Hurricane Irma & TS Lidia

[Sailm8]

Finished with boat prep but not hopeful it will survive. There are too many snowbird boats not prepped at all. After seeing what a cat 4 can do there is no way my boat will make it through a cat 5. Wife and 96 year old mother are bugging out. We did Charley not going to do Irma. Good luck to all.

 

[Kermit]

Final projected path. And incredibly accurate...

 

[Gunni]

Wife and 96 year old mother are bugging out.

Good to hear. What are your options for a haul and block? Pretty much everything down that way is low. Still have a few days. Good luck, stay safe.
Just heard from kin in Naples are - they are headed for the Georgia hills with the kids and pets.

 

[WayneH]

Taking off Friday morning for the 14 hour drive to the boat in P-cola. I need to take down the sails and bimini and maybe the solar panels, too, this time. The boat is storm ready for a squall line or a microburst but nowhere near ready for the edge of a Cat 4. It looks like the eye will pass to the east of my boat but the tropical storm winds extend too far out to ignore.

 

[Johnnyreb]

My boat is tied down to it's trailer while I do touchups, is there anything else I should do to prepare?

 

[justsomeguy]

My boat is tied down to it's trailer while I do touchups, is there anything else I should do to prepare?

Tie down the trailer.

 

[Johnnyreb]

Might hitch it to my 2500 ,maybe that will do it.

 

[JamesG161]

Might hitch it to my 2500 ,maybe that will do it.

Mobile homes use "tie downs" which could strap your trailer.
Example:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/TIRE-DOWN-59095-30-In-Mobile-Home-Anchor/164120175

Remember wind or thrust lift airplanes.
So your hull is like a wing.
Jim...

 

[Ron20324]

How about putting a tarp in the cockpit and flood it to weight down the boat?

 

[Gene Neill]

I was thinking about sledgehammering some 2x4 stakes into the ground, and "mooring" to them. Maybe even take the wheels off the trailer, if things look ugly enough.

 

[Kermit]

I was thinking about sledgehammering some 2x4 stakes into the ground, and "mooring" to them. Maybe even take the wheels off the trailer, if things look ugly enough.

If you think the weather is ugly, you should see the dancing girls!

 

[Gene Neill]

If you think the weather is ugly, you should see the dancing girls!

Those dancing girls aren't ugly, you just need another drink!

 

[justsomeguy]

One casualty in Bahia San Carlos due to Lidia.

Met the owner while he was starting his salvage ops, said he was on his brand-new mooring. Three 5/8ths 3 strand mooring lines were sawn through. Guess his chafe gear wasn't up to snuff, and he wasn't aboard at the time.
He was pretty philosophical about "$40,000.00 down the tubes".

 

[JamesG161]

his chafe gear wasn't up to snuff

I bought for $10 from local Rental Equipment Store, a used 2.5" x 50' fire hose. I have cut out 4' pieces to run my lines through, using the heavy duty fire hose as the chafe guard [uninstalled but ready]
______
As of noon today EST, this is NOAA five day forecast that has shifted a bit eastward versus post #14...

____________
This is what @Gunni said in his post #11 last Sunday. Irma will run into the 100 mph East bound Jet stream, a little late for Florida, but the driver for the North turn.

Good Luck to all!
Jim...

 

[JamesG161]

sledge hammering some 2x4 stakes into the ground

That will work if you use long ones, driven deep like this....

Irma is a Giant.
Good luck...
Jim..

 

[pateco]

Looking worse, and I cant cross tie and block my canal until Friday

 

[Capt Robbie]

Here In the north east I have tied pieces of carpet between old car tires to both sides the hull as fenders. The tires are placed the full length of the boat with out any gaps between the tires. Then placed one tire tube fully inflated under an old truck tire, then place both over the top of the piling as a heavy duty fender. Also added more dock lines and adjusted them for storm surge along with removed all sails and anything to reduce effects of wind.

We also hooked up 2 additional temporary bilge pumps to two separate batteries and suspended the batteries high from the ceiling in case of a hull breach. My thoughts are if the main battery shorts out I have 2 back up pumps. Note I used smooth hose instead of currugated hose, this increases flow rate.

Weathered quite a few storms this way and so far have been quite lucky, just had to remove a few black marks from hull.

 

[JamesG161]

Then placed one tire tube fully inflated under an old truck tire, then place both over the top of the piling as a heavy duty fender.

Hmmmm very clever. A Floating piling fender!

I assume the line allowance for the Storm surge will not put your hull over the top of the piling. Making the piling a spear.

Sounds like your boat has, the padding like on a boxing sparing partner. Taking most of the punches.
Good luck...
Jim...

 

[AXEL]

In prep for Sandy (here up North) I strapped 4" x 4" x 12' (4 of them) to the pilings at my dock. Strapped them using racheting straps and tied them together with rope. Covered them in carpet. They were very secure and would not move. These guys kept my boat (C30) from coming over the dock during the wind and storm surge. Saved my boat.

 

[pateco]

High tide is in 20 Minutes. Just got video of my boat. seems to still be ok.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10214260080476791

The stargazer is the boat to the right.