So now that the hurricane season has made landfall with Claudette, I was wondering what the appropriate steps would be to protect my pride and joy if a hurricane was to make landfall in my neighborhood. In the event of an unforseeable hurricane I think that I would have to pull out of the water, easy for me with a trailerable H23, but I was curious to find out what others have or would have done if this situation should ever arise. (no I'm not a jinx...but if you think so just forget I ever mentioned this post and you should be ok.) Brian h23 kickin' back
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Chesapeake
In many good cruising guides they give anchorages for safe haven when hurricanes are in your area. We in deltaville are lucky enough to have an sister slip some 7 miles up the rappahanock at my aunts house. She has two large boats and plenty of slip space in a very well protected (trees, bluffs, and land) natural harbor. She also lives there so if it really blows she can just go out her door and check the boats. Others are not that lucky. If you don't have another option in much safer waters. Then adding extra spring lines and fenders is needed. I'm not really sure that putting a boat up on the hard is safer than a good slip and lines. But a trailered boat is probably better out of the water. Just don't park it at home under a large tree! Might have been safer at the dock! No jinx, just good luck!
In many good cruising guides they give anchorages for safe haven when hurricanes are in your area. We in deltaville are lucky enough to have an sister slip some 7 miles up the rappahanock at my aunts house. She has two large boats and plenty of slip space in a very well protected (trees, bluffs, and land) natural harbor. She also lives there so if it really blows she can just go out her door and check the boats. Others are not that lucky. If you don't have another option in much safer waters. Then adding extra spring lines and fenders is needed. I'm not really sure that putting a boat up on the hard is safer than a good slip and lines. But a trailered boat is probably better out of the water. Just don't park it at home under a large tree! Might have been safer at the dock! No jinx, just good luck!
This has always been my concern...
about moving our boat to the coast. We have dreamed about that for years, but this one nightmare has always clouded our thoughts. So, you watch tv news and see boats lying on their sides in downtown streets... scary pictures that push the thought of coastal cruising way back. What do you do when you can't pull them out or you are out of town when the big one hits and can't get back. I'll be very interested in the responses you get on this one. Thank you for this posting!
about moving our boat to the coast. We have dreamed about that for years, but this one nightmare has always clouded our thoughts. So, you watch tv news and see boats lying on their sides in downtown streets... scary pictures that push the thought of coastal cruising way back. What do you do when you can't pull them out or you are out of town when the big one hits and can't get back. I'll be very interested in the responses you get on this one. Thank you for this posting!
Depends where you are and
You should read the book Heavy Weather Sailing. It will give you the best way to protect your boat at sea or in a harbor. Anyone that ventures out needs to know what to do if your caught in a storm and you need to practice how to manage your boat before you need these skills. A heavy storm is no place to find out you need a sea anchor or that your boat won't heave to without a tri sail. Moorings are not a good place to have your boat in a storm unless you are in a well-protected cove and there are no other boats that can be blown onto you. If you can't get your boat out then move to a safe cove and have a couple large anchors you can use.
You should read the book Heavy Weather Sailing. It will give you the best way to protect your boat at sea or in a harbor. Anyone that ventures out needs to know what to do if your caught in a storm and you need to practice how to manage your boat before you need these skills. A heavy storm is no place to find out you need a sea anchor or that your boat won't heave to without a tri sail. Moorings are not a good place to have your boat in a storm unless you are in a well-protected cove and there are no other boats that can be blown onto you. If you can't get your boat out then move to a safe cove and have a couple large anchors you can use.
Our Hurricane Plan
Having had our fair share: Bertha, Bonnie, Floyd, and Fran, I have a pretty well thought out contingency plan. We anchor out for a couple of reasons that may or may not apply to everyone. Our creek bottom has excellent holding with 3 or 4 feet of soft muck over a pebbly clay of medium density. With the exception of our sea wall (which I certianly wouldn't want my boat to hit) the shores of our creek are gently sloping and damage from a grounding would be moderate if not minimal. We get a double action curse from Huricanes in our area, first the storm surge can raise the water level from 4 to 12 feet above normal then when the wind shifts, it's like a toilet flushing and the water can actually drain out of the creek. Low dock pilings and finger piers are one of the biggest destroyers of boats during the first half of the hurricane. Storm surge lifts the boats above them and wave action drives them down, puncturing the bottom or hull sides. Damage to most boats in the second half of the storm results from cleats pulling out and lines parting because there was insufficient slack to allow for extreme low water. In addition, boats with fin keels drying out on a mud flat in heavy winds don't sit upright. They tend to tip into one another, mangling spreaders. I remove anything that increases the windage; sails, bimini, dodger. Along with electronics I stow all of this on shore. Also strip the interior of valuables and secure ALL loose items (don't leave a can of paint on a shelf like I did once). Secure the boom to the deck and run a thin messenger line to your halyards. Remove vent cowls and heavily tape over the openings. Check to be sure that cockpit scuppers are clear. Lock the wheel or lash tiller in the centered position, not to one side. Duct tape over all windows, ports and hatches around the base. When leaving the boat, tape over the companionway hatch joints. Close the water intake sea cocks. If you have the proper size bungs, stop up the exhaust outlet. Duct tape over the fuel and water tank vents and fill caps on deck and on the side of the hull. Get enough double walled fire hose to go from your cleat through your chock and into the water. This does a number of things for you. You will eliminate the chafe through the chock and if the anchor rodes twist the fire hose that went from the chock to the water will keep your rode from chafing through. Take the anchor rode around your primary cleat than snake it back to your mast (only if it is keel stepped) and tie it off there. If it is not keel stepped then take it to your primary winches. I would think that your best option for trailer boats is to move them inland, park them facing the direction the highest winds will hit, tie them securely to their trailers and anchor the trailers to stakes or hand screws driven into the ground.
Having had our fair share: Bertha, Bonnie, Floyd, and Fran, I have a pretty well thought out contingency plan. We anchor out for a couple of reasons that may or may not apply to everyone. Our creek bottom has excellent holding with 3 or 4 feet of soft muck over a pebbly clay of medium density. With the exception of our sea wall (which I certianly wouldn't want my boat to hit) the shores of our creek are gently sloping and damage from a grounding would be moderate if not minimal. We get a double action curse from Huricanes in our area, first the storm surge can raise the water level from 4 to 12 feet above normal then when the wind shifts, it's like a toilet flushing and the water can actually drain out of the creek. Low dock pilings and finger piers are one of the biggest destroyers of boats during the first half of the hurricane. Storm surge lifts the boats above them and wave action drives them down, puncturing the bottom or hull sides. Damage to most boats in the second half of the storm results from cleats pulling out and lines parting because there was insufficient slack to allow for extreme low water. In addition, boats with fin keels drying out on a mud flat in heavy winds don't sit upright. They tend to tip into one another, mangling spreaders. I remove anything that increases the windage; sails, bimini, dodger. Along with electronics I stow all of this on shore. Also strip the interior of valuables and secure ALL loose items (don't leave a can of paint on a shelf like I did once). Secure the boom to the deck and run a thin messenger line to your halyards. Remove vent cowls and heavily tape over the openings. Check to be sure that cockpit scuppers are clear. Lock the wheel or lash tiller in the centered position, not to one side. Duct tape over all windows, ports and hatches around the base. When leaving the boat, tape over the companionway hatch joints. Close the water intake sea cocks. If you have the proper size bungs, stop up the exhaust outlet. Duct tape over the fuel and water tank vents and fill caps on deck and on the side of the hull. Get enough double walled fire hose to go from your cleat through your chock and into the water. This does a number of things for you. You will eliminate the chafe through the chock and if the anchor rodes twist the fire hose that went from the chock to the water will keep your rode from chafing through. Take the anchor rode around your primary cleat than snake it back to your mast (only if it is keel stepped) and tie it off there. If it is not keel stepped then take it to your primary winches. I would think that your best option for trailer boats is to move them inland, park them facing the direction the highest winds will hit, tie them securely to their trailers and anchor the trailers to stakes or hand screws driven into the ground.
Free advice
The image of boats piled up is very rare. Only happens in a direct hit, equally rare. Suggest removing anything that resists wind. This includes bimini, sails, etc. Double line for security. Concentrate on the surge tide effect.
The image of boats piled up is very rare. Only happens in a direct hit, equally rare. Suggest removing anything that resists wind. This includes bimini, sails, etc. Double line for security. Concentrate on the surge tide effect.
About 4 years ago, a small hurricane
came up the east coast and hit the Eastern Shore. At the time my 20' Montego, Banana Wind, was in a slip behind my condo. I put 5 lines on each side of the boat (two to bow, two to stern that also acted as spring lines) plus one a midship. I remember standing onthe finger slip with water above my knees reach as high as I could to set the midship line. The wind blew about 80 to 85 mph. Everything held. Remember, as the storm passes over, the wind shifts from one side to the other, unless you're on the edge. I'm not so sure I'd have left the boat on a mooring. High water, high running tides, waves and wind thend to push things around a little too much for me. I'd have pulled her or moved her to a slip. Here's hoping you don't have to deal with one. Hayden
came up the east coast and hit the Eastern Shore. At the time my 20' Montego, Banana Wind, was in a slip behind my condo. I put 5 lines on each side of the boat (two to bow, two to stern that also acted as spring lines) plus one a midship. I remember standing onthe finger slip with water above my knees reach as high as I could to set the midship line. The wind blew about 80 to 85 mph. Everything held. Remember, as the storm passes over, the wind shifts from one side to the other, unless you're on the edge. I'm not so sure I'd have left the boat on a mooring. High water, high running tides, waves and wind thend to push things around a little too much for me. I'd have pulled her or moved her to a slip. Here's hoping you don't have to deal with one. Hayden
That small hurricane was Floyd
It made landfall around Wilmington, NC as a Category 3. The eye passed right over where my boat was anchored. We're 60 miles from the coast but got a storm surge up the sound of over 10 feet. The only boats that I know of that sustained damage were those left in slips. It all comes down to storm surge and geography. If your in an area that's not going to see a huge rise or fall in water level, then your best off in a slip. If they are calling for a 5+ surge, those pilings are your biggest enemy.
It made landfall around Wilmington, NC as a Category 3. The eye passed right over where my boat was anchored. We're 60 miles from the coast but got a storm surge up the sound of over 10 feet. The only boats that I know of that sustained damage were those left in slips. It all comes down to storm surge and geography. If your in an area that's not going to see a huge rise or fall in water level, then your best off in a slip. If they are calling for a 5+ surge, those pilings are your biggest enemy.
re-huricane prep.
It has been my experience with hurricanes that they are the quickest way to require a new boat. I have left boats on mooring when a hurricane came-prepped her well, I thought- and when I came back, I found pieces here and there. I have left boats on tailer near the water when tropical storm hit, and the boat was so damaged that it was unusable. Maybe I am unlucky, but my humble opinion concerning hurricanes and other tropical disturbances is this: Pull her out and take her inland. Don't leave the boat hear the storm area. The biggest problem with this approach is the timing. If I wait until the storm is really close, then I have to try to get my boat, truck, and trailer to the ramps, and a million other folks have the same idea. Result: Bad, bad behavior at the boat ramp. Pull early and be ready to run inland. Just my experience, but I don't like trusting my luck. Good sailing-Ed
It has been my experience with hurricanes that they are the quickest way to require a new boat. I have left boats on mooring when a hurricane came-prepped her well, I thought- and when I came back, I found pieces here and there. I have left boats on tailer near the water when tropical storm hit, and the boat was so damaged that it was unusable. Maybe I am unlucky, but my humble opinion concerning hurricanes and other tropical disturbances is this: Pull her out and take her inland. Don't leave the boat hear the storm area. The biggest problem with this approach is the timing. If I wait until the storm is really close, then I have to try to get my boat, truck, and trailer to the ramps, and a million other folks have the same idea. Result: Bad, bad behavior at the boat ramp. Pull early and be ready to run inland. Just my experience, but I don't like trusting my luck. Good sailing-Ed
Hurricanes and Mr. Howard
The best advice is not from weekend warriors but those who live where you sail. As mentioned, pull it out and take mast down. Tie boat to trailer and make sure you do not have boat under branches, overhangs and so forth. If you are at a fixed dock that is not good. If you are at a floating dock maybe. If a cove is well protected from winds, then maybe you can stay there as long as there is no tidal surge. Again, talk with the old salt sea dogs that live where you sail to answer your question. Mr Howard, how well I remember Floyd. I rode it out on a boat moored or anchored out in Blount's Bay. I learned two heavy anchors with 25 feet of chain and 150 feet of line each and chafe gear. YOu throw one anchor to the east, back up and dig in and then the next one to the south and back up to dig in anchor and make sure the swing will not hit any other boats. But most important is to take some high spirits and get smurshed for being a fool out there on a boat. Maybe that is why I am crazy. Crazy Dave Condon
The best advice is not from weekend warriors but those who live where you sail. As mentioned, pull it out and take mast down. Tie boat to trailer and make sure you do not have boat under branches, overhangs and so forth. If you are at a fixed dock that is not good. If you are at a floating dock maybe. If a cove is well protected from winds, then maybe you can stay there as long as there is no tidal surge. Again, talk with the old salt sea dogs that live where you sail to answer your question. Mr Howard, how well I remember Floyd. I rode it out on a boat moored or anchored out in Blount's Bay. I learned two heavy anchors with 25 feet of chain and 150 feet of line each and chafe gear. YOu throw one anchor to the east, back up and dig in and then the next one to the south and back up to dig in anchor and make sure the swing will not hit any other boats. But most important is to take some high spirits and get smurshed for being a fool out there on a boat. Maybe that is why I am crazy. Crazy Dave Condon
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