Floating Docks

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

I cannot stress enough the advantages of floating docks in areas that are prone to tidal surges. It appears that most marinas in Ike's direct path that had floating docks had faired out VERY well. My marina as well as several others on this forum that have floating docks have had their boats survive. I know that they cost more per month, but if you can afford it, it may save your boat some day.
I lost a Catalina 30 to Hurricane Katrina in Slidell, La. where the eyewall went directly over the marina. We had a floating dock and my boat did remarkably well. My bimini, dodger and jenny was shredded and I had some minor bumps and scrapes. The Ins. company totalled us out because there was no where to take the boat. No more marinas and no mare boat yards for all intents and purposes. That storm reassured me that floating docks were the way to go. The primary cause of damage in Slidell was from the VERY large boats that broke loose and floating houses that combined and crashed into the floating docks.

Tony B

 

[kloudie1]

Tony B ! Great to hear that you did OK in the storm ! I saw pics this morning of Kemah/Clear Lake and was happy to see so many sailboats happily floating and still tied to their docks !! I agree about the floating docks ! The ones in Bejing that were installed for the Olympics do not have the tall poles .. They employ a Swedish patented system that guides them from below..
Pontchartrain got much more water from Ike than Gustav even though the wind was much less.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Watergate Marina - Kemah, Tx

There is a marina down the road from me named WaterGate Marina. I have not seen it yet, but I was told that it was a total disaster in the areas where they had fixed docks and everything was fine in the floating dock areas of that marina. Unless you set up for a pipe with stand-offs, there is no way to tie up for a tidal surge in a fixed slip.

Tony B

 

[TimCup]

Tonyb- I,too, was thinking about you and yours...

One of the pics showed a highway cluttered with debris, and a background of boats, power and sail, that were piled up. The sign in the foreground said "Entering Clear Lake", with a sign below saying "Leaving Kemah". Figured you were gonna keep getting your boats in the way of these storms until ya got brand new!!

Also surprised to here you sing the praises of floating docks. We here in Florida have had a little experience with 'rain with names', and we musta built 'em wrong, cause they were the ones that fared the worst! 100 feet from my slip were floating docks for rich muckety mucks staying at the Stoufer Vinoy, a high-end resort/hotel. Their docks, and alot of boats, were destroyed, while no one else around had any serious problems. That happened about 2-3 years ago, and they just opened the new docks a few months ago, all concrete, and fixed.

I'm guessing floating docks work only when the pilings they float on remain higher than the surge, but I'm just guessing. Perhaps someone hear knows the story and will enlighten me...
Glad to here you're ok. What about job- anything left to inspect out there?

cup

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Thanks Tim-Cup

Yes, we did take a big hit here. I was just lucky, I guess. I'm gonna try to go home tomorrow. No electricity. If my shop made it through this whole mess, I have a generator inside. Dont know how much good that will do if I cant get gas.
While we were evacuating, me and the admiral or is it the admiral and I?, were talking about how we never thought we would ever go through this again. After all, Katrina was a once in a lifetime storm. Even though Ike was not as powerful as far as wind speed, it was HUGE. Anyway, tomorrow I will know more.
Dont know why the Florida floating docks didnt work, could it be possible that they are not practical from an engineering point of view for the larger boats?
Too much leverage when floated high?
Anyway, I was concerned about my marina because the floating docks have wood pilings and were only about 12 feet out of the water and they were expecting a 15 to 20 foot surge. I was told that the docks floated to within 1 foot of the tops or about an 11 foot surge.
I wont know about job for at least a few days. I'm afraid it will be bad news.I'm trying to get a 'disaster relief' job. It may pay well, not sure.

Tony B

 

[ITMaster]

You all Were Lucky With The Foating Docks

Kingsmill Marina here in Williamsburg lost every boat during Isabel on their floating dock system. Our surge was about 12 foot or more and they hadn't prepared for that, the docks floated up and over the top of the pilings and they were gone. I guess everything got bashed together and the boats took on water or whatever. We never found out that I am aware of. They found three boats sunk in the vicinity of the marina and never found the rest of them.

 

[Ross]

If the docks float off the piles then you have a raft of

boats and no anchors. If you have fixed docks or piers when the seas batter the planks loose you have a half a hundred boats with nothing to hang onto. Either way you lose. They aren't likely to make the piles for the floating piers thirty feet high and the fixed piers will break up if the water gets too high and too rough.

 

[ITMaster]

I Guess the Important Thing

For us all to realize Ross, is that there are forces out there that none of us have any control over, no matter how much we think we can. I agree with you, with a major catastrophic event, one will lose. I would suspect that even a haulout, with the boat sitting there on the hard, with a 15 to 20 or more foot surge is going to take a journey. When we experience a loss, hopefully we have insurance to recover our financial loss, although the emotional loss is far greater, and those that have experienced them have my upmost sympathy. More than likely the one thing that will show any of us what is important is to experience a home fire where all of our memories, heirlooms and valuables are lost and destroyed forever.

I think you may be able to agree with me that we have both watched our society evolve into one where there are segments of it that seem to think we can prevent anything and everything we find undesireable, and if we can't, then we can find someone to hold responsible and sue them for it.

I guess that I should consider myself very very lucky to have been able to grow up as a kid and survive without a bike helmet, knee pads and elbow pads, a child seat, rear seat belts and no air bags, while breathing second hand smoke in resturants when my parents took me out somewhere to eat.

I think and hope for the people that have suffered from Ike, that they were very lucky and hopefully, they will be able to recover soon.

 

[Ross]

have you ever noticed how effective praying isn't during a hurricane?

No matter how big and strong you try to build something nature finds a way to take it apart. Alan Vaitsis says in one of his books that water has been tearing down mountains for millions of years.

 

[RAD]

So if the big one hits Long Island

And I've thought about the whole dock and all the boats floating away as a giant raft up :{
Ya think deploying the Bruce and 200 ft of rode might keep the raft nearby?

 

[Brian M H23]

hmmm

do you think a boat, firmly strapped into it's cradle, would pick up, float around, and set itself down on (hopefully) level enough ground that it doesn't topple over?

 

[Ross]

BrianM , Yes, but where? my boat should be able to float a 2 ton

cradle.

rad I have wondered if all of the boats simply drop anchor before the storm and secured the bitter end, would the gods smile on the effort and spare the boat?

 

[RAD]

Ross,

Great minds think alike *5
last week a bunch of us are on the dock having this conversation and if you look at the poles on my floating dock you have maybe 4 ft left after a higher than normal tide so a storm surge over 5 ft. and I'm tossing the main anchor and the spare Fortress.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Bulwagga Anchors

I know Franklin used 2 anchors to anchor out in a bayou on Galvestorn Island. I believe they were both Bulwagga's. He has a Hunter 365 (almost 37 feet) and his anchors were rated for 50 foot boats. They held and held well. The dominant winds pushed the water over the protecting bayou so in effect he was open to the wind and the Gulf. The eye went directly over him.
He had read somewhere that if you stern anchor, there is less chafing and the boat wont swing as much. With the beating he was taking on the stern, I think he was having second thoughts as we were talking on cell phones, but it was too late to change. Anyway, the anchors held. Now THAT"s how you test out your anchor. As most people were leaving the area, Franklin was sailing into it. His Marina survived well, so he does have a place to go back to.

Tony B

 

[Ross]

There is an old adage,

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating." And the proof of an anchor is in finding your boat where you left her.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Porto Fino Marina OK

Porto Fino Dockominiums (Floating Docks) in Kemah, has also survived pretty well.
Menestheus keeps his boat there, so we can assume his boat is OK also.

Could there be a major difference in design between Florida and Texas floating docks? Could it be the base in Florida is a softer and more 'movable' sand, shifting as the waves are pounding, and in effect digging themselves out?

Tony B

 

[Ctskip]

I do know the floating docks

are only as good as the poles they ride on. Our marina has floating docks and they ride on 8 inch round poles thay extend 25 feet into the air while at low water. When the water is high, 22 to 24 feet, there is a tremendous force pulling on these poles. They end up bent and leaning. Once the water leaves the floating docks become hanging docks. Thats is not a pretty site either.

The answer.. Mather nature only knows. I have always been old school, get me to open water (hopefully somewhat protected) and a sound anchoring system and I'll ride it out. Been through a couple that way. Thankfully I haven't been through a named storm for some years. Now that I'm older and a bit wiser I'm not sure exactly what I'd do. But one thing I do know is that I'll keep a good insurance policy safely set aside.

I think the surge depends on which side of the eye one happens to be on. On shore winds verses off shore winds.

Keep it up,
Ctskip

 

[tcbro]

Brian M...

...Strap it securely in the cradle AND set your anchor with 120'of rode. Hopefully, you'll find her within 120' of where you left her, still sitting upright.