Thoughts and after storm
Hmmm for a hurricane like this, which was a very solid cat4 on the verge of cat5 and being about 30 miles inland had I been in a properly secured and a well made boat 40 foot or larger, or a proper blue water capable boat with 1/4 inch thick or greater tempered safety glass windows, weather resistant doors and a proper anchor with it being oversized I’d feel safe enough I’d stay aboard the boat if I owned it during the storm, I definitly wouldn’t be doing it without getting paid if it was a friends boat lol me considering Even doing it would be the friend discount . If I had storm covers for the windows I’d use them and would advise to have them for a pleasure craft, we are over 3 stories tall so not as much debris has the chance to hit them but a tinny pebble would have taken them out. You all saw how big our windows are, they are 1/4 tempered safety glass and they made it through just fine, but the wind was blowing hard enough (boat next to us said sustained 140mph) that the windows were bowing with the stronger gusts and that made it uncomfortable to be in the wheelhouse. Given the choice if it was my boat I’d choose to be at anchor with 1 good anchor that will reset properly, resetting properly is the most important thing btw, because through a storm like this your engine/engines will be running and you will be awake giving you the ability to take the strain off the anchor when the winds are at there peak. Also when the wind and current shifts you want plenty of room to swing around. I would absolutely not consider being in a marina, that would be a death trap. The ability to swing and keeping your bow into the wind is very important in my opinion, had we taken those winds on anything other than the bow or stern like we were throughout the entire storm things may have turned out much differently and that is why I would choose to be at anchor over even a very very secure dock. And to clarify when I say Properly secured For equipment that means everything and I mean everything be brought inside, honestly we left quite a bit outside and it was the wrong choice. If it’s not bolted or screwed down it comes off and is put away inside. Nothing we could do about it but the Skiff has 2 big rachet straps sitting on a stand welded to the deck about a foot and a half off the deck, that was not enough it should have had between 4-6 straps and she MAY have made it without moving. Had everything been brought inside we would have had no damage other than for things that were not in our control. Our preparation of securing things in place outside probably would have been Sufficient had it been a cat 2 or light cat 3 but not a solid cat 4. Now onto the most important thing and that’s the things you cannot control, all the preparation in the world and the most capable blue water cruiser there is coupled with the best crew money can buy cannot control how well other people secure There **** Here is a before and after pics. There is not a pleasure craft smaller than 60 foot made and yes that includes the nordhavens, cape horns, Sutton’s, and insert any name of famous boat company here that would have made it through getting hit by that crane barge. So choose where you anchor or secure yourself wisely, if you have doubts that someone else’s **** will hold, it probably won’t, and in a pleasure craft that could be deadly. All it did to us is part 2 morning lines And dent our barge. Btw anyone who is looking for a 100ton crane barge I’ll give you a real real good price if you come take it off our hands in the next 24 hours.
