I have a new 33, which is in Slidell, LA. Reports now indicate that IVAN may come to New Orleans/Slidell. My boat is at Oak Harbor, which is a floating dock. Does anyone have any comments concerning preparation in the event the storm does come close?
Hurrican Precautions
- Thread starter JohnEh
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Ivan Prep
Your biggest danger in a slip is wave action and abrasion on a pier/piling. Your'e better off up a creek tied to a live-oak with all your anchors out with as much scope as possible. That's where my boat is right now. If the eye of Ivan hits the Alabama coast at 150 mph it's all over anyway. Be sure your insurance is paid, and DONT EVEN THINK of riding it out on the boat.
Your biggest danger in a slip is wave action and abrasion on a pier/piling. Your'e better off up a creek tied to a live-oak with all your anchors out with as much scope as possible. That's where my boat is right now. If the eye of Ivan hits the Alabama coast at 150 mph it's all over anyway. Be sure your insurance is paid, and DONT EVEN THINK of riding it out on the boat.
Get Away From the Dock
Your best option is to pull it out of the water. If not that then tie up in a protected inlet or anchor it out. use a couple of the biggest anchors you can get ahold of and be sure to use chaffe protection. The last place you want to be is at the dock. Strip off everything you can and bring it ashore or stow below. I just pulled mine out of the water and am amazed at all of the boats tied tight to the dock and with the bimmini and jib still attached. Guess they will be getting new ones next week.
Your best option is to pull it out of the water. If not that then tie up in a protected inlet or anchor it out. use a couple of the biggest anchors you can get ahold of and be sure to use chaffe protection. The last place you want to be is at the dock. Strip off everything you can and bring it ashore or stow below. I just pulled mine out of the water and am amazed at all of the boats tied tight to the dock and with the bimmini and jib still attached. Guess they will be getting new ones next week.
When in doubt....
... haul out. Sort of like reefing: the time to do it is when you first think about it. Anything later is too late. Good advice from the other posters. Last year at this time I had a Catalina 27 that I owned for a total of 7 weeks. Having been thru a number of storms on the Chesapeake Bay before, I thought I knew how to prepare the boat in its slip. With 15 docklines and numerous fenders deployed, my boat could have withstood a surge of about 6 feet. Unfortunatley, the surge came in with the high tide and the wind shifted to east (the most vulnerable side of the marina) all at once. The enormous weight of all the boats on my dock rose up all at the same time in the surge and destroyed the docks and pilings. And then themselves. My boat, along with lots of others, was totaled. A painful lesson. If you fear a hurricane and/or storm surge, get your boat out of the water as soon as you can.
... haul out. Sort of like reefing: the time to do it is when you first think about it. Anything later is too late. Good advice from the other posters. Last year at this time I had a Catalina 27 that I owned for a total of 7 weeks. Having been thru a number of storms on the Chesapeake Bay before, I thought I knew how to prepare the boat in its slip. With 15 docklines and numerous fenders deployed, my boat could have withstood a surge of about 6 feet. Unfortunatley, the surge came in with the high tide and the wind shifted to east (the most vulnerable side of the marina) all at once. The enormous weight of all the boats on my dock rose up all at the same time in the surge and destroyed the docks and pilings. And then themselves. My boat, along with lots of others, was totaled. A painful lesson. If you fear a hurricane and/or storm surge, get your boat out of the water as soon as you can.
Floating Dock
My boat is in a floating dock. The dock is on concrete pillars which roll on rollars up and down with the tide. The lines never move because the boat goes up and down with the concrete dock which has cletes attached to the concrete. The pillars are about 15-20 feet tall at normal tide. Have the people who have been responding aware that my dock floats? In addition, the marina has a sea-wall and three story buildings which provide a wind block. I would think that my best bet is keep the boat at the dock. Any other thoughts?
My boat is in a floating dock. The dock is on concrete pillars which roll on rollars up and down with the tide. The lines never move because the boat goes up and down with the concrete dock which has cletes attached to the concrete. The pillars are about 15-20 feet tall at normal tide. Have the people who have been responding aware that my dock floats? In addition, the marina has a sea-wall and three story buildings which provide a wind block. I would think that my best bet is keep the boat at the dock. Any other thoughts?
John, I'd Still Pull or Move and Get Away
When I lived in Biloxi our marina had floating docks when Georges came through the marina required everyone to pull they're boat out. The floating docks were empty they still all came apart. Thing is the docks took out all the anchor lines of the boats that were anchored out. This is looking ugly out here wish us luck.
When I lived in Biloxi our marina had floating docks when Georges came through the marina required everyone to pull they're boat out. The floating docks were empty they still all came apart. Thing is the docks took out all the anchor lines of the boats that were anchored out. This is looking ugly out here wish us luck.
Floating Docks, Part II
While floating docks probably can deal with rising water somewhat better than fixed docks, hurricanes typically present challenges to ANY kind of dock that suggests being out of the water is always going to be a better idea than leaving your boat in a slip. Hurricane surges tend to present both vertical and horizontal forces that docks just aren't built to withstand. If water rises vertically and at a regular pace, a floating dock MAY be ok. But if that rise in water levels comes at the dock horizontally, in the form of huge and successive waves, as it did at my marina during Isabel last year, most docks are going to come apart. And, FWIW, my marina also had a stone jetty and a seawall to "protect" it. Both were overwhelmed. I wish I realized these factors last year....
While floating docks probably can deal with rising water somewhat better than fixed docks, hurricanes typically present challenges to ANY kind of dock that suggests being out of the water is always going to be a better idea than leaving your boat in a slip. Hurricane surges tend to present both vertical and horizontal forces that docks just aren't built to withstand. If water rises vertically and at a regular pace, a floating dock MAY be ok. But if that rise in water levels comes at the dock horizontally, in the form of huge and successive waves, as it did at my marina during Isabel last year, most docks are going to come apart. And, FWIW, my marina also had a stone jetty and a seawall to "protect" it. Both were overwhelmed. I wish I realized these factors last year....
floating docks and Charley
The floating docks in the Fort Pierce city marina came loose of the pilings when Charlie came through. Search for the Fort Pierce News Tribune, they had many pictures and an article after the storm.
The floating docks in the Fort Pierce city marina came loose of the pilings when Charlie came through. Search for the Fort Pierce News Tribune, they had many pictures and an article after the storm.
IVAN is History
IVAN is now history in Louisiana. We were very fortunate. I did learn, however, from the others in the marina some precautions for hurricanes. I tied added a second dock line, removed all excess items such as bimini top, inflatable,barbeque,hatch covers,etc. I also cleared off all items from the pier including hoses and steps. Some boaters removed their sails while others made sure than they were ties down with extra line. The boats all looked like they had been pressured washed after the storm passed. When I arrived the water was up at least two feet over normal stage but when I left the water had gone down about one foot. There were many transient boats in the marina who had taken refuge from the storm. Many think that Oak Harbor is the best "Huuricane Hole" on the Gulf Coast.
IVAN is now history in Louisiana. We were very fortunate. I did learn, however, from the others in the marina some precautions for hurricanes. I tied added a second dock line, removed all excess items such as bimini top, inflatable,barbeque,hatch covers,etc. I also cleared off all items from the pier including hoses and steps. Some boaters removed their sails while others made sure than they were ties down with extra line. The boats all looked like they had been pressured washed after the storm passed. When I arrived the water was up at least two feet over normal stage but when I left the water had gone down about one foot. There were many transient boats in the marina who had taken refuge from the storm. Many think that Oak Harbor is the best "Huuricane Hole" on the Gulf Coast.
Run
Run if you can. With Cat 3+ hurricanes, and a heavy storm surge, it isn't where your boat is docked, but where it is going to land. Your dock's structure is secondary to its location. That is, how exposed are you to wave action? Floating docks are, of course, much easier to tie off, and many can handle a surge of 12+ feet, so, if you're well sheltered from the waves, you may be OK. Make note that that is hard to achieve. While Frances was relatively weak, the southeast quandrant beat on us for hours on end. The storm surge was only about 5 - 6 ft at my marina, which I consider well protected, yet you could see where small pieces of concrete had chipped off the pillars. A cat 4 storm like Ivan would have lifted the entire dock off the pillars, and the waves would have left everything somewhere in downtown St. Pete. Yep, run if you can.
Run if you can. With Cat 3+ hurricanes, and a heavy storm surge, it isn't where your boat is docked, but where it is going to land. Your dock's structure is secondary to its location. That is, how exposed are you to wave action? Floating docks are, of course, much easier to tie off, and many can handle a surge of 12+ feet, so, if you're well sheltered from the waves, you may be OK. Make note that that is hard to achieve. While Frances was relatively weak, the southeast quandrant beat on us for hours on end. The storm surge was only about 5 - 6 ft at my marina, which I consider well protected, yet you could see where small pieces of concrete had chipped off the pillars. A cat 4 storm like Ivan would have lifted the entire dock off the pillars, and the waves would have left everything somewhere in downtown St. Pete. Yep, run if you can.
You may think I am nuts but I would suggest that if your boat is of any large size and you have video or radio capability, and there is room, that you take it out to sea like the Navy does. Leaving with extra time you can go south of the storm or even west of it. This requires that you leave early and pay close attention to what is going on with the storm. Many could have saved their boat if they left early and headed to texas. Its not difficult if you know how to handle storms and leave early enough and procede faster than the storm. The boat can generally take it if you can and you prepare.
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