Advice for Hurricane Matthew

[Mike_NC]

OK, I took the mainsail and furling headsail down and stowed them. I lashed down the boom, there will be some upward force (not all sheer) on the cleats. The only other option to secure to was the aluminum toe rail. The boom has an end traveler, too.

I have never taken the headsail down, I have owned the boat about a year. I received a new headsail about a month ago and needed to figure out how to raise and lower it anyway. Hopefully, I'll have a boat to use it on.


Mike

[Mike_NC]

Thanks all for the advice. Hopefully, Matthew will stay far off shore.

I have recently just bought the sailboat but I thought I might tell you about the the last time I had to prepare for a hurricane in a marine environment. In the mid 80s, I was the Damage Control Assistant (DCA) on a ballistic missile submarine out of Charleston, SC. We were in port getting ready for a nuclear reactor refueling and the shipyard had already started getting us prepped. There was a hurricane coming up the coast and the Navy ordered all ships out of Charleston to sea. We had already:
1) removed 4 ballistic missiles
2) taken off all our torpedos
3) removed a necessary sea water pump for replacement which was on order
4) removed the floating wire antenna leaving a hole in the hull
5) put several tons of lead in the reactor compartment for uses as temporary shielding
6) removed our stores
7) etc.

We had to cannibalize a freshwater pump to put in place of the sea water pump. We put a blank flange over the floating wire antenna hole (this way never pressure tested and violated submarine procedures). We moved the lead out of the reactor compartment and put it in the torpedo room. One of the responsibilities of the DCA is to do the compensation and trim calculations before submerging. I purposely made us light because I did not want to us to be heavy and find out the blank flange that we installed was leaking. After opening the main ballast tanks we still had to bring in a lot of water to submerge.

The hurricane never hit Charleston, it hit us out in the Atlantic. We didn't feel anything at 150 feet. The surface guys did not fare as well.

Mike

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by JOHNMARDALL

I live and work in South Florida, and have been through several hurricanes, with the Intracoastal littered with wrecked boats, some of which had smashed into the undersides of bridges. If your boat is in the track of the eye, the only reliable course of action is to have it hauled. Of course, the e storm might fizzle out or change direction, but if you wait until it's a ccertainty, you'll be on a long waiting list of boats to be be hauled. Decisions, decisions.
Good luck
John Mardall
Vetus Maxwell Group

many who have actually experienced canes over em will attest to the FACT that even hauling is unreliable and not safe.
safe marinas are not always safe.
mangroves are best bet, BUT.....
good luck and may the gods be with you. you need all of em
this aint gonna fizzle.
false hope is a bad thing. reality and overprep well in advance together are the only way to survive these killers.
REAL hope is that after proper preparation that you actually survive the storm.
remember the lull you will experience is not weakening of storm.
all storms have calm periods before them.
be aware of this.
calm can last to a half day, i have experienced. then BAM. drop your booms if you have not so done-- keeping em up is not a good idea-- drop them and lash to boat securely, not just cleat, but part of boat where able. i lashed my mizzen thru my stern hawse port and stbd, and my main to my mizzen mast and scuppers port and starboard. dropping booms also diminished wind drag, easily done via topping lift.
sunset the night before storm is incredible, as is the sunrise immediately following.
life is good if you get to see that sunrise. take and post pix of this!!!.
be safe--
if you think you need more anchors--place em now.
there is no later.
if you are immediately under eye--you need to pump bilge during that down time, as your boat collects rain into every opening plus new ones. you will have no more than 30 mins to get this done and leave before hell returns in full force. mebbe 20.
i pumped 6 inches of water after first half of patricia--2 inches after-- funny my boat was knocked over into dock second half by the 215 mph winds and 250 mph gusting.
second half no one could see and save as it was white out conditions. we could see well the boats until second part.
you are in mother natures practical joking hands.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Mike_NC

Thanks all for the advice. Hopefully, Matthew will stay far off shore.

I have recently just bought the sailboat but I thought I might tell you about the the last time I had to prepare for a hurricane in a marine environment. In the mid 80s, I was the Damage Control Assistant (DCA) on a ballistic missile submarine out of Charleston, SC. We were in port getting ready for a nuclear reactor refueling and the shipyard had already started getting us prepped. There was a hurricane coming up the coast and the Navy ordered all ships out of Charleston to sea. We had already:
1) removed 4 ballistic missiles
2) taken off all our torpedos
3) removed a necessary sea water pump for replacement which was on order
4) removed the floating wire antenna leaving a hole in the hull
5) put several tons of lead in the reactor compartment for uses as temporary shielding
6) removed our stores
7) etc.

We had to cannibalize a freshwater pump to put in place of the sea water pump. We put a blank flange over the floating wire antenna hole (this way never pressure tested and violated submarine procedures). We moved the lead out of the reactor compartment and put it in the torpedo room. One of the responsibilities of the DCA is to do the compensation and trim calculations before submerging. I purposely made us light because I did not want to us to be heavy and find out the blank flange that we installed was leaking. After opening the main ballast tanks we still had to bring in a lot of water to submerge.

The hurricane never hit Charleston, it hit us out in the Atlantic. We didn't feel anything at 150 feet. The surface guys did not fare as well.

Mike

Really?

[Mike_NC]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Really?

It was quite a sight on the Cooper River with all the Navy ships and submarines trying to get out to sea. One surface ship apparently lost steerage and was blocking the channel for awhile. I think our Captain took it as a
challenge to beat the other boats and ships out to sea even though we were not in a good condition to get underway.

[CarlF]

The short pilings are the first problem. If the water rises enough to put the boat above the pilings, the rope on any anchor you set wills stretch enough to position the boat perfectly for the piling to bang holes in her bottom. This is what destroys many boats in hurricanes.

I would temporarily extend the height of the pilings by getting some 2x8's at HD and big galvanized lag bolts to bolt them to the sides of the piling. Set up cross brace from the top of the 2x8 to the other side of the dock and horizontally across the front. So far this is a slow moving storm so there will be a lot of time for the water to rise. Assume the water could rise 6' and the waves could be bouncing the boat up and down another 4ft. Secure the boat with that in mind.

The whole thing will cost less than $100 and you can take it apart after the storm and store it for the next time.

Be sure to get some more fenders to.

Put three times as many lines on as normal. Don't have any lines less than about 6ft long as you want them long enough to stretch to cushion the shock load. Put anti-chafing wherever a line rubs. Remember, the line will stretch so the chafe spot will move with it. Clear vinyl hose is a great anti-chafe but torn up blue jeans will do. Old fire hose is great too but someone's probably already beaten you to the local firehouse.

You've still got a lot of time to get ready. And if this storm misses, you'll be ready for next time.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Mike_NC

It was quite a sight on the Cooper River with all the Navy ships and submarines trying to get out to sea. One surface ship apparently lost steerage and was blocking the channel for awhile. I think our Captain took it as a
challenge to beat the other boats and ships out to sea even though we were not in a good condition to get underway.

I don't recall hearing who lost steerage. A guess, would be the Holland or the Hunley whichever one was here and not in Guam. They are about my age.

They could have just sank the fish and the Boomers in the river. Can't see a patch on the pressure vessel to put a Boomer to sea?

Probably no one else cares about Hugo. Fortunately the eye came through Charleston. Awendaw caught hell being north of the eye.

I hope we are west of this one.

[Mike_NC]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I don't recall hearing who lost steerage. A guess, would be the Holland or the Hunley whichever one was here and not in Guam. They are about my age.

They could have just sank the fish and the Boomers in the river. Can't see a patch on the pressure vessel to put a Boomer to sea?

Probably no one else cares about Hugo. Fortunately the eye came through Charleston. Awendaw caught hell being north of the eye.

I hope we are west of this one.

It may have been one of the destroyers/frigates or their tender, I never knew which ship it was. I think all the subs made it out, I think a couple of surface ships stayed at their dock.

I don't remember which tenders where there. We were out of Kings Bay, our off crew was in Charleston and we brought the boat up there for overhaul.

I wasn't in Charleston for Hugo but when I visited later the city looked pretty good. It had been long enough that most of the repairs had been done. I do remember all the pine trees laid over driving north up to Georgetown.

Hope we miss this one,

Mike

[JPA Cate]

Mike,

Uncivilized usually mentions this, but since he didn't, or I missed it if he did, also secure your head foil from which you removed the headsail. You want to keep it from flailing around in the wind.

Good luck with your prep. If you can get hold of a couple of 30 lb. Danforths, you should be able to pull your boat far enough off the dock, do move to where the piles are taller, you could get 10-12 ft. storm surge. Make sure the lines lead fair.

Ann

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by CarlF

The short pilings are the first problem. If the water rises enough to put the boat above the pilings, the rope on any anchor you set wills stretch enough to position the boat perfectly for the piling to bang holes in her bottom. This is what destroys many boats in hurricanes.

Be sure to get some more fenders to.

Put three times as many lines on as normal. Don't have any lines less than about 6ft long as you want them long enough to stretch to cushion the shock load. Put anti-chafing wherever a line rubs. Remember, the line will stretch so the chafe spot will move with it. Clear vinyl hose is a great anti-chafe but torn up blue jeans will do. Old fire hose is great too but someone's probably already beaten you to the local firehouse.

You've still got a lot of time to get ready. And if this storm misses, you'll be ready for next time.

I concur on most of the above, though using either type of hose for chafing gear can cause problems. As both are waterproof, & thus prevent water from getting to the lines & keeping them cool. Given that every time a line stretches much, it heats up internally from absorbing the energy imparted by stretching. So that if/when it gets too hot from this, it melts from the inside out & fails. Something about nylon lines which is well documented.


Edit: Thanks Ann, I thought about addressing the headfoil issue, but let it slide for once. Muchas Gracias.

[lancelot9898]

The firehoses that I have had a rubber liner which I removed allowing the rain to penetrate.

[Mike_NC]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Mike,

Uncivilized usually mentions this, but since he didn't, or I missed it if he did, also secure your head foil from which you removed the headsail. You want to keep it from flailing around in the wind.

Good luck with your prep. If you can get hold of a couple of 30 lb. Danforths, you should be able to pull your boat far enough off the dock, do move to where the piles are taller, you could get 10-12 ft. storm surge. Make sure the lines lead fair.

Ann

How do I go about securing the foils attached to the forestay, wrap the halyard around it?

Thanks,

Mike

[VirginiaBoy]

Back in 2004, at Cape Marina at Port Canaveral Florida, they were digging holes with a backhoe and setting the sailboats down on the ground with the keel in the hole. I thought that was a pretty good idea. kev

[Cadence]

A well built cradle is better than jack stands. Digging a hole?

[Iodine]

Originally Posted by lancelot9898

The firehoses that I have had a rubber liner which I removed allowing the rain to penetrate.

Is there any special trick to removing the rubber liner?