Boat Survived Hurricane Charley?

Any mooring tips that they could share used during Hurricane Charley?

My pontoon boat did fine in 100MPH+ winds.
I have a small cove next to my lift and I tied all 4 corners to trees and
pilings with long lines, pointed into the wind. I only had water in one life
jacket locker. The console and fence was plastered with leaves and other plant
material.

Good to hear that worked out for you.
Did you use any lines midship? I wouldn't think that 4 lines would have
been enough.


"Greg" wrote in message
...
My pontoon boat did fine in 100MPH+ winds.
I have a small cove next to my lift and I tied all 4 corners to trees and
pilings with long lines, pointed into the wind. I only had water in one
life
jacket locker. The console and fence was plastered with leaves and other
plant
material.

Did you use any lines midship? I wouldn't think that 4 lines would have
been enough.

There really isn't anything solid midship on a pontoon to tie something to. I
tied off to the lift rings on the pontoons with 5/8 nylon. I had my anchor out
off the bow hook but that wasn't going to hold much if the lines failed.

Thanks I can see your point. Hey maybe some big C-Clamps may work in a
pinch just a thought.
I have a 26ft aft cabin and it didn't come w/ cleats either midship, But I
installed them after my first weekend out, I was rocking back and forth in
the slip all weekend long. I had no place to secure spring lines except the
bow / stern. It was a kind lesson to me if the weather goes bad.




"Greg" wrote in message
...
Did you use any lines midship? I wouldn't think that 4 lines would have
been enough.

There really isn't anything solid midship on a pontoon to tie something
to. I
tied off to the lift rings on the pontoons with 5/8 nylon. I had my anchor
out
off the bow hook but that wasn't going to hold much if the lines failed.

Buy a boat lift. Raise it to near maximum height, tie the boat to the
pylons, and then tie the lift cradle to the pylons. Every person I know who
secured their boat this way still have their boats intact.




"Networkin" wrote in message
m...
Boat Survived Hurricane Charley?

Any mooring tips that they could share used during Hurricane Charley?

Buy a boat lift. Raise it to near maximum height, tie the boat to the
pylons, and then tie the lift cradle to the pylons. Every person I know who
secured their boat this way still have their boats intact.

That's great until the storm surge goes over the top of the lift and the boat
goes through the roof.
BTDT
Friday the rails of my boat were about even with the boat lift roof ... then
the tree fell on it. Fortunately my boat was tied about 25' away in open water.

"Greg" wrote in message
...
Buy a boat lift. Raise it to near maximum height, tie the boat to the
pylons, and then tie the lift cradle to the pylons. Every person I know
who
secured their boat this way still have their boats intact.

That's great until the storm surge goes over the top of the lift and the
boat
goes through the roof.
BTDT
Friday the rails of my boat were about even with the boat lift roof ...
then
the tree fell on it. Fortunately my boat was tied about 25' away in open
water.

My boat was lifted at least 10 feet from mean high tide, and I live at the
end of a canal. It would have taken a helluva storm surge to lift it off
the pilings...but I had ropes tied to the pilings just in case.

"Networkin" wrote in message om...
Boat Survived Hurricane Charley?

Any mooring tips that they could share used during Hurricane Charley?

================================================== ==

We put the small boat on the trailer, strapped it down, and parked the
trailer in the driveway. No damage fortunately. We took the big boat
as far east of the predicted storm track as we could get, and then
tied up in a secure, sheltered spot. No problems or damage there
either. There was a lot of eastbound traffic on the Okeechobee
Waterway on Thursday afternoon, and not everyone made it past the
first lock before they closed. Returning on Saturday was interesting
because the bridges are operated by Florida DOT instead of the Army
Corps of Engineers. Several bridges were unmanned until emergency
power was started up, and sufficient operating personnel were located.

There was a lot of eastbound traffic on the Okeechobee
Waterway on Thursday afternoon, and not everyone made it past the
first lock before they closed.

Did you see the guy in the sail boat who was trapped outside the Sanibel
bridge? He didn't have an engine so he wasn't willing to try getting around
Boca Grand pass and down the inside to the river. Last I heard his boat was
smashed on the bridge and he was missing. If he had gone south and holed up in
New Pass or even the cove in Big Carlos he probably would have been fine. Worst
case is he would be up on the beach. Better than dead.
We had a little west wind at the end but most of the storm was straight out of
the south. We spent a lot of it on the front porch, hiding behind the south
wall and watching our neighbor's stuff fly by.
A 3' piece of aluminum soffit whizzing by at 90 or so is an awesome sight, a
piece buried edge on, a couple inches into a palm tree trunk is more so.