• Sailing is all about the Weather.

    Big into the exploration of Atlantic Hurricanes since Katrina came uninvited into his world, James (Jim) Gurley (JamesG161) has followed every Tropical Storm birthed in Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean waters since. Being a boater, he knows that we often need more time to prepare than we get from the TV weather folk. Jim relies on the science of storm development to share early warning info with friends and fellow boaters.

    Early in 2018, Jim and John Shepard, (JSSailem) started to chat about the weather data available. John asked Jim to help forecast Pacific NW storms, and this morphed into discussions on weather forecasting.

    For John, sailing in the PNW is sometimes hit and miss. One day is ugly, then a string of beautiful days but no wind, followed by a series of blue-sky days and 12 knot breezes. Being ready for those great sailing days means you need to look to the Pacific Ocean and what is brewing. John has been into Pacific NW Weather since the 1970’s when his first PNW November storm hit bringing more than 40 days and 40 nights of continual rain.

    Together we want to share information, new APPs, safety, and thoughts about letting the weather help you. Identify some of the resources for sailors and help prepare you for your next sailboat outing.

    It is far better to go out on the water knowing what to expect in weather terms, than to be out on the water and see dark ominous clouds suddenly appear, unprepared.

Boat Preparations for Storms

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JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,728
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
John and I did a quick check list. Just a start and simple.
  1. Check you boat lines for Hurricane strength.
  2. Fuel your boat
  3. Charge your batteries
  4. Batten down all hatches
  5. Empty Hold tanks
  6. Check your auxiliary power
  7. Secure all seacocks
  8. Verify your bilge pump.
  9. Triple wrap you sheets around your head sail furling, alternatively remove and store your sail, or use a sail storm sleeve to cover your sail.
  10. Check for Chafe on all lines
  11. Prevent boom from swinging
  12. Check Topping lift lines
  13. Store solar panels
 
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JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,728
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
Feel free to add to the list or ask for clarifications.
Jim...
 
jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,387
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
In reviewing weather we get to discussion all sorts of heavy weather issues. One of those discussions that calls upon your seamanship like skills that many of us never need to consider.

Remember when securing your boat use knots that can be easily removed after the storm passes. Or you will be cutting the lines to get the boat free from those granny knots.
 
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shemandr

shemandr

.
Jan 1, 2006
7,408
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Double the lines. I would use longer nylon 3 strand to the furthest points possible. Adjust them so they stretch before the dacron lines fetch up. That will dampen the shock loading of the less stretchy dacron.
Remove dink and dink outboard.
Extra fenders and/or fender boards.
Move the away from the dock bulkhead.
Inspect floating dock hardware.
Take pictures of your boat and the prep you did.
 
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JK_Boston_Catalina310

JK_Boston_Catalina310

.
Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
Don S/V ILLusion said:
I’m not sure how long ;)sail ties (or any ties) would work against a 100 + mph wind.
Click to expand
I don't know about using sail ties but here is my boat with the mainsail lashed to the boom. The sail was lashed with 1/2-inch Sta-Set, I used my headsail sheets. This picture was taken in southeast Puerto Rico just after the eyewall of Maria passed as a category 5. Winds were estimates at 175 mph.
 

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sailme88

sailme88

.
Jan 19, 2010
1,254
Catalina 34 Casco Bay
Don S/V ILLusion said:
Wave goodby to your Bimini or dodger if not removed.
Click to expand
The recent tropical depression that visited the NE states almost 3 weeks ago had a lot of people on the move. Too many boats were in the water for the few local boat haulers to make a dent into. It became an exercise in securing. Most Genoa were dropped, and mains got helical wraps...Bimini and dodgers were also struck... well not all. I acquired enough new lobster trap netting to cover my dodger & Bimini along with an identical sister ship. Lines were woven and bolstered with wire ties through the netting. The lines were the secured to cleats. The net allowed wind to pass through and prevented the uplifting that would have carried the Bimini away. About an hour to install and 10-15 minutes to undo.
 
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Sailm8

Sailm8

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Feb 21, 2008
1,750
Hunter 29.5 Punta Gorda
Check the boats around you. Can they get to you? Have they been prepped? We had 5 boats sunk by a trawler that was not properly prepped. The trawler came from 150 yards away. How secure are your pilings? We thought ours were good but turned out they were not sunk into solid bottom.
 
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G

glaufman

.
May 23, 2016
217
O'Day 1984 23 Island Park, NY
shemandr said:
Double the lines. I would use longer nylon 3 strand to the furthest points possible. Adjust them so they stretch before the dacron lines fetch up. That will dampen the shock loading of the less stretchy dacron.
Click to expand
Shirley your not suggesting the "normal" dock/mooring/anchor lines are Dacron? Nylon only, right? 3strand better than braid for it's stretch, but what about braid with a snubber? (Having that argument in my club now)
 
Bill19233

Bill19233

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Jan 22, 2008
766
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
I just did all the prep a couple hours ago expecting a cat 3 to be coming up the bay late tomorrow.
One thing I didn’t see in any of the previous posts, I may have missed it. But, turn off all DC circuits except the bilge pump. The marina will lose power and your battery charger will stop working. The fridge or dehumidifier or whatever will drain the batteries pretty quick and I want the bilge pump to work till I can get back down there.
Southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana be safe and take care. If you’re thinking about evacuating, stop thinking and do it. And good luck to everyone that has a boat on Galveston Bay and on east.
 
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Ward H

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,764
Catalina 30 Mk II Cedar Creek, Bayville NJ
While I usually tie my dock lines for adjustment from the boat, when I move it to protected waters I tie the lines for adjustment, if possible, at the bulkhead/land.
Also, remove life slings, grills and other things that may be hanging off the pulpits.
 
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JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,728
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
Ward H said:
remove life slings, grills and other things that may be hanging off the pulpits.
Click to expand
Good ideas!

During TS Cristobal, a wave slackened a mooring line and when it went taught again, it had grabbed my Port Side Running light!
Ripped it off its mount.:(
______
Bill19233 said:
If you’re thinking about evacuating, stop thinking and do it
Click to expand
You still have time to prepare!
______
Bill19233 said:
The marina will lose power
Click to expand
TS Cristobal caused more than $2000 in repair to the shore power boxes.

They called me to tell us, they turned off the power for Hurricane Marco.

I said no worries, we had prepared our boat electrically. But we did leave on 2 LED cabin lights so others might see if our boat was taking on water.;)
Jim...
 
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JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,728
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
JamesG161 said:
Empty Hold tanks
Click to expand
I got a PM on this.
He asked if he should fill it back with water after removing the black water.

My answer was a general thought about your boat's overall weight when mooring for a storm.

Mooring lines are sized to hold your boat's weight in tension.
But...

Wave action adds another force...

Momentum

Thus the lighter your boat is, the less the force on your lines.
Jim...

PS: Full Hold tanks are a small percentage of my boats overall weight.:biggrin:
PSS: I was concerned more about a stinking mess versus the weight of full hold tanks.
 
Bill19233

Bill19233

.
Jan 22, 2008
766
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
JamesG161 said:
Good ideas!

During TS Cristobal, a wave slackened a mooring line and when it went taught again, it had grabbed my Port Side Running light!
Ripped it off its mount.:(
______

You still have time to prepare
______

You still have time to prepare!
______

TS Cristobal caused more than $2000 in repair to the shore power boxes.

They called me to tell us, they turned off the power for Hurricane Marco.

I said no worries, we had prepared our boat electrically. But we did leave on 2 LED cabin lights so others might see if our boat was taking on water.;)
Jim...
Click to expand
JamesG161 said:
______

You still have time to prepare!
______
Click to expand
Not more time for everyone, last ferry off Bolivar to Galveston is in 20 minutes, and highway 87 off the east side could be underwater in the morning.
I got an email from my marina that it will close at 10:00 AM tomorrow and deny access to all. Even if you could get down there, Kemah has issued mandatory evacuation by tonight.
Galveston Island was supposed to be evacuated by noon today, that didn’t happen. Last buses have already left several locations in Jefferson and Orange Counties and Calcasieu Parish.
 
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JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,728
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
This is a data buoy in the Laura's path.
NDBC - Station 42395 Recent Data

It is owned by Shell Oil, but reliable.
Stay tuned on our Hurricane Laura post here on SBO.
_____
Bill19233 said:
I got an email from my marina that it will close at 10:00 AM tomorrow and deny access to all.
Click to expand
This done for many reasons, some involve thefts off boats.:mad:
Jim...
 
BigEasy

BigEasy

.
Jun 21, 2004
2,669
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Bill19233 said:
I just did all the prep a couple hours ago expecting a cat 3 to be coming up the bay late tomorrow
Southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana be safe and take care. If you’re thinking about evacuating, stop thinking and do it. And good luck to everyone that has a boat on Galveston Bay and on east.
Click to expand
Good luck to you Bill and all of the SBO guys around Galveston Bay.
 
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