Left my boat in Stuart. Is that a good spot?

After our Bahamas trip I decided to leave the boat in Stuart for awhile. Partly because I was too tired to consider bringing back to Texas, and partly because I thought the town of Stuart was a cool place and thought my wife and I would enjoy visiting there and using the boat as a "condo". Also, I thought we might possibly do another Bahamas cruise this winter, but that's probably not going to happen due my youngest son being a senior in HS with lots of activities, girlfriend, etc.-- we won't really have the time to wait on a weather window for crossing I'm afraid.

What would be some other interesting cruising destinations during the fall/winter in this area?
Miami? Guess I could cruise back through the Okeechobee waterway and visit Healhustler and help him on some projects. [emoji23]

I'm used to the boat being an hour away, so I'm already missing the ability to drive out and piddle around on it, so I'm not sure I can handle this long distance relationship for long.

An observation: Maybe this is just me, but the water in Stuart sure is gross looking, and it sure does grow lots of barnacles.

You should know that it is hurricane season in FL and many insurance companies or policies exclude coverage in FL during hurricane season.


Other than that, your boat has to be someplace so Stuart is probably as good as anywhere. Personally, I like having my boat near my home.

Greetings,
Mr. 01. EXACTLY what Mr. WK said. Hurricane season, insurance etc. Keep your eye on this one...NOT Gert, the one coming in from off the coast of Africa.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo.php?basin=atlc&fdays=5

Damn. Already?

My plan for a hurricane is either tie it up as best I can and hope for the best, or scramble and move it to to a dock on Lake Okeechobee if I have the time.

cardude01 said:

Damn. Already?

My plan for a hurricane is either tie it up as best I can and hope for the best, or scramble and move it to to a dock on Lake Okeechobee if I have the time.

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Locals are likely to have inland tied up by the time you decide to make a move. Indiantown Marina has land storage but you better get in touch with them now if you want a spot.


Many marinas make you leave if there's a hurricane coming to protect their facility.

cardude01 said:

Damn. Already?

My plan for a hurricane is either tie it up as best I can and hope for the best, or scramble and move it to to a dock on Lake Okeechobee if I have the time.

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You might try River Forest. Florida's Indoor/Outdoor Boat & Yacht Storage & Service Facilities

Just above the first lock on the Okkee waterway, and fresh water so no barnacles.

Greetings,
Mr. 01. "Damn. Already?" Yup. June 1st 'til the end of November. As you well know, may be NO activity what-so ever or....



I wouldn't worry too much about it. Other than grabbing a quick flight and moving/lashing the boat down there's not much you can do but wait. Maybe wait for nothing. Usually, the early storms run into the Gulf and the later ones up the east coast but ALL the figures and predictions are only based on statistics after all...Just saw Mr WK's post and I agree. If you're that worried, act sooner rather than later.

That being said, the disturbance I mentioned in post #3 looks "interesting".

cardude01 said:

Damn. Already?

My plan for a hurricane is either tie it up as best I can and hope for the best, or scramble and move it to to a dock on Lake Okeechobee if I have the time.

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Best plan considering where the boat is and where you live is making sure at all times it's tied for hurricanes and being in a good marina. Now, do make sure you don't have any negative hurricane clauses in your insurance contract. Considering you were already in a hurricane zone, it's not likely you do, but be sure.

Flying into an anticipated hurricane is generally not a great strategy compared to remaining safe at home with family. Moving the boat out of a hurricane area by the time you arrive and considering it's speed, likely to be difficult and possibly dangerous.

BandB said:

Flying into an anticipated hurricane is generally not a great strategy compared to remaining safe at home with family. Moving the boat out of a hurricane area by the time you arrive and considering it's speed, likely to be difficult and possibly dangerous.

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That's kind of what I was thinking.

Rossland said:

You might try River Forest. Florida's Indoor/Outdoor Boat & Yacht Storage & Service Facilities

Just above the first lock on the Okkee waterway, and fresh water so no barnacles.

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THIS


Cardude, these guys offer a hurricane club service. Guaranteed a haul out spot before a storm. Sounds like great insurance to have in an area far from home. Several insurance companies will reimburse your expenses for a storm haul out! Please call your marina to check on their named storm policy. Most all in that area will mandate your evacuation 2 days before a storm . This option will delete a lot of stress on your part knowing exactly what to do with your boat if a storm does threaten it.

Consider making your next cruise to the NE of Florida. Lots of local cruising spots and, while not Hurricane proof, the last one was in the early sixties.

WesK said:

Many marinas make you leave if there's a hurricane coming to protect their facility.

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Illegal to do so in Florida - even if an owner waives his right to stay.

State decided it was better to have a marina damaged that to have lives put at risk moving boats around.

menzies said:

Illegal to do so in Florida - even if an owner waives his right to stay.



State decided it was better to have a marina damaged that to have lives put at risk moving boats around.

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Yeah,they don't make folks move boats-- I asked. It's at Sunset Bay Marina-- looks like a decent facility. Floating docks.

I could make Indiantown Marina fairly easily if a storm was coming and get hauled out I supposed. How much more protected is that though? Isn't Indiantown BEFORE the lock?

Have a look at the American Custom Yachts facility up the St Lucie river. Its a huge facility for boats on the hard. Google map the facility for a look-see.

ragin cajun said:

THIS


Cardude, these guys offer a hurricane club service. Guaranteed a haul out spot before a storm. Sounds like great insurance to have in an area far from home. Several insurance companies will reimburse your expenses for a storm haul out! Please call your marina to check on their named storm policy. Most all in that area will mandate your evacuation 2 days before a storm . This option will delete a lot of stress on your part knowing exactly what to do with your boat if a storm does threaten it.

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It's actually illegal in Florida to mandate evacuation.

Wish I had said that!

cardude01 said:

Yeah,they don't make folks move boats-- I asked. It's at Sunset Bay Marina-- looks like a decent facility. Floating docks.

I could make Indiantown Marina fairly easily if a storm was coming and get hauled out I supposed. How much more protected is that though? Isn't Indiantown BEFORE the lock?

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No, Indiantown is beyond St. Lucie Lock. It would all depend on how far in advance you knew. If you knew three days in advance, that means a day flying in, a day moving the boat, then a flight out, assuming flights are still running. It's a risky game.

Stuart was last hit in 2005 with 105 mph winds, so a CAT 2. Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 was a CAT 3.

Dude

Sunset Marina is a great place to keep your boat. The dockmaster will work with you to protect your boat and the docks are new. The only thing I found is that I needed the bottom cleaned every three weeks recently, locals blame it on the lake water bring released. Those barnacles grow reall fast and the slime is terrible.

Folks tied their boats up at Dawtaw Marina in SC for hurricane Mathew. The water floated the docks over the pilings and boats and docks were washed away. Boats ended up all over the place, mostly ruined.


The marina has not reopened yet and may never reopen.


So in FL it's illegal to make you move. Moving may be the wiser move.

BandB said:

No, Indiantown is beyond St. Lucie Lock. It would all depend on how far in advance you knew. If you knew three days in advance, that means a day flying in, a day moving the boat, then a flight out, assuming flights are still running. It's a risky game.

Stuart was last hit in 2005 with 105 mph winds, so a CAT 2. Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 was a CAT 3.

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Indiantown Marina is not far from the entrance to Lake Okeechobee. That's a good ways from Stuart. You'll have to go through a drawbridge and a railroad bridge and I believe another railroad bridge at Indiantown. These bridges may close for hurricanes.

If you show up at Indiantown Marina (or any marina) at the last minute, you may not get a slip or be lifted out of the water.

The marina manager also said Stuart also had some damage from the most recent storm-- Matthew?

OK on the lock-- thanks. For some reason I remember a lock to the lake after Indiantown but I didn't remember the first lock, but I see the lock on Google now. I see the Forest River Yachting center also is before Indiantown-- thought that was on the other side of the lake. I'm all turned around I Guess.

Yeah that timeline would be super stressful for me. I would hate to get caught/stuck in Indiantown in a Cat2 plus hurricane.

WesK said:

Folks tied their boats up at Dawtaw Marina in SC for hurricane Mathew. The water floated the docks over the pilings and boats and docks were washed away. Boats ended up all over the place, mostly ruined.


The marina has not reopened yet and may never reopen.


So in FL it's illegal to make you move. Moving may be the wiser move.

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Actually building better docks might be wiser and having pilings they won't float over.

BandB said:

Actually building better docks might be wiser and having pilings they won't float over.

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Yea, hindsight is 20/20.

Ideally, hurricanes would never damage marinas because the pilings would be 20' above normal levels and the docks would be built like battleships.

As you know, Fernandina Beach Marina took a big hit. Many others were damaged or destroyed.

When humans face mother nature, mother nature usually wins.

WesK said:

Yea, hindsight is 20/20.

Ideally, hurricanes would never damage marinas because the pilings would be 20' above normal levels and the docks would be built like battleships.

As you know, Fernandina Beach Marina took a big hit. Many others were damaged or destroyed.

When humans face mother nature, mother nature usually wins.

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It's not all hindsight as there have been safe floating marinas built for years. It's easy enough to know the hundred year flood mark and build pilings tall enough. I would say in South Florida, probably 80% are in pretty good shape to handle hurricanes.

My boats have gone through every hurricane that hit Miami since the early '50s and did so on the Miami River with no real damage. I double the lines and relax.

Lots of mentions about it being illegal to require you to move your boat during a named storm in Florida but some parts are missing -

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

The marina owner can write into the contract the following:

"The undersigned hereby informs you that in the event you fail to remove your vessel from the marina promptly (timeframe to be determined between the marina owner or operator and the vessel owner) after the issuance of a tropical storm or hurricane watch for (insert geographic area), Florida, under Florida law, the undersigned or his or her employees or agents are authorized to remove your vessel, if reasonable, from its slip or take any and all other reasonable actions deemed appropriate by the undersigned or his or her employees or agents in order to better secure your vessel and to protect marina property, private property, and the environment. You are further notified that you may be charged a reasonable fee for any such action.

k9medic said:

Lots of mentions about it being illegal to require you to move your boat during a named storm in Florida but some parts are missing -

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

The marina owner can write into the contract the following:

"The undersigned hereby informs you that in the event you fail to remove your vessel from the marina promptly (timeframe to be determined between the marina owner or operator and the vessel owner) after the issuance of a tropical storm or hurricane watch for (insert geographic area), Florida, under Florida law, the undersigned or his or her employees or agents are authorized to remove your vessel, if reasonable, from its slip or take any and all other reasonable actions deemed appropriate by the undersigned or his or her employees or agents in order to better secure your vessel and to protect marina property, private property, and the environment. You are further notified that you may be charged a reasonable fee for any such action.

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All I know of that clause being used for is to move the boat to another part of the marina, to add lines, to make sure the fenders are in place. The marinas needed that clause to do the most basic things. Believe it or not, in the past they had people argue over them putting additional lines on their boats or removing canvas or moving the remaining boats to their safest dock and saying they had no legal right to do so.

There is no where on land or down rivers to move all the boats of South Florida. It's just not a realistic possibility. The ICW has pretty good protection and the tides and surges in South Florida are moderate. As you get to GA and then SC a lot of that changes. That's the absurdity sometimes of moving boats into areas that are more of a risk. There is nowhere on the coast that doesn't have the potential danger of a hurricane, but those areas most associated with them are not appreciably worse than other areas.

Even those boats in South Florida put on land aren't really better protected. There are no true hurricane facilities with all the ties and anchors seen in some in NC. Also the land is very exposed to the winds which have been the problem in South Florida rather than surge. If there was somewhere safe and protected 20 miles from me that I could run my boats to and secure them and feel they were far safer, I'd do so, but there isn't. People do take boats to New River but it's not that big plus the bridges are the first thing to shut down.

Everyone can do as they deem appropriate. Just don't risk life over a boat.

Two things that come to mind.

1) If a hurricane is coming not only might the flights be full, but the airlines will tend to cancel flights in/out of that area to protect their equipment. The tendency now is to preemptively cancel flights to affected areas pretty much anytime the weather is forecast to be less than CAVOK. OK, that is a slight exaggeration, but you may find that getting to your boat from a distance is harder than you think.

2) What does your boat insurance say about preparation/locations/proximity to the owner in the case of severe weather? I'm sure that you can get insurance for boats against hurricanes for remote owners, but you probably ought to check just what your policy says.

Sounds like you have some good options, from doing nothing to moving.

The only thing I would add is that I would NOT have a plan that required me to make a decision 3 days or even 2 days out.

If you were an hour's drive away, then you would have more options, but having to fly to Florida just before an hurricane. Furgetaboutit.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, DON'T base the safety of your boat on a stupid weather forecast.

Either have the boat tied and ready where she is now or move her someplace she'll be secure no matter what, now. And leave her there until November.

Richard