Question for Florida sailboat owners - haulage in storm?

[Bryan9]

We're thinking about moving to southwestern Florida (Punta Gorda/Charlotte Harbor) and bringing our Beneteau 323 along. But we're worried about protecting our boat in the event of a storm. In the southern Chesapeake, where we've kept our boats for the past 20 years, we prefer to lease a slip from a marina that has haulage equipment and hard storage space, with the understanding that we'll be the first in line if there's a dangerous storm in the forecast. Still, there are lots of cool southwestern Florida properties that offer sailboat-depth dockage right at your back door. Is it possible to make an arrangement with a boatyard for storm haulage, even if you don't lease a slip there? We'd really appreciate hearing from southwestern Florida sailors about how you deal with threatening weather. Bryan & Suzanne, s/v Athena (2006 Beneteau 323)

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

We live not far from PG near Sarasota and originally from New England where we hauled the boat every season and for every big storm. My experience after 6 years here is that people generally only short-haul for maintenance, painting, etc and don't haul for storms as doing so doesn't lessen the potential for damage.

Despite the myths, hurricanes are quite rare and anything which destroys buildings will get you regardless of where you keep the boat. The best advice I can offer is find a sheltered cove into which you plan to move the boat if weather warrants and not worry about hauling.

 

[Sumner]

I can think of two yards that are next to each other where that might be possible. One is Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage...

http://www.charlotteharborboatstorage.com/

... where I keep the Endeavour. Local sailors often put their boat in the yard for a few days or more to work on it so possibly you could get in there. The big problem is the yard is extremely popular since you can work on the boat there and for someone like myself live on the boat in the yard while working on it. So the point being they might not always have room.

Right next to them is Safe Cove Boatyard...

http://www.safecoveinc.com/

I've never seen them full and they also take in boats for short periods of time.

One problem with both of these yards potentially is that to get to them you go through a lock and about 8 miles of canals. Boats with up to 5 1/2 feet draft can get in but sometimes the water before the lock is too shallow for that much draft if the wind is blowing out of the north and the tides are low so you can't just assume you can get in and out whenever unless you are shallow draft.

One big plus is the yards are inland quite a ways so the chance of any kind of tidal surge are remote. The hurricane that hit around 2004 I believe whent over the yards and some boats received some damage but nothing major. So they are good as far as providing hurricane protection and Save Cove even has huge concrete tie-down blocks that I guess you can probably pay more for to use. These yards have really good rates also.

Good luck and it is a great area in which to own a sailboat,

Sumner
================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/endeavour-index.html
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida, Bahamas

 

[HMT2]

I live on the Texas coast and generally we don't haul out for hurricanes either. Some people (with much more money and expensive boats than me) lease a slip from July/August-November at some of the marinas that are much more protected from Hurricanes than their home marina or YC.

 

[Bob J.]

I've seen a place advertised in Southwinds magazine called the Glades.
Looks like it inland on the waterway & they claim no tidal surge.

 

[Sailm8]

I live in Punta Gorda and we do not haul for storms. You tie up in your slip and make sure your insurance is paid. Charley was a B**ch and wipe out many boats generally due to owners who did not properly prepare. You get plenty of time to prepare but you must remember your boat is not all that needs preparation. You have a house a car etc. The trip from where I live to a haul out is an all day maybe longer trip. You do your best and you take your chance.
That being said I would not live anywhere else. shhhh Don't tell anyone - we are full up

 

[Benny17441]

We do not haul out for storms. We believe our chances in the water are better than having the boat sitting on stands. Speaking of Hurricanes a direct hit is likely to inflict much damage whether in the water or on the hard, so in reality we plan to prevent damage in near misses and weaker storms. For a direct hit we carry insurance. If your dock or marina does not have a good history of surviving storms you are encouraged to find a Hurricane Hole or a protected basin to anchor. The largest dangers are from boats cutting loose due to lines chaffing or dragging anchor. Boats that remain docked need to be adequately tied to allow for high water surge. In residential canals neighbors usually cooperate to tie boats in the middle of canals or in deploying anchors and extending safety lines. Marinas can provide PVC pipes to extend the height of pylons against high water surge. Spring lines are usually extended across dock walkways and anchors placed in fairways. Boats of absentee owners are likely to be secured by marina staff and neighboring boaters. Here in the West Coast of Florida at any given location we might have an average of 2 to 5 storms tracking our way every year. Besides the uncertainty of watching a storm tracking your way for days the chances of a storm affecting your area are pretty small and the chances of a direct hit are slim but still reason to make timely preparations.

 

[31seahorse]

+1 with Sumner & +1 with Sailm8
We have used Safe Cove for several summer storage haul outs. The picture Sumner posted does not show the concrete blocks in the "tie down" area. It is the area in the right side center of the picture although the blocks are not there in the picture. The charge for that area and tie down was $250 in addition to the normal haul, pressure wash, block, and relaunch. The price for doing that on a short term basis is not something I had investigated. The peace of mind of the tie down while we were 1200 miles away during the summer was HUGE!

 

[Rick Webb]

Up here on the panhandle we either get pulled out or anchor out. There are yards that let you sign up for a fee and then you are on the top of the list for haul outs if there is a storm on the way. Most marinas around here as part of your lease agreement require you to vacate your slip if a named storm is on the way.

 

[Bryan9]

Thanks to all... I'm beginning to see that a change in latitude will require a change in attitude -- like somebody said

 

[markjackson393]

I've lived in southwest Florida for 60 years and can tell you this about weather here. A squall line own a winter cold front a summer tornado or a huricane. You need to be ready for what Mother Nature throws at you all year. High and dry tied to the ground will be your best protection against a storm surge and a salvage after a storm. If your in the water you have to plan for a surge of high water as well as a very low water. Clear the decks of anything that has windage. If a storm makes landfall with a west wind it will blow the water out and east wind will blow the water in. We use to go up the Caloshatche river past the locks for surge protection. Had to tie to trees because the bottom had bad holding. My advise is to plan for the worst and if things turn out for the good consider yourself lucky. Don't stay own your boat during a huricane. Watch the weather and enjoy the water.