Jere Lull wrote in message ...
In article ,
(Parallax) wrote:
My sailboat (28' S2, 7800 lbs) is at a dock at Carabelle, FL with
fixed finger piers. The piling topss are no more than 7' above high
water. TS Bonnie is approaching. Options a snip
3. Tie her as best I can and check my insurance.
Option 3 may work but I might expect 10-12' storm surge and 120 mph
winds from the south as the storm goes ashore to the west. From my
dock, I can look due south along the shore to Dog Island Sound about
1/2 mile away, not exactly well protected from the south where the
wind will be blowing from.
If you haven't already, set your lines (at deck level) as long as
possible -- bow-out if you can't cross your stern lines normally.
LONG spring lines from well aft to the bow on both sides; none to keep
the boat from backing out.
If possible, cross the bow and stern breast lines to the second pilings
over: your neighbors' outside pilings, so you have extra length.
Start the motor and try to drive the boat into the dock, pilings and
such. Adjust the lines until you can't hit anything despite your best
efforts and lock them there.
Then move the lines to the top of the pilings and "pin" them with a nail
bent over them. Thus, when the boat rises to the top of the pilings,
your lines will be properly set and you'll have another 5 or so feet
more surge. Remember that sometimes the tide goes out abnormally just
before; many boats were hanging from lines in our marina.
Put a full set of longer lines tied off at the boat and adjustable from
the dock. If the primary lines get too tight, they can be cut and
you'll still be tied on. (If you'll be on the boat, you can reverse, of
course; I'm allowing for others to adjust your lines in a pinch)
When Isabele came through, that's pretty much what most of our marina
did and only a few boats had any damage through a 9+ surge. We didn't
have appreciable wind, though.
Oh, and of course anything that can be removed from topside (sails,
bimini, dodger) should be below.
Driving down to Carabelle from Tallahassee, there were many boats
being hauled away from the coast as Bonnie gets closer. Very little
wind at Carebelle, a typical sticky August day. Hardly anybody on
nearby boats tying them although I did finally meet the guy on the Cal
34 next to me.
I bought 200' of 1/2" nylon anchor line for use as spring line. By
being fairly careful about how it was run, I was able to get four
spring lines without cutting it so i will have a new anchor line
later.
While standing there wiping the sweat, I noticed a woman taking pics
of me and my boat. I figgered she was an insurance person doing a
"Pre" pic but she said she was from the AP (Associated Press). Its
gotta be a slow news day when newsies appear in Carabelle.
Carabelle is my kind of place, bedraggled rusting shrimp boats with
pieces of plywood nailed over holes, local fishing boats with anchors
made from auto axles welded together, sailboats looking older than
their age from the constant solar UV and heat, tarpaper sheetmetal and
weatherbeaten wood shacks in the scrub oak woods. This is Florida the
way it should be but it is almost gone as my Carabelle paradise has
been "discovered" by South Florida and Yankee scum. The entire
waterfront has been bought up by foreigners who have built condo trash
on the shore. The old drugstore has been turned into an artsy-fartsy
gift shop. If my boat is destroyed, my consolation will be that some
of this creeping cancer of "civilization" will be destroyed too and
maybe insurance will become too expensive for them.
TOURISTS GO HOME!
I want to protect my boat, but I pray for devastating Hurricanes.
David OHara