Florida East Coast Hurricane Preparations

G

George W

New Member
Apr 8, 2018
9
Singer Island, FL
Boat Info
2009 Sea Ray 43 Sundancer with Zeus PODs
Engines
Cummins QSB480 w/Zeus Pods
In the process of relocating a 2009 Sea Ray 43 Sundancer to the east coast of Florida, near West Palm Beach area. Looking for advice on the best way to deal with a hurricane - look for someplace up one of the rivers to go inland; haul the boat or leave it in the marina with appropriate dockage for high winds and storm surge?
 
Usually hauling it out is a good option. Ideally you'd take the boat away from the storm if you do use a trailer. It's always hard to know where it's going and when to evacuate. The riskest thing to do is leave it in the water. Most insurance agencies will pay for the haul out before a hurricane because it's much cheaper than the usual damage in the water.
 
superwa said:
Usually hauling it out is a good option. Ideally you'd take the boat away from the storm if you do use a trailer. It's always hard to know where it's going and when to evacuate. The riskest thing to do is leave it in the water. Most insurance agencies will pay for the haul out before a hurricane because it's much cheaper than the usual damage in the water.
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Thanks for the advice - since my craft has LOA of 47 feet, trailer is not an option. Concerned that the local marinas get overloaded when a storm threatens and do not get all the boats out in time, even though they all have a pre-paid contract.
 
George W said:
Thanks for the advice - since my craft has LOA of 47 feet, trailer is not an option. Concerned that the local marinas get overloaded when a storm threatens and do not get all the boats out in time, even though they all have a pre-paid contract.
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That happened at a marina/yard here during hurricane Matthew. Couldn't haul everyone due to not enough stands. Marina was destroyed during hurricane and boats end up floating down the river still tied to chunks of the dock. Some boats were lost and some were recoverable after they crash landed on land. Haulout priority was really just the squeaky wheel method.
 
You can pay a marina for a "hurricane plan" that guarantees you a haul out and storage.......but if there is no storm you still pay - usually its an amount up front and than IF you use it you pay a bit more. Where are you keeping the boat when its down there? Most insurers will require you to submit evidence of a hurricane plan before they issue coverage....
 
It's threads like these that make me feel just a little bit better about the "I don't know how you idiot northerners do it" types of threads lamenting snow storms in April. Just a little bit. Maybe 5%.

If you could stomach it, fellas, a few more hurricane prep posts this month would really be appreciated. Maybe throw in a post about how intense the sun is "down there" and how terrible the UV can be on your canvas? Something about the horrible affects of salt water? Likely too much to ask for but please know that any opportunity you have to point out a negative component of year-round boating in warmer climates is truly appreciated. :)
 
We live on a saltwater canal about a mile from the Atlantic & half mile to the Intracoastal, in between St. Augustine & Daytona. Common practice is to center bigger boats in the canal. The link is a photo of ours during Irma. All canvas off, everything sealed with tape. Came through just fine.
 

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Stee6043 said:
It's threads like these that make me feel just a little bit better about the "I don't know how you idiot northerners do it" types of threads lamenting snow storms in April. Just a little bit. Maybe 5%.

If you could stomach it, fellas, a few more hurricane prep posts this month would really be appreciated. Maybe throw in a post about how intense the sun is "down there" and how terrible the UV can be on your canvas? Something about the horrible affects of salt water? Likely too much to ask for but please know that any opportunity you have to point out a negative component of year-round boating in warmer climates is truly appreciated. :)
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I couldn’t take the boat out in Tampa last Sunday, 20-25 kt winds, 4-6 waves, and thunderstorms all day, pretty annoying, then I read the “how do northerners do it” thread, so not much to complain about.
Regarding the hurricane, I can find out what the boats in the marina did, but I believed they all stayed put. No haul outs, just double check the security of the dock lines. Not sure what they did with the mega yachts (look up the Sorcha Yacht, 150’, 26’ beam, only sleeps 10, piece of crap!) We have floating docks here, I highly recommend you find a place with floating docks.
Oh, and I lost the trim ring around my stereo remote, I’m guessing the constant sun degraded the glue and it fell off and sank.
 
Todd320 said:
I couldn’t take the boat out in Tampa last Sunday, 20-25 kt winds, 4-6 waves, and thunderstorms all day, pretty annoying, then I read the “how do northerners do it” thread, so not much to complain about.
Regarding the hurricane, I can find out what the boats in the marina did, but I believed they all stayed put. No haul outs, just double check the security of the dock lines. Not sure what they did with the mega yachts (look up the Sorcha Yacht, 150’, 26’ beam, only sleeps 10, piece of crap!) We have floating docks here, I highly recommend you find a place with floating docks.
Oh, and I lost the trim ring around my stereo remote, I’m guessing the constant sun degraded the glue and it fell off and sank.
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Sorry to hear about your loss. :(
 
Last Saturday we were out in the Gulf all day floating around on the hook and sucking up the sun.

We returned to the marina, I backed her into the slip and walked off the boat to tie her up. I suddenly realized I'd forgotten to put on my flip flops. My feet were getting pretty hot while I was standing on the concrete so I had to hurry.
 
Stee6043 said:
It's threads like these that make me feel just a little bit better about the "I don't know how you idiot northerners do it" types of threads lamenting snow storms in April. Just a little bit. Maybe 5%.

If you could stomach it, fellas, a few more hurricane prep posts this month would really be appreciated. Maybe throw in a post about how intense the sun is "down there" and how terrible the UV can be on your canvas? Something about the horrible affects of salt water? Likely too much to ask for but please know that any opportunity you have to point out a negative component of year-round boating in warmer climates is truly appreciated. :)
Click to expand...

As a transplanted northern boater this really made me laugh more than it should.

Fuel costs definitely go up due to boating in February. Back home in MO we sat and stared longingly at the boat without spending gas money at that point.
 
I removed all my canvas and stayed in the water during Sandy back in 2012 with some creative use of doubled up lines and made it through with just a cracked vent cover, probably from some flying debris.
Some of my neighbors on my canal all worked together and we tied our boats from one side to the other suspended several feet from the bulkheads.
The water rose to about 8 feet above my bulkhead.
The boats that came out of the water suffered more damage than those that stayed in.
Most of them that had damage either floated off or were blown off the blocking. Lots of them were found either laying in the streets or some strangers yard when it was all over.
 
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