats here for the duration of the storm warnings/passage, another point in favor of my marina choice. I still remember Andrew and what I encountered post-storm along the Alabama/Mississippi Gulf Coast.

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Yeah, that's what makes it hard to plan for a storm - everything depends on how she comes and how you're situated. So, you really have to have an idea of what you'll do depending on which side of the storm comes and the resulting wind direction.

Irma blew here from the North, as we were on the weak side of the storm. Well, my dock is on the South side of the house and didn't have much trouble with the 100mph gusts. The house protected it. The tide got a little high but nothing crazy.

Charlie blew from the South here and everything was reversed - extreme tides and my dock took a crazy beating. Thank goodness I moored the Post out in the canal or the boat and dock might have been toast. Only a couple months later, Wilma blew from the North. So, everyone took an ass-kicking in 2004.

You can't really fully protect anything - just make your best guess as to what's coming and do what you can.