Thunderstorms

msballin

msballin

Member
May 30, 2008
259
Islip Terrace, Long Island
Boat Info
2000 340 Sundancer
Engines
Twin 7.4L Horizons w/ Hurth V-Drives
Not sure if this is the appropriate venue for this...We plan on staying aboard shortly and there are thunderstorms forecast for the area. Not looking to take any unnecessary risks. Any advice or shared experiences would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Mike
 
We look at storms as something to be expected while cruising. We don't travel on the open waters of Lake Michigan during storms but have encountered a few pop ups ever the years. If they are bad, we put the engines in neutral and go below until they pass through. Have only had to do that once in many years of cruising. We use on board NEXRAD and our live radar to help decide whether to travel or not. We have experienced many storms while in marinas and have never had a problem and enjoy watching the storms roll through. Our boat was hit by lightening three years ago while sitting in its slip at our home. Lightening hit a flag pole near our boat. The grounded pole backfed power through the grounding system on our boat and fried our electronics. We do think about all of the sailboats around us when in a marina during a storm but don't worry about lightening as there is little you can do at that point.
 
I've only had to ride out a T&L storm twice. Both times at anchor. If we were under way, I would get my crew below, get PFD's handy (just in case) and if anyone has to be on deck have them wear it.

I usually try to anchor away from the crowd and get plenty of scope out. I am more concerned with wind then lighting and other boats drifting into me. Usually they are 30 minute events with wind, rain, lighting and then they are through.

Lower my antenna and mast light. This boat the mast light is high up and is one piece, so interested what others do in that case? Try to remove it, leave it?

Hope that the person that painted my hull did not paint the copper block that says "DO NOT PAINT"... That is the path to ground in case you are struck!
 
msballin said:
Not sure if this is the appropriate venue for this...We plan on staying aboard shortly and there are thunderstorms forecast for the area. Not looking to take any unnecessary risks. Any advice or shared experiences would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Mike
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I'm in Melville right now (at 9:45). We're having a really strong storm as I type this. Heavy rain and lightning. Be careful over there in Islip. Sorry I can't offer practical advice. When we see thunderstorms coming we scoot back to the dock.
 
I got caught in a pop up one once with 4 passengers on board. Forecast was for sun, 0% chance of rain at 7AM. By 1PM, forecast changed to "isolated" thunderstorms. We were down near Annapolis and saw one coming up the Bay from the south. I tried to beat it home but it caught up to me about 3 miles out. The Bay went from dead calm to 3-4 footers instantly. Everyone went below, and I dropped off plane and stayed at the helm. I got soaked. I was amazed at how cold the rain can be on a 90+ degree day. I had goose bumps when it stopped about 1/2 mile from the marina. The weather was picture perfect again 20 minutes later. I have no advice other than to try to be in a cove or somewhere protected when it hits.
 
There are a lot of negative aspects to living out here among the Fruit and Nuts in Nor-Cal but damaging Thunderstorms are not one of them!
Have a great weekend on the water everyone!
 
skibum said:
I got caught in a pop up one once with 4 passengers on board. Forecast was for sun, 0% chance of rain at 7AM. By 1PM, forecast changed to "isolated" thunderstorms. We were down near Annapolis and saw one coming up the Bay from the south. I tried to beat it home but it caught up to me about 3 miles out. The Bay went from dead calm to 3-4 footers instantly. Everyone went below, and I dropped off plane and stayed at the helm. I got soaked. I was amazed at how cold the rain can be on a 90+ degree day. I had goose bumps when it stopped about 1/2 mile from the marina. The weather was picture perfect again 20 minutes later. I have no advice other than to try to be in a cove or somewhere protected when it hits.
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We see folks head for the marina at the first sign of a thunderstorm but don't see the point of it. Around here it requires violation of the no wake zones and takes a good 45 minutes to get in. By the time you get to your slip, the storm that sent you there is usually long gone. We just wait 'em out, and don't worry about the fixed gear on the top. Sailboats are rather routinely struck while under sail and lose electronics. The strike scares the crap out of the people on board who are almost never injured.
 
Thank you for your replies. We plan on staying at a marina and will be plugged into shore power. We don't plan on traveling through one. My question was more related to the risks while plugged in at the marina. My apologies for any unintended confusion. Thanks once again
 
msballin said:
Thank you for your replies. We plan on staying at a marina and will be plugged into shore power. We don't plan on traveling through one. My question was more related to the risks while plugged in at the marina. My apologies for any unintended confusion. Thanks once again
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No apology needed. If your boat is wired properly and the marina's electrical pedestals are properly wired you should be fine. Not really much different than being at home from the electrical perspective.
 
In the south, afternoon thunderstorms are a daily fixture. We have ridden out many. Lower the VHF and the anchor light, crank the gen, and go below in the AC until it blows over. Afterwards, enjoy the slightly cooler water....

Bennett
 
sbw1 said:
We see folks head for the marina at the first sign of a thunderstorm but don't see the point of it. Around here it requires violation of the no wake zones and takes a good 45 minutes to get in. By the time you get to your slip, the storm that sent you there is usually long gone. We just wait 'em out, and don't worry about the fixed gear on the top. Sailboats are rather routinely struck while under sail and lose electronics. The strike scares the crap out of the people on board who are almost never injured.
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We didn't leave because of the storm. One of my passengers had to go to work and I needed to get her and her hubby back to their car. The rest of us went back out. I'd have preferred to go below and wait it out. The rest of the day was beautiful. Our no wake zone is pretty short. Barely enough to warm up the engine on the way out.
 
We got caught in a storm yesterday but were at the marina. We were sitting on the boat when a quick storm came through. we put the camper top on and i lowered the VHF antenna and we just hung out. other than being way too hot it was pretty cool (pun intended...lol). there were 2 boats that took cover under a bridge about 50 yards from us and another that just anchored in the middle of the river
 
+1 turn on the wipers and slow down if it get rough.
Don't go in neutral and go hide. You have no control of boat and don't want to get broadside to the seas. Cruising in Florida in the summer this is expected and can happen several times a day.
 
kevin27 said:
+1 turn on the wipers and slow down if it get rough.
Don't go in neutral and go hide. You have no control of boat and don't want to get broadside to the seas. Cruising in Florida in the summer this is expected and can happen several times a day.
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Would you leave the boat in gear, turn on your wipers and slow down if your vhf antenna was buzzing and bronze colored, two feet wide, lighting was hitting the water 20 feet from your boat? Wind was probably 40 plus knots when this happened to us. We elected to go into neutral and hide below. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
 
I have been caught in several severe storms and the worst was a wind storm minus any thunder. I came out of it alive and parked the boat for a week. Get back out there and learn each time I guess.
 
Thanks guys for all the helpful advice. I am also moving with my family next Sunday to new city. I will definitely take care of all the things.
 
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