Jose: Go away!!

[South of Heaven]

Its not looking good for NJ, NY and Massachusetts. This could be bad....still time for the track to change but its very ominous now. I really dont wanna haul my boat!!

https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/swells-and-rough-surf-jose-heading-us-east-coast

[JamesTXSD]

Jason,

Do you have a trailer for your Camano? If you were to haul the boat, does your boat yard have adequate stands, storage, and tie-down for the number of boaters that would also want to be hauled?

Seeing what Irma did to the BVIs and the charter facilities, I would have serious concerns about a boat in a marina in the path of a hurricane.

[thataway]

Track the tropics is an excellent web site for summaries of the various models etc.

Check your insurance policy, and see if it pays 50% or more, for the costs of hauling the boat for a named storm.

If you haul the boat--be sure that the yard is going to be above the level of the storm surge. The sufficient jack stands are placed under the boat (often the yard will skimp during times of stress). The jack stands are chained together--both across the boat, but fore and aft. A good yard, will have dead eyes embedded into the concrete pad your boat rests on. There should be chains with turnbuckles (pinned to prevent loosening) to either solid points on the boat, or heavy straps which go across the boat. ropes are not adequate, they will stretch. Unfortunately few yards go to the expense of securing boats properly. All canvas and anything which causes windage must be removed.

The decision to haul depends on the protection your boat has in its slip, both from wind, storm surge, and other boats which break loose. Cleats are not adequate to secure a boat during hurricanes--use pilings.

Also Jason, remember what I told you about the cored hull of the Camano --and that it can be indented by hitting a piling. For this reason, I would make fender boards up for any point which might hit a dock or piling, if you leave the boat in the water.

No one knows the path of the storm at this point. Remember that they were wrong about Irma--both in track--and in intensity. The damage was less because some cooler dry air came in onto the back side (Western segment) and weakened the storm surge and winds after the eye wall passed. If this dry air had not come, the damage would have been twice fold!

It boils down to your call. We all wish you the best--but be safe! Do not try and be on or near the boat after storm force winds occur.

[thataway]

The above is projected probabilities of Tropical Storm force winds from Boat US Storm Advisory site

This site also has a number of good graphics.

[South of Heaven]

James: NO, I don't have a trailer. My marina has a huge travel lift and a hydraulic trailer. I'll be on blocks and stands whenever the boat is on the hard (off season). YES, there is plenty of land storage for all the boats (600 +). This is one of the biggest marinas in the Boston area (probably the biggest actually but I can't verify that).

https://www.byy.com/marinas/brewer-marina-bay-boston-quincy-ma/


Bob: Thanks for all your tips and insight (as usual!). Yes, the superstructure of the Camano is cored but the hull is solid glass. I'll definitely call my carrier (Progressive) and find out all the "named" storm caveats. It's good to know for sure.

I'm on the boat for the weekend (at the marina). I got here around 7pm EST. Nobody is really worried about it yet and actually one of the guys (40' Back Cove cruiser) didn't even know what I was referring to!! Another neighbor said that the Dockmaster is monitoring it and will update us by Sunday afternoon. He also said the Dockmaster is in constant contact with the USCG in Boston (not sure if that's BS or not......)

Anyway, this weekend looks glorious in Boston and I'll be taking the boat out tmmrow with some friends. Sunday I'll just be hanging around the dock and gathering storm intel/prepping. Fingers crossed!

[thataway]

Jason, The hull from the waterline up is cored with foam, as is the superstructure. The hull only below the waterline is solid glass.
Video here, @ 1:57 on construction of the Camano Troll. Plus I have documented core crushing on 3 of these boats in the hull where they were hit against pilings during storms.
Regards,

[South of Heaven]

[jbdba01]

Well...I'm not expert, but I have Andrew and Irma under my belt (and a couple smaller ones).

Thataway has great advice. Here's my $.02.

It's interesting that I was just looking some aerial shots of the keys...some marinas fared well others did not. Almost looked like a tornado may have hit one. I would say that 70-80% of the marinas looked OK. Maybe more.

After having gone through Irma and having a Cat2 go overhead I'm pretty confident that a) a cat 1 wind will not flip your boat on a trailer or if tied down properly on jacks, b) surge is the key, c) if you're hit by a tornado you're hosed. I was lucky in that by boat was having trailer work done and ended up riding out the storm inside a concrete building. That said the field where I keep my boat didn't have a single boat flip (and there are some flats boats there) - there are also mobile homes/RVs and they fared ok too. So Cat1 doable - perhaps even a lower cat2.

If it were me I would check my insurance and haul out.

That said one way that people survived was to get there boats tied in the mangroves preferably in deep water canals. Pics attached. So if you know a deep water creek and tie down like mad...

If you have a mobile home insure it, move it, or leave it. They are bad news in a hurricane/tornado.

Good luck - that seems to be 80% of the equation.

Tied down...



Driftwood Marina - but right next to them it was fine.



Bit farther South...


Bad news for trailer parks - Big Pine and Ohio Key



[img][/img]

[South of Heaven]

Scary pics. Is that from Irma?

[thataway]

A lot of the damage from storms is from storm surge. In Irma there was significant surge and waves in the Keys--not as much by the time of second landfall at Marco Island. (Fortunately).

I know several folks in the Caribbean who had long range trawlers, who just went to sea to the South West. I also know of several yachts out of Miami which went out into the Gulf and did fine. Got to have a large boat and good range to do that.

The mangrove option is one used in the Caribbean. In one town, which is at sea level, all of the fishing boats except one are driven as far back into the mangroves as possible, and spider webbed with lines in all directions. The one boat is manned, and has a number of anchors out--usually the biggest and most powerful. Their job is to winch the other boats out of the mangroves after the storm passes. With a Cat 5, as Irma was in some parts of the Caribbean, even the boats in protected areas and mangroves didn't make it.

For tying boats on trailers down--if above the storm surge level--I have helical screw ground anchors. Two of mine are the size used for telephone poles--about 10" screw blades and about 6 foot shaft on the "anchor". I also have 4 mobile home screw anchors; These have about 6" screw blades and 3 foot shafts. These are screwed into the earth and straps over the boat will keep it from being picked up or flipped. If there are F3 on up tornados all bets are off.
Problem is often marinas do not put tie down bolts in concrete pads in their haul out area. One of my friends eventually won a law suit against a boat next to him during a hurricane where the owner was advised how to properly chain the boat down, and refused to do so. That boat fell over, damaging my friend's boat. The repair on my friend's boat was $17,000--don't know how much it was for the boat which fell over, but probably considerably more.


As for Jose--she will come close, but most likely down to tropical storm force by the time she gets to Ma. Still can be some storm surge, and waves in open areas. Hopefully Jason's boat is in protected area.

[jbdba01]

[JamesTXSD]

And looking to the east, Maria is now ramping up... predicted to be a Cat 2 or 3 by mid-week.

[thataway]

Looks bad for the upper Caribbean...but hopefully it will go North....

[jbdba01]

Shutters up until end of Oct or second HOA notice.

Seems my generator is finding its way home after being lent out to folks who needed it.

Helped with some clean up yesterday with some folks who were flooded out. I'm somewhat used to/calloused to seeing poor people overseas, but this was the first time I've seen people in the US who didn't have much to lose, lose everything. They have zero now.

Gotta say FL Crackers have a lotta pride - I was trying to get the guy from sleeping in his truck (his house is toast) and he wouldn't leave. He's not mentally ill - just prideful. "I'm not used to handouts." I pointed him to several local churches - I doubt he'll take up that offer. Tough as nails sleeping in that boggy area. I'll check in on him in a few days.

He showed me a picture of his chickens and dogs on the roof. I thought the water had risen to his windows - turns out it was all the way up to his roofline.

I feel for the folks in the Keys, but acting local.

[South of Heaven]

Update ***

So, my area (Massachusetts) won't have a hurricane to deal with. BUT its definitely a tropical storm with areas south getting the worst (cape cod).

Im not hauling out (and neither is anyone else at my marina in Boston). I will be taking down all my canvas however and also adding a 2nd line to my stern and bow. My area will be getting winds sustained around 40 mph or so.

Not too bad....but Im still worried since its my new boat! My baby!!!