Stay safe Manatees!

I haven't logged in for quite a while but wanted to check in on my fellow Manatee owners in Florida and Texas. I have to say Healhustlers profile image gave me a momentary shock but then, he is great with photoshop.

Here's hoping the best for you all with Mother Natures latest rampage. Really sad situation to see with all that Irma's destroyed already. Hoping for some miracles for you all. Be safe!

There are at least 6 Manatees and at least one KK42 down in S Fl that I know of.

We are anxiously awaiting word from any of them later today.

The one under most stress right now is one in Punta Gorda and two others camped out in Ft. Myers I think. I have mine in Longboat Key, but I may have done better to cut it loose in the Gulf with a GPS locator on it.

Wow, I hate to say you might be right about that Larry. So sad to think of all the loss of boats let alone everything else. Maybe people will replace with submarines! ABC news coverage has reporters on the ground in Marco's Island & Naples right now showing total white out conditions and 93mph sustained winds. At this point just hoping the shelters hold up and the predictions on storm surge are way off. People who couldn't get out must be freaking out. I know I would be! Many hours to go before anyone gets any rest.
Please be careful out there!

Storm seems to be weakening at 4:30 PM. Could help Tampa Bay, Sarasota area.

Probably too early to know or maybe even get back to check damages but hoping everyone weathered the storm ok! That was some pretty major action from Mother nature!

Bucky came through, not without a few scrapes and bruises, but bilge OK and cleats still fastened. Spider net shows a lot of chafing so maybe it was moving around a bit. I wedged the old dinghy against the stern so I could use it against mangrove bushes for a cushion, worked great. Grenery glued to pilothouse windows. Must have taken some wind speed and water to do that. 1 post snapped below water but thank heavens the bottom couldn't quite reach it. The word is the canal emptied out during the westward blow so tomorrow I'll check rudder.

Larry, that sounds like really good news! Looking forward to hearing more after you check on it again.

Good for you Larry! I think all you boat owners should consider making hurricane survivor notches on your rub rails or something.

Larry: Good news for you. Terrible for Parks.

Can you tell us whether there was much surge flooding on Longboat?

We have a lease on a house in Longboat Village on the head of a canal for this winter but have not yet heard whether it suffered any damage or flooding.

HEY JUDE rode out Harvey under cover in Clear Lake & seems not to have suffered. Storm surge was ~ 6' & live a board neighbor sent us pics of her rising & falling in her slip. In the height of the storm our mechanic emailed & suggested we should be thankful that he & other techs hadn't finished the system upgrades they've been working on...ever so slowly. If they had, HEY JUDE, would have been at Cove Harbor in Rockport this summer.

Captgrail...how long have you owned your KK36 & did you buy her from a gentleman in Sausalito?

Well, you know the bad news had to be coming with all the beating the Keys took. Mike & Dottie's very fine Manatee home was spotted on this Sat Photo capsized and sunk in a Marathon canal. Cool Beans (previously Fat Chance) was the product of two meticulous owners. It was one of the best.

So sad, I hope they raise her and re-out fit her, she really is one of the best upgraded Manatee's. As Manatee owners we all know the great bones built into the Manatee's by Krogen designers, so well worth the effort.

Good point, Bill. Several others have sunk in hurricanes and were all salvaged and refit. I'm sure no matter what Mike & Dottie decide, someone will refit the boat. There has already been some expression of interest. Over the next decade, I think we will see literally every element of the Manatee design dissected and reconstructed. They fill an affordable nitch that serious live-aboards and long distance cruisers continue to appreciate, and the owners are accepting of the issues of older boats. Until China begins using a huge resin and glass printer to knock off copies of your favorite post-production boat designs, people will keep buying these unique cruising platforms.

There was a picture published here of a (sea creature) manatee, well ashore. No obvious injury, but they live in water so sadly, I fear the worst.