Hurricane and Boat Questions

[25thmustang]

So it appears there is a significant storm tracking up the east Coast. The weather calls for the chance it will come by by the end of the week and if it does, it sounds nasty. We haven't had a really significant and damaging hurricane in a long time (or so it seems).

My question is this... what would you do with your boat?

Keep in mind, my boats does not have a trailer. I can't just pull it out in 10 minues and bring it to the house. If I did intend to put her on the hard it would involve a bit of work, effort and manpower. Boats come in and out at my place, but it's a bit tougher than your average marina due to our rail car and travel lift set up.

Would the majority of people risk the boat in the slip, or risk the boat on the stands? Both could have nasty consequences if disaster hits.

I would like to be proactive and not do a last minute scramble if bad weather comes, but I wouldn't want to make the wrong move.

Thanks

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

We get ours out of the water and off the island.

Many captains with larger boats which can't be trailered, batton down the hatches, ensure their tie lines are secure or anchor up in another inlet/marina further inland where the boat is protected better.

A few anchor up away from marinas or docks in bays or coves to protect their boat from getting slammed around however you will risk it coming loose and ending up on land or miles up the coast.

Fingers and toes crossed that this storm dosen't hit our east coast because it will be a Cat 3-4 when it does.

This can mean horrible affects up to 100 miles inland for a storm this size.

 

[zach103]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

Could you bring it up to petzolds and store it there for the weekend.. i know they have a different setup..

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

I'm sure if the storm is forcasted to be bad our club will be pulling boats this week. I'm unsure if Petzolds would do something like that, as I assume they would be moving their own boats around. Might be worth a call though.

For the time being I will plan to button her up and make sure the lines are set right.

Also, canvas, up or down? Would you risk the canvas being destroyed, or keep it down and just let the elements into the cockpit area???

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

I would say canvas UP..

Why create an unnecessary wind catcher with the wind in the cockpit bouncing off the walls...would rock the heck outta her I'd think..

 

[Ned L]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

For just about any real hurricane, if you don't take the canvasses down before hand, the hurricane will take them down for you (in shreds). For a real hurricane (with a storm surge) you don't want the boat pinned down in a slip, we used to take our boat out & anchor in the lee of some high ground. In a slip your dock lines will need to have enough slack in them to let the boat ride 5' or more above normal high tide without becoming taught. Also, if possible, dock lines should NOT be run through chocks, chocks should be used only for anchoring. The problem is that as the boat thrashes around in the slip the chocks can get ripped out which can leave rough surfaces to abrade through the dock lines, which lets the boat swing to one side of the slip, resulting in this:

which used to take this to repair (when boats were more repairable).

 

[ugadawg187]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

I would think & this is just my opinion from what ive seen is that i would try to move the boat further up coast or further inland. I know here in Ga when hurricanes are forcasted to hit Florida alot of people bring there boats up to the Ga & South Carolina coast. Just my 2 cents but I wish you the best of luck & hopefully this thing will turn to head back out away from the coast like they're saying it might do. Good Luck!

 

[shrew]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

I'm in Ct. and I'm in the process of over-reacting and getting the boat hauled. This will be it for the season. We were going to pull her Oct. 2nd., but since we dodged the last one, and Fiona is right behind this one. We decided there aren't enough weekends left to worry about it anymore. Besides, we'll get a jump on winterization.

I don't know how you guys in FL and Tx. do it.

 

[The Famous Grouse]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

I don't know what you could realistically do that would save your boat in the case of a true hurricane-force hit. In the slip and there are obvious problems, but even with it hauled I've seen pictures showing hundreds of boats all laying on their sides and smashed against each other when they got blown over or lifted by the storm surge.

If you had the ability to run inland and tie up somewhere that was out of the tidal surge, I'd think that'd be the best possible solution.

Overall, I guess if you're in Hurricane Alley, there's a limit to what you can do and which way would work out best is going to depend on the lay of the land. I'd say good insurance would be tops on my list.

Good luck and hope this stays as just a hypothetical.

Grouse

 

[LAC_STS]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

Putting the boat further inland like farther inland in a bay or inlet doesn't work.

I was in navare beach when hurricane Ivan hit. It cam ashore as a cat 3 and had a huge storm surge. Alot of people tried anchoring they're boats as far inland in the bay as they could. The storm surge was 3 times as high at the back of the bay as it was in the front or middle of the bay. Actually the highest storm surge occurred in the back of the bay and furthest inland inlets.

I drove over the destin bridge which is the inlet to the bay and saw all the boats before the storm. The only ones that madeit were the ones that were in the middle of the bay.

At the docks you not only do you have to worry about your boat but you have to worry about someone else boat coming loose into yours. We saw a ton of docks where boats were piled up on each other.

You have to remember that hurricane forecasting is not good at providing local forecasts.

They may say a 6 ft storm surge but some places end up getting 2 and se places get 15. The littlest change in track can have huge consiquinces.

I rode out Ivan three blocks from the sound. When I woke up the water was two houses away and there was a 200ft barge in the road. 15 people died about 1/2 mile away from me having a hurricane party.

I will not stay for another storm if it's over a cat 1. Unless I'm further inland.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

Like everything with boating, the only answer is "it depends."

The best source of info and advice is the locals who have done it before, but keep in mind that they will have widely varied opinions and experiences. A Florida hurricane, a Virginia hurricane, and a Connecticut hurricane are different animals.
But a couple of points for all cases:
--there is no perfect protection; the advantages of one method will be balanced by disadvantages, all jumbled by there being no way to know what the storm will do, once you are committed to a process. You may set up for winds from the east, to be destroyed by waves from the west. Loose lines for rising tide = the boat banging against pilings.
--Your boat is at most risk from other people's stuff. At my marina we move the boats, on trailers, to a higher parking lot, but I think if we got the big winds, the boats would be driving themselves all around the lot like dodge-em cars. Mine might be tied down and even weighted, but not the other 30 boats.
--inland is not always safer than on the coast. Small protected water is not always better than open water. But there are some gunk holes that have a pretty good track record.
--Many boats do better on a single or double anchor just riding it out, than with complicated cross-tying. Remember that the trees that bend in the wind fare better than the ones that try to stand up against it.
--don't forget to provide for the volumes of rain that will overcome your drain and pump systems. For that reason, a cover, as long as it lasts, may be a help. Second pump on second battery. You are certain to get a lot of rain; it's iffy if you get the wind or surge.
--ignore the hysteria on the weather channel. It's always the same scene--a guy in a yellow raincoat next to a fluttering stop sign. Cut to swinging stop lights and a lone police car cruising. No point in getting yourself all worked up over what you can't do anything about.
--once you commit to a set-up, leave it; don't try to adjust based on the conditions.

--don't watch.

 

[LAC_STS]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

If your anywhere close goths hurricane and on the right side of it you are almost guaranteed some kind of surge. The closer to the hurricane to more surge.

 

[overkill]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

just a northerner here...but cant you guys just drive your boats inland up a river? you get about a weeks notice before the storm hits. The Miss is a bit far from TX, but you have to have rivers there too.
just take an afternoon and drive it 50-70 miles up river

 

[howlnmad]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

Gonna keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. But I'm also gonna be a little optimistic for the noreasterners. That storm gonna run up the coast line, about 75 miles out. It's gonna hit wrong island and turn out to sea and never come close to the connectthedot coastline.

 

[LAC_STS]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

just a northerner here...but cant you guys just drive your boats inland up a river? you get about a weeks notice before the storm hits. The Miss is a bit far from TX, but you have to have rivers there too.
just take an afternoon and drive it 50-70 miles up river

You cannot rely on a hurricanes forecast a week out. The difference in a hurricane coming within 100 miles and 500 miles is the difference between having to take drastic action like pulling your boat or moving it and just tying it up tight.

Forecasters including NOAA and the NHC say all the time that they cannot predict exactly where a hurricane will hit. From up north it may seem to be pretty accurate like "oh it did hit FL" but when your down here the difference between it hitting Tampa and Port charlotte is the difference between devastation and a rain storm.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

I guess being way up the CT River has some advantages. One thing I'm actually concerned with and I have heard it before, is our docks were never designed for real large boats. A few mid 30'ers is about it. At the end of my row of slips is a 39' Silverton Motoryacht. I sure hope the pilings and socks can hold that boat if the wind and waves get hairy. When whole rows of slips go, things get nasty, fast.

I'm heading there today to see what others plan to do. I will probably take the canvas down and possibly put a tarp or something over the cockpit. Check the bilge pumps out, make sure the batterys are charged, shut the hatches and portholes and make sure it's water tight. No harm in being over protected.

 

[steddy]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

Make sure your insurance is paid up & includes hurricane coverage.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

the only hting you can count on, is that it will be unpredictable.

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

The CT river is pretty big, I'd think you could leave at first light Friday and go way into Mass. Is it navigable way up? My guess is probably yes, because I drove through Northampton the other week and there was a marina with quite a few 28 and 30 footers. At this point the storm does not look like it will get you, but inland is a pretty good idea if the storm makes a turn to the west. Bring lots of anchoring gear.

My little trailer boat is in the driveway under cover where I can keep an eye on it. Maybe the almighty was trying to tell me something when I had a motor issue last week.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Hurricane and Boat Questions

The CT river is pretty big, I'd think you could leave at first light Friday and go way into Mass. Is it navigable way up? My guess is probably yes, because I drove through Northampton the other week and there was a marina with quite a few 28 and 30 footers. At this point the storm does not look like it will get you, but inland is a pretty good idea if the storm makes a turn to the west. Bring lots of anchoring gear.

My little trailer boat is in the driveway under cover where I can keep an eye on it. Maybe the almighty was trying to tell me something when I had a motor issue last week.

I'm pretty sure once you get past Hartford, larger boats don't make it. The ones you see are probably treated like lake boats, and dropped in up there, and left in that area. I have never gone north past Glastonbury, so I'm not 100% sure on this.

As it sits now, all the boats at my club have been left as they sit. Noone has taken extra precautions. I went down and made sure my lines were slack enough, but secure. Made sure my fenders were out and everything looked good. Shut all the windows and hatches, and decided on the canvas up. The weather is calling for rain now, so I'm hoping just some rain and then clear skys.

Planning a boat trip Sunday, weather looks good so far.