What a storm we hit!!!

[CaptTPT]

Glad you made it home safely. I cruise the Columbia as well, out of Portland. The only time I have run into enjoyable wind anything near that has been cruising up your way. Glad it usually stays up river!

 

[Captain K]

Just curious...why did you not stay put to allow the storm to pass? When your anchor began to drag, did you try to get it to hold by deploying more rode to increase scope? Was it possible to deploy a second anchor? With your engines operable would it have been possible to use them to reduce the strain on your anchor(s) so they wouldn't drag? Once you got your anchor up, could you have used power to maneuver closer to the windward side of the little bay with head to wind so as to wait out the storm in smoother conditions? Not trying to second guess your decision, just throwing out some alternative strategies which might have been preferable to charging out into the maelstrom. Glad you made it with such little damage. Lucky guy!

 

[GFC]

Captain K, to answer your questions....where we had dropped the anchor initially was fairly close to the north shore of that bay. At that time the light winds were out of the north so I dropped the hook then backed down to set it well. When the wind shifted and we turned around 180 degrees, we were too close to the north side of the bay for my comfort level. There wasn't enough room between us and the bank to let out more scope, plus we were pulling on the anchor in the opposite direction of what we had set it.

I thought about staying in the bay because we had anchored there to have dinner. When the rains started coming down HARD and the winds picked up I decided to head for home rather than set the anchor. I probably could easily stayed there and kept the bow pointed upwind but, with the lightening strikes right in that immediate area I felt it was a better choice to be out on the wide open river rather than be in narrow, shallow bay. I'd much prefer to ride out a storm in the wider, deeper river than risk the shallow waters.

It was when I first turned to head out of the bay that we were blasted by the wind and it damaged the bimini top.

I got news from the insurance company and it's all good. I have talked with the rep from Travelers three times over the past couple of days and they're going to cover everything, above my deductible.

The canvas that was damaged is going to be fully covered. Since the canvas itself was not torn it is going to be repaired, not replaced, they don't depreciate it at all. There is a plastic cup-shaped track that the bimini canvas slides in and that holds it in place, that is going to be replaced, but that's all. The window where the stitching was torn is going to be fixed, not replaced so again, they're covering the entire cost of the canvas repairs.

On the radar, I have a Furuno 4' open array antenna and Furuno display and am going to replace the antenna with a Raymarine 4' HD open array so the radar signal can be overlayed on top of the GPS plotter.

The insurance company is going to pay for a comparable Furuno antenna, plus the technician's travel time (3.5 hours each way at $40/hour) plus the installation time (estimated at $80/hour for 8 hours).

I'm going to have them install a Raymarine antenna, remove the old Furuno display, and run new cabling to the GPS.

So, the end result of all of this is that I have to pay my deductible but I'm going to get a much better antenna and will be able to overlay the radar image on top of the GPS image.

 

[GFC]

Things are progressing well in getting Beachcomber back to 100%. We had the canvas repairs done within a week of the storm and have been dealing with Portland-based Rodgers Marine in getting the radar fixed. After a flurry of emails and phone calls between me, Rodgers Marine and the insurance company, all of the work has been authorized and I received a check yesterday for the full amount less my deductible.

The check was made out to Bank of America (lienholder) and me due to insurance company policies so now I have two choices on how to handle it:
1. Try to get someone from BofA to sign off on the check so I can deposit in my bank.
2. If nobody with BofA has large enough huevos to sign off the check we'll open a checking account with BofA and deposit the check. Then, as soon as I can get some checks from them I'll write a check to my bank to transfer the funds and close the account.

Rodgers Marine is coming up here on 10/8 to do the radar install. They're going to remove the old Furuno antenna and cable and display. They also will remove a VERY OLD Raymarine GPS control box from the lower part of the helm. Then they'll do the install of the new Raymarine HD antenna using a new cable and hook it up so it interfaces with my Raymarine C140W display so I can overlay the radar on top of the GPS screen. They're also going to install a new DSC-equipped VHF for me and also a loud hailer antenna.

I have a loud hailer on the eyebrow but it doesn't work. I don't know if it's not hooked up or inop, but it's going to be working when they're done. To replace the burl wood panel where the current Furuno radar display is mounted I'm having a new panel made. It's an aluminum panel (instead of the plastic) with the same burl wood pattern and it's going to have the boat name and a SR logo laser-etched into it.

I'll take some pics of the install as it's being done and will post them.

 

[FlyWright]

Mike, I had a similar issue with an insurance check made out to me and my lienholder, Key Bank. Since they didn't have any banks in town (Sacramento), I called them to verify they could endorse it, then mailed them the check with a letter. They returned the endorsed check, no problem.

If you have B of A banks in town, it should be no problem for them to endorse or cash it.

 

[GFC]

Thanks Al. Worst case scenario would be if they want proof the repairs are done. I'll pay for the repairs then take them copies of the receipts from the canvas company and the electronics company.

Not a big deal, just a PITA