boat management during hurricane season

[sweet red]

My husband and I are in the purchasing phase of our next Hatt. We lived aboard for 3 years on the Pacific coast and Sea of Cortez. Hurricanes weren't an issue on the left coast. We'd like to spend time cruising the islands and Florida coast but I know very little about hurricane management. I know we have to have a hurricane plan, but what does your real life experience teach? Do you really have to haul out for named storms? Florida has been lucky for the past few years, but with a 70 footer, this could get ridiculous.

 

[Boatsb]

It depends where you are and what the plan states. Pulling a boat for a storm is not necessarily the best course of action.

 

[rsmith]

This is Florida. Yankees and left coasters like to organize ,put things in a binder and have a critical path but here's our plan! Now Mitt's binders might work!

 

[rsmith]

http://spaghettimodels.com/

Ok so the first step is to check out skinny Italians once you are familiar and understand all the models then you can develop a plan.

 

[jim rosenthal]

For some storms, hauling out IS the best option. For some, staying put, preparing the boat, and keeping an eye on things is the best option. The problem really is that since storms tend not to obey rules, and to do what they please, the best option often changes with not a great deal of advance notice.

I have done both with Blue Note; hauled out (which BoatUS pays half of the cost of the haulout), and "sheltered in place", which consisted of filling the fuel tanks, taking down all the radio masts and canvas, doubling up the lines, and making sure I could get to the boat to adjust them as needed. Note that hauling out is a lot easier with a 36 foot boat compared to a seventy-footer, in the sense that there are more places to haul smaller boats.

I think the key thing is to HAVE a plan for each alternative, and to rehearse it before you need to put in into effect. I have hauled out twice for storms, at least- maybe more than that. At least one of those times, the storm was not nearly as bad as predicted- but who would have known? Not having to rebuild or replace my boat is worth the expense of a haulout that some would deem unnecessary in the first place.

There are a lot of nice Hatteras yachts in the size range you are speaking of; have fun looking, I'm a bit envious.

 

[gbharrington]

rsmith-Thanks for that link! More information than I ever imagined.

 

[Avenger]

And up here during Sandy the boats that got hauled out took the worst beating. I'm living proof. My runabout that was on the hard sank, and my Hatteras that was holed up walked away without a scratch. I wish I'd put more stuff on the big boat.

There's that old military axiom about few plans surviving contact with the enemy and it's true here too. However, that being said it doesn't mean that you just let the chips fall. BoatUS does a considerable amount of research and data mining from their own experiences as insurers. I'd suggest you visit their website and look at some of their info. Better to educate yourself, prepare the best way you can and understand that there are no guarantees.

 

[GJH]

The problem with the Sandy boats "on the hard" I've seen pictures of and discussions by owners of same, typically is either they were not blocked and secured correctly for a storm (something many marinas there don't have experience in) and/or they were placed too low for the predicted surge.

Here in the North Carolina, I always pulled the boat at Jarrett Bay. I paid to have a guaranteed spot and be on their call and priority list. It was a bit of a moot point because the marina required we leave. But Jarrett Bay had/has a great system, and I was always really glad to be there, as were hundreds of other big boats. I also figured, if something flukey bad happened, well there I was in the middle of one of the, if not the, biggest, most well equipped complexes of repair yards in the country.

 

[StratPlan61]

I stayed aboard my 61' during hurricane Frances. Ft Lauderdale was evacuated, Marina Bay was closed and evacuated. I stayed on board to look after the boat. I did everything Jim suggested and entertained myself during 8 days of storm by watching other boats sink, bimini tops flying away, fenders poping like balloons, boathouses sink, trees flying past, floating docks sinking, etc. It was all quite exciting and I would NOT recommend it for anyone. IF I could have had my boat pulled I would have done it at any cost, just wasn't available. Priority at the yards was big boats with more $$$ than me. A very dangerous situation.

Prepare your boat as best you can, taping, wire-tying and wrapping everything you can. x-tape your big windows and tape any door seals not needed - then haul your boat and vacate the area. My best advice for what its worth?

Bear'

 

[rsmith]

I stayed aboard my 61' during hurricane Frances. Ft Lauderdale was evacuated, Marina Bay was closed and evacuated. I stayed on board to look after the boat. I did everything Jim suggested and entertained myself during 8 days of storm by watching other boats sink, bimini tops flying away, fenders poping like balloons, boathouses sink, trees flying past, floating docks sinking, etc. It was all quite exciting and I would NOT recommend it for anyone. IF I could have had my boat pulled I would have done it at any cost, just wasn't available. Priority at the yards was big boats with more $$$ than me. A very dangerous situation.

Prepare your boat as best you can, taping, wire-tying and wrapping everything you can. x-tape your big windows and tape any door seals not needed - then haul your boat and vacate the area. My best advice for what its worth?

Bear'

Frances? She wasn't anywhere near Lauderdale.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Spaghetti models..... I like that. I suppose this is not models in spaghetti straps....

I didn't think so...

 

[Avenger]

Biggest problem with boats on the hard in Sandy was pulling drain plugs. Obviously it's all anecdotal, but the people I spoke to that lost a boat on the hard lost it because it flooded when the surge hit, and/or it partially floated, then sank. Same case with my runabout. If I'd left the plug in I wouldn't have had to do submersion recovery on the engine. Also again anecdotal, but it's pretty hard to block higher on the south shore of Long Island. There's no taking it "up the hill". Everything is within a few feet of sea level.

 

[saltshaker]

here in NJ there were very few yards that were high enough to handle the surge. We also don't have anchored tie downs like you see in many Fl yards. We were not prepared to handle that much water and many of us were just plain lucky we made it out with little to no damage.

 

[Pascal]

In sofl For the typical storm that comes from the east, the best option is to move the boat away from the landfall area. Typically you only need to go 60 to 80nm to get out of hurricane force winds

It s a bit scary because you have to wait till 2 to 3 days before landfall to be sure so the window isn't very big especially as many bridges are locked down for evacs usually 36 to 48 hours before landfall

Worst case scenarios are the systems coming from the S or SE more paralel to the coast as you are left with few options. These are not as common though In this case hauling out of finding a really well protected spot are the best option

Earlier today I was talking to the absentee owner of a 70 footer whose "yacht manager" had the boat hauled out for Erika resulting in damage to improper blocking.

 

[Walter P]

During Sandy, here in NJ quite a few of my boating friends lost their boats... In ALL cases they were hauled and blocked. Obviously most boats on the hard survived but I am not aware of any that were left at their slips and properly prepared with double lines etc that were lost. In my marina (Patten Point Yacht Club, Long Branch, NJ) we not only didn't lose any boats but none of our fleet of 70 boats suffered any significant damage. Granted another 2 or 3 inches we would have lost the entire marina (floating docks) because of the very high storm surge. (I think we had about 14 ft). I lost one 1" twisted nylon dock line because it actually melted at the chock. Fortunately I had double lines on every cleat.

I do NOT recommend "riding out" a powerful storm. Be sure all due diligence is done and your insurance is paid up and get the H___ out of harms way. When I was young and foolish I rode out a couple of doozies on the Fla Panhandle (Panama City) and I vowed never, ever again. There are plenty of other ways to be a hero.

Lots of good advice by all the folks who posted before me. BTW, Bobk kept his boat in a hurricane proof climate controlled building near one of the locks by Lake Okachobie. I believe he was very pleased with the arrangement and I'm sure he slept well knowing his "Baby" was safe.

Walt

 

[StratPlan61]

RSmith,
Geez my memory must be worse than I thought. It was Sept 2004, Ft Lauderdale was evacuated for a hurricane and I'm pretty sure it was Frances. Anyone live in south FL that validate my recall? Help?
Bear'

 

[rsmith]

RSmith,
Geez my memory must be worse than I thought. It was Sept 2004, Ft Lauderdale was evacuated for a hurricane and I'm pretty sure it was Frances. Anyone live in south FL that validate my recall? Help?
Bear'

The only hurricane that has hit Lauderdale since 99 was Katrina in 05 on her way to NOLA came ashore as barely a cat 1 most of the damage was to stuff that needed to get knocked down in the first place. The major problem was lack of water pressure that kept the high rise condos and hotels uninhabitable because there was no water to the upper floors.

 

[captddis]

I believe Wilma hit Lauderdale in 06 causing the boat show to be postponed. I remember that of the big boats snapped the pilings at Bahia Mar.

 

[rsmith]

Wilma was a strange one. Crossed west to east and exited above Palm beach. It was worse than expected but blew through in an hour.

 

[rsmith]

Then again Mia/Dade got more fema funds for France's and jeene than the rest of the state combined. I still remember pics of people putting holes in their roofs and running garden hoses into the attics