Latest projected track puts Ivan hitting Mobile Bay. But it will make a beeline towards my house (extreme eastern Louisiana) before making that turn to the north... well, HOPEFULLY making that turn to the north.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ftp/graphics/AT ... 40853W.gif
I'm trying to figure out what I should do with our boat, which is currently in a slip. The marina is reasonably well protected, BUT the pilings are somewhat short... I'd have to do some elaborate dock line tying to get it secure enough to feel comfortable.
I was leaning towards pulling it out of the water and taking it home, and I do have my new tires/rims on now, but the lights need to be replaced, and I also noticed that one wheel was not turning well (like the brakes were applied a little bit), and the other won't turn at all. I'm hoping that the brakes are just lightly frozen against the drum, and that it will break loose as soon as I start to pull the trailer.
But regardless, I'm trying to figure out what to do with the boat. I may or may not be evacuating... will decide late today. But I need to get moving on taking care of the boat no matter what.
Here are what I see as my options:
1) Secure boat in slip tie up well, lines as loose as they can be, remove sails & bimini, secure boom well, etc. Potential storm surge is the concern, but if the storm does indeed hit to the east of us, I'm thinking that the storm surge would not be as much of a factor, since the winds would tend to be coming from the northeast (pushing water south, away from my bayou).
2) Bring boat home I'm not even sure if it's possible for me to do this, given the condition of my trailer, or if I'll have enough time (since I still have some work to do to the trailer before I can use it). But, assuming I can do it, is this my best choice? My neighbor pointed out that a tree could fall on it in my driveway. Indeed, it seems like wind is going to be more of a problem than flooding from storm surge or rain.
3) Flee with boat I am currently undecided as to whether or not I'll be leaving. But, one option that has been floated is simply leaving and taking the boat with us (and maybe sleeping on it, parked at a truck stop or something). I'm nervous about the trailer's ability to make a trip of any appreciable distance though, plus at this moment, I'm not sure if I have enough time for this. By the time I got the boat secured and unrigged, and pulled out of the water, I probably wouldn't ready to leave until Wednesday, and that's when EVERYONE will be leaving.
Sorry to ramble on and on... I'm just a little nervous. Yes, the boat is insured, so there will be no heroics, but still, I don't want to lose her and want to try to do what I can.
--Mike
edited to add link
Hurricane might be coming... what to do, what do do?
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Chip Hindes
- Admiral
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Dimitri-2000X-Tampa
- Admiral
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Mike, I think you've hit the nail on the head. Its a matter of priorities.
Your boat will be safest towed away from the area, and second safest on the trailer in your yard. Unless your whole yard is surrounded by trees, you should park somewhere where a tree can't hit it. If this is not an option, park it down the street or something.
The problem with leaving it in the water is that even if yours is tied well, other people's boats (the ones who have not been back to the Marina in over a year) will come loose and still can trash your boat. As you said, provided it hits East, you won't have a surge problem.
What a lot of people don't understand is the issue of time. If you only have 12 hours to get ready for example, you have to decide whether you will spend part of that time messing with your boat/trailer, or whether you have other things to do. I spent about 4 hours getting my boat ready for Hurricane Charley and my wife was not too happy about it. With the 3 drills we have already gone through this last month, everytime, I had to decide to leave the boat so that it wouldn't jeopardize my family's evacuation plans.
Mind you, this would be a lot different if I were still single and without kids...then for sure, that boat would be hitched up to the back of my van when I left town.
Good luck to you and everyone in that general area. I hope and pray that this storm weakens considerably in the next 36 hours. And the nightmare still doesn't stop with Ivan, we now have Jean out by the islands to worry about... you would think mother nature could cut us a bit of a break by now.
Your boat will be safest towed away from the area, and second safest on the trailer in your yard. Unless your whole yard is surrounded by trees, you should park somewhere where a tree can't hit it. If this is not an option, park it down the street or something.
The problem with leaving it in the water is that even if yours is tied well, other people's boats (the ones who have not been back to the Marina in over a year) will come loose and still can trash your boat. As you said, provided it hits East, you won't have a surge problem.
What a lot of people don't understand is the issue of time. If you only have 12 hours to get ready for example, you have to decide whether you will spend part of that time messing with your boat/trailer, or whether you have other things to do. I spent about 4 hours getting my boat ready for Hurricane Charley and my wife was not too happy about it. With the 3 drills we have already gone through this last month, everytime, I had to decide to leave the boat so that it wouldn't jeopardize my family's evacuation plans.
Mind you, this would be a lot different if I were still single and without kids...then for sure, that boat would be hitched up to the back of my van when I left town.
Good luck to you and everyone in that general area. I hope and pray that this storm weakens considerably in the next 36 hours. And the nightmare still doesn't stop with Ivan, we now have Jean out by the islands to worry about... you would think mother nature could cut us a bit of a break by now.
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kmclemore
- Site Admin
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- Location: Ambler, PA -- MACX2018A898 w/ Suzuki DF60AV -- 78 BW Harpoon 4.6 -- 2018 Tahoe 550TF w/ 150 Merc
Yes, I agree with Chip and Tim.. get that boat out and get it out now. You can always better control what happens on land that at sea.
Do as Tim suggested with the rigging and ballast, and I'd even consider putting some of my heavier equipment on board as well as filling the water tanks, too. This is one of the few circumstances where a heavy boat is a happy boat. Also, if you have time, remove anything you can from topside and put it below - grills and such - to reduce the wind signature of the boat as much as possible.
If at all possible, park it far away from trees, power lines and any even remotely 'suspect' structures that might blow into or onto your Mac. Actually, you might want to consider parking it in the middle of a WalMart-like mall parking lot.. the farther from any other 'stuff' the better... and if you can determine the prevailing wind direction, you might think to point it into the wind when you park it - don't know if that will make any difference but it couldn't hurt - and then run a couple of long lines from the trailer to some distant concrete lamp posts to prevent it from going walkabout (or leave it attached to your heaviest tow vehicle).
Good luck, Mike, and we'll keep you, and all the other boat owners, in our prayers.
(Oh, and a second thought on that parking lot idea... make sure it is well drained and is not one normally subject to flooding!)
Do as Tim suggested with the rigging and ballast, and I'd even consider putting some of my heavier equipment on board as well as filling the water tanks, too. This is one of the few circumstances where a heavy boat is a happy boat. Also, if you have time, remove anything you can from topside and put it below - grills and such - to reduce the wind signature of the boat as much as possible.
If at all possible, park it far away from trees, power lines and any even remotely 'suspect' structures that might blow into or onto your Mac. Actually, you might want to consider parking it in the middle of a WalMart-like mall parking lot.. the farther from any other 'stuff' the better... and if you can determine the prevailing wind direction, you might think to point it into the wind when you park it - don't know if that will make any difference but it couldn't hurt - and then run a couple of long lines from the trailer to some distant concrete lamp posts to prevent it from going walkabout (or leave it attached to your heaviest tow vehicle).
Good luck, Mike, and we'll keep you, and all the other boat owners, in our prayers.
(Oh, and a second thought on that parking lot idea... make sure it is well drained and is not one normally subject to flooding!)
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greybird-M
- Chief Steward
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what to do
Well, my Mac is on a cradle, braced by three 'typical' sailboat supports on either side, provided by my boatyard crew. She survived Frances just fine, tucked in among other powerboats also on cradles and just west of a three-story boat storage facility. I tied everything down as best as I could and this time took the Bimini home. Winds were reported to have hit 124 MPH at Port Canaveral during Frances and that is about 8 to 10 miles to our east. I can report that NASA's VAB lost over an ACRE of aluminum sections on (primarily) the south side of the building (you can see inside-very erie) and the orbiter tile facility had half of its roof peeled back, the VAB sustained some roof damage as did the PCC (Payload Checkout and Control). KSC is about 14 miles due north of my marina, so I am assuming that I was in a protected area at my marina. Winds at my house started from the north, clocked around to coming from the east, then finished up with a hearty south wind which took out about 25 shingle tabs off of my roof. I have not taken a look at my trailer, also stored at the marina, but I think I will take a look at it ASAP and make sure it rolls and brakes ok. I thought of adding water ballast to my Mac, but she has already rolled once this summer (due to a 'normal' Florida thunderstorm), before the yard crew braced her on the cradle-I think that the hull would not take a roll off the cradle with water ballast in. I know how you feel-helpless for the most part, and I wish you luck with your loved ones, boat, house, etc. Others have posted good advice and I am just trying to share my experience.
-Walt
-Walt
Mike,
I went thru this last year in Oriental,NC. I left my boat in the slip. And it made it thru unscathed. However there were some differences. The Hurricane was not as strong and my Marina has weathered several other Hurricanes and has come thru with no damage to boats. The marina is pretty protected from the winds.
All slips have high pylons and pylons on both sides of the boat. All boats have double lines tied on whenever there is a pending hurricane. Other times the extra lines are to be left in the boat so dockmaster can get to them.
During the storms dockmaster will re adjust lines if necessary.
Of course there is only so much someone can do without risking life and limb.
They even moved by boat deeper into the Marina because they felt it was a "light sailboat" and was too close to the wind wave action.
I was ready to take my boat out even though I had zero experience dropping the mast . In talking to the dockmaster he advised against my attempting to motor the boat across the harbor to the public boat ramp because the winds were already whipping up waves.
However if you have a place that the boat will be safe at and away from trees than as posted above it will be probably and statistically better to take it out.
I have seen some of the pics of boats in Charlie I do not think my boat marina would have faired well either if they had gotten hit that bad.
Keep in mind you may also have a bad bearing making your wheel not spin.
The sad thing is it is all timing. When do you take it out ?
-Don B
I went thru this last year in Oriental,NC. I left my boat in the slip. And it made it thru unscathed. However there were some differences. The Hurricane was not as strong and my Marina has weathered several other Hurricanes and has come thru with no damage to boats. The marina is pretty protected from the winds.
All slips have high pylons and pylons on both sides of the boat. All boats have double lines tied on whenever there is a pending hurricane. Other times the extra lines are to be left in the boat so dockmaster can get to them.
During the storms dockmaster will re adjust lines if necessary.
Of course there is only so much someone can do without risking life and limb.
They even moved by boat deeper into the Marina because they felt it was a "light sailboat" and was too close to the wind wave action.
I was ready to take my boat out even though I had zero experience dropping the mast . In talking to the dockmaster he advised against my attempting to motor the boat across the harbor to the public boat ramp because the winds were already whipping up waves.
However if you have a place that the boat will be safe at and away from trees than as posted above it will be probably and statistically better to take it out.
I have seen some of the pics of boats in Charlie I do not think my boat marina would have faired well either if they had gotten hit that bad.
Keep in mind you may also have a bad bearing making your wheel not spin.
The sad thing is it is all timing. When do you take it out ?
-Don B
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Mark Prouty
- Admiral
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- Location: Madison, WI Former MacGregor 26X Owner
If you REALLY want to see a picture of a mess.......must be over 100 sailboats in a yard in Grenada that all fell over on themselves during Ivan. Check out www.msnbc.com.........on the front page (today) click on the Ivan "Slide Show".....and then click on picture #12 (at least today).........just amazing !
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Duane Dunn, Allegro
- Admiral
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- Location: Bellevue, Wa '96 26x, Tohatsu 90 TLDI and Plug In Hybrid Electric drive
- Contact:
Mark,
It depends on where you park the trailer.
Boat US had a article in their recent magazine about how boats did at 3 different marinas in hurricane Isabel. One of the marina, Jordan Point, elected to haul every boat. They pulled 80 boats and put them all on jackstands. The 8' storm surge with 6' breaking waves destroyed the docks and lifted all 80 boats off their stands and pinned them against a hill. All the boats were damaged and about 1/4 were total loses.
Just because the boat is out of the water does not mean it is safe. You need to get to protected high ground where your boat won't be smashed by someone elses who did a poor job of preparing. With a Mac it's so simple to pull the boat and trailer it inland why would you leave it at the marina?
That is an amazing picture, looks like all those boats met a similar fate. There are jackstands lying around the area.
It depends on where you park the trailer.
Boat US had a article in their recent magazine about how boats did at 3 different marinas in hurricane Isabel. One of the marina, Jordan Point, elected to haul every boat. They pulled 80 boats and put them all on jackstands. The 8' storm surge with 6' breaking waves destroyed the docks and lifted all 80 boats off their stands and pinned them against a hill. All the boats were damaged and about 1/4 were total loses.
Just because the boat is out of the water does not mean it is safe. You need to get to protected high ground where your boat won't be smashed by someone elses who did a poor job of preparing. With a Mac it's so simple to pull the boat and trailer it inland why would you leave it at the marina?
That is an amazing picture, looks like all those boats met a similar fate. There are jackstands lying around the area.
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Frank C
mike,
I'm sure my comment is anti-climactic, since you've probably made your choice hours ago. Nonetheless, the key element I read was that your Marina's pilings are short. If a big surge arrives, that's a recipe for disaster.
I appreciated the hints from some of the FL guys. Seems to me the boat should fare best on the trailer with the ballast tank filled. Just guessing this might best be adjacent to your home, since I'd not want to tow the boat during an evacuation, especially if it's dragging a brake.
My trailer started dragging a brake when I didn't know it ... 30 miles later there was smoke rising from that wheel, the brake was toast, the bearings were toast, and the wheel wouldn't turn hardly at all.
(Hope you fared well).
I'm sure my comment is anti-climactic, since you've probably made your choice hours ago. Nonetheless, the key element I read was that your Marina's pilings are short. If a big surge arrives, that's a recipe for disaster.
I appreciated the hints from some of the FL guys. Seems to me the boat should fare best on the trailer with the ballast tank filled. Just guessing this might best be adjacent to your home, since I'd not want to tow the boat during an evacuation, especially if it's dragging a brake.
My trailer started dragging a brake when I didn't know it ... 30 miles later there was smoke rising from that wheel, the brake was toast, the bearings were toast, and the wheel wouldn't turn hardly at all.
(Hope you fared well).
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mike
- Captain
- Posts: 812
- Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2003 8:06 pm
- Location: MS Gulf Coast "Wind Dancer" 98 26X
Thanks for all the advice... I checked in every now and then as I was working on things, and it helped me make my decision. Actually I initially planned to get the boat secured for staying in the slip (taking down sails and bimini, securing boom, etc... everything except the extra lines), then determine by tomorrow morning whether I would be hauling it out or leaving it in (in which case I'd go and double up the lines, and do other final checks), based on the latest predictions of the track of the storm, and, more importantly, whether or not I could get the trailer ready in time (this was doubtful).
When I got to the marina, the tide was higher than I expected, and it was pretty windy too... I was concerned that I'd have a very difficult time getting the boat on the trailer in the even windier conditions that would likely be here tomorrow, so I decided to try as hard as I could to get it out of the water today. After doing everything except lower the mast (didn't have the mast raising thing with me), including stashing the boom down below, I headed home and began furiously working on the trailer.
The wheels appear to be turning ok now, and I got the new lights installed. The wheels did concern me, but I knew I'd be driving pretty slow on my route home.
The actual act of getting the mast down was a lot easier than I thought, but all the other "stuff" (stays, halyards, spreaders, furler, etc.) complicate things a bit in the process of securing the mast. Towing the boat with my little truck is not very fun... I stick to back roads, and give myself plenty of stopping distance. This was my first time really towing the boat (aside from just towing it around the old marina where we used to store it mast-up on the trailer), and was my first time rigging the boat in its mast-down trailering condition.
So, it's now at my house, where it will remain throughout the storm (I'm almost definitely not evacuating, though my wife and kids might). Tomorrow I'll decide exactly where to position it based on projected wind direction, and will block up the trailer, fill the ballast tank, and secure the stuff on deck better.
Thanks again for all the advice!
--Mike
When I got to the marina, the tide was higher than I expected, and it was pretty windy too... I was concerned that I'd have a very difficult time getting the boat on the trailer in the even windier conditions that would likely be here tomorrow, so I decided to try as hard as I could to get it out of the water today. After doing everything except lower the mast (didn't have the mast raising thing with me), including stashing the boom down below, I headed home and began furiously working on the trailer.
The wheels appear to be turning ok now, and I got the new lights installed. The wheels did concern me, but I knew I'd be driving pretty slow on my route home.
The actual act of getting the mast down was a lot easier than I thought, but all the other "stuff" (stays, halyards, spreaders, furler, etc.) complicate things a bit in the process of securing the mast. Towing the boat with my little truck is not very fun... I stick to back roads, and give myself plenty of stopping distance. This was my first time really towing the boat (aside from just towing it around the old marina where we used to store it mast-up on the trailer), and was my first time rigging the boat in its mast-down trailering condition.
So, it's now at my house, where it will remain throughout the storm (I'm almost definitely not evacuating, though my wife and kids might). Tomorrow I'll decide exactly where to position it based on projected wind direction, and will block up the trailer, fill the ballast tank, and secure the stuff on deck better.
Thanks again for all the advice!
--Mike
Hurricane Advice
Sorry I didn't see your post earier. I've spent little time on the computer since Frances made landfall on my home port.
You did good getting the boat out of the water. Now get it completely away from trees - I see lots of trees in the photo. They probably won't be there if you get a Cat 4 or 5. Frances was only 105mph and you couldn't believe the number of trees that it took out.
If you plan to stay and have time, buy 4 augers and secure the boat and trailer to the ground. IMO the 1200 lbs of water, by itself, won't be sufficient to prevent the boat and trailer from being moved, rolled etc.
The mast sitting on top is a real target. Would be more protected if you could tie it underneath the boat, put it in the swimming pool etc.
If you don't live in a fortress go to a shelter or leave town. This is serious life threatening stuff.
Good Luck
You did good getting the boat out of the water. Now get it completely away from trees - I see lots of trees in the photo. They probably won't be there if you get a Cat 4 or 5. Frances was only 105mph and you couldn't believe the number of trees that it took out.
If you plan to stay and have time, buy 4 augers and secure the boat and trailer to the ground. IMO the 1200 lbs of water, by itself, won't be sufficient to prevent the boat and trailer from being moved, rolled etc.
The mast sitting on top is a real target. Would be more protected if you could tie it underneath the boat, put it in the swimming pool etc.
If you don't live in a fortress go to a shelter or leave town. This is serious life threatening stuff.
Good Luck