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Any advice for riding out big storms ?

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SKS
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161 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/02/2015 : 08:34:40

My Catalina 25, FK-SR is in Norwalk Cove Marina in Norwalk CT.
We are close to the projected path of Jaoquin.
Does anyone have any advice on how to ride the storm out while tied up at the dock ?
The boat. I have no intention of staying through the storm.
Thanks in advance for your help.

"Lady E" 1986 Catalina 25: Fin Keel, Standard Rig, Inboard M12 Diesel, Sail No. 5339
Sailing out of Norwalk Cove Marina, Connecticut

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 10/02/2015 : 08:47:49

You could double up you dock lines and add some more fenders. Remove the headsail and main to cut down on the windage. Maybe some duck tape over the cracks in the hatch boards for the wind driven rain but honestly I think we dodged a bullet on this one. I'm not far west of you in Glen Cove LI. and probably won't do any of the above but things can change. This Nor'easter we have now might just be the worst of the two.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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Response Posted - 10/02/2015 : 10:36:57

You should reduce windage as much as possible. Strip off all the canvas, including all sails and canvas covers, and, on a C25, the boom is easy to remove, so I'd also remove it. I'd also suggest you remove the rudder, because an outboard rudder is vulnerable to damage. At my marina, the only significant damage I have seen has been jibs that were left on a furler. They unroll during the storm, and whip themselves to shreds. So, remove roller furled jibs.

On a 25' boat I like to use 3/8" docklines, just like in fair weather, but put two lines where there is one. IMO, 3/8 is strong enough to hold a C25, but, if one of them chafes through, the other one will take up the load. All docklines should be very loose, with lots of slack. The second line should be slightly looser than the first one, so that it is only under a load if the first line breaks. In a hurricane or severe storm, storm surge can raise the water level by 6-8 feet, so the docklines must have enough slack to allow the boat to rise that much. The docklines at the stern should be crossed to the opposite piling. If the storm tide rises so high that that the docklines come up taut, then someone might need to adjust them. At my marina, a few of us spend most of the night tending docklines, as long as it's safe. It's a good idea to drive a nail in the piling above each dockline, leaving part of the nail sticking out, to prevent the dockline from being lifted off the piling. For a major storm, I put a spring line on both sides of my boat, just in case the cleat for one of them should pull out of the deck.

In a severe storm, either the wind or the storm surge can cause the boat to come adrift, but the storm surge is what deposits the boat in someone's front yard.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

dasreboot
Admiral

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Response Posted - 10/02/2015 : 10:54:31

let out enough dock lines for the extra high tides. My cheoy lee rode out the 7 foot storm surge in Isabelle

Todd Lewis
Eowyn 87 TR/WK C25 #5656
ARWEN 84 TR/SK C25 #4031
www.mainsailsailingschool.com

islander
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Response Posted - 10/02/2015 : 11:33:27

Also I might add that when a storm like Sandy was no doubt to hit dead on, Take photos of everything of value and photos of the boat all secured. They might help with an insurance claim later if things don't go well. This is how my boat rode out Sandy. The boat that was next to me was hauled out and ended up getting blown off its stands. If I remember right, Norwalk Cove Marina is well protected from any wave action with 2 breakwaters on the south/west entrance so its just dealing with the wind and surge you have to think about.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Edited by - islander on 10/02/2015 11:58:46

SKS
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161 Posts

Response Posted - 10/02/2015 : 12:13:00

quote:
Originally posted by islander

Also I might add that when a storm like Sandy was no doubt to hit dead on, Take photos of everything of value and photos of the boat all secured. They might help with an insurance claim later if things don't go well. This is how my boat rode out Sandy. The boat that was next to me was hauled out and ended up getting blown off its stands. If I remember right, Norwalk Cove Marina is well protected from any wave action with 2 breakwaters on the south/west entrance so its just dealing with the wind and surge you have to think about.

Yes, you are correct. Norwalk Cove lost no boats during Sandy. I didn't have a boat there at the time.

"Lady E" 1986 Catalina 25: Fin Keel, Standard Rig, Inboard M12 Diesel, Sail No. 5339
Sailing out of Norwalk Cove Marina, Connecticut

Edited by - SKS on 10/02/2015 12:13:40

SKS
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161 Posts

Response Posted - 10/02/2015 : 12:16:08

quote:
Originally posted by dasreboot

let out enough dock lines for the extra high tides. My cheoy lee rode out the 7 foot storm surge in Isabelle

I'm thinking about this. My boat, however is at a floating dock, so the dock goes up and down with the tide.

"Lady E" 1986 Catalina 25: Fin Keel, Standard Rig, Inboard M12 Diesel, Sail No. 5339
Sailing out of Norwalk Cove Marina, Connecticut

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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Response Posted - 10/02/2015 : 13:05:41

If the dock is floating, I'd tie the boat up similarly to the way shown in Scott's photos. I would suggest, however, that it not be positioned so close to the dock on the starboard side. I would adjust the lines so that the boat will ride 2-3 feet away from the dock. That would allow the boat to heel with the wind and hobby horse with any wave action without ever being up against the fenders.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

GaryB
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Response Posted - 10/02/2015 : 18:36:06

When Ike came through here several years ago the eye went right over the marina where I had moved Andiamo a few days before the storm. The marina is considered a hurricane honey hole and was protected on all four sides except for a 200' wide fairway coming in from the lake.

I brought as much of the boat home as possible (boom, all the sails, rudder, all cushions, life jackets, etc...). I figured if she got destroyed I could sell as much of her as possible and maybe end up only losing a couple of grand. I took pictures inside and out so I could prove to the insurance company I had take adequate measures to secure my/their investment.

Andiamo was in a 35' or 40' slip that was 14' wide. After I removed the boom, bimini, taped over all the cracks in the hatch boards, and tightened down all the shrouds I centered her in the slip with double lines. Because I was on a floating dock I tightened down the dock lines snug leaving one line on each cleat just slightly loser as mentioned above. I left just enough slack to let her heel but otherwise remain as motionless as possible. My reasoning was I didn't want her hunting around in the slip and jerking on the cleats.

Only issue I had was one turnbuckle on one of the lower shrouds unscrewed and the shroud was blowing in the wind. Luckily it did no damage and I didn't lose the turnbuckle.

Out of 800+ boats in the marina only one boat was damaged and sank in it's slip. The marina people said the boat wasn't in very good condition anyway and one of the exhaust hoses came loose and down she went. It was 35+ foot stink-potter so I didn't really care.

Someone went out on the docks during the eye of the storm and marked the height of the water on the vertical post in the slip where my boat was sitting. After the storm was over and the water was back down to normal I measured from the waterline to the mark they put on the post. The storm surge was a little over 12'! The docks came to within 4' of rising above the top of the columns and floating free.

One medium size marina at the very North end of Galveston Bay had short 10' columns and the entire marina floated free and destroyed probably 200 boats. Most of them 30'+ power and sail boats.

The marina where I moved Andiamo from a few days before the storm had mostly fixed piers. My dock and in fact all of the fixed docks in my part of the marina were destroyed. The boat that had been across from mine was driven thru the dock and ended up on the bottom in the slip next to where I had been docked. The Catalina 30 on the other side of me floated up over the post separating our boats and ended up in my slip. Andiamo would have been underneath the C30! That was the only boat on our dock that didn't get destroyed.

Moral of the story is: find a good hurricane honey hole marina, a wide slip, take lots of pictures, secure the boat the best you can, then pray.

Association Member

GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

Edited by - GaryB on 10/02/2015 18:37:35

bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 10/02/2015 : 19:19:44

SKS

My boat is in Rowayton during the season and I spend winters at Norwalk Cove Marina -- They know their stuff and you are in as good a place as is possible. At a dock, yes, remove sails and items that could be blown off (life rings, etc) Add spring lines, etc as well. Over the years I have had several boats that have gone through hurricanes, no name storms as well as just dumb stuff. If secured well, you will do fine. And again, you are in a well managed and protected facility.

Peter Bigelow
C-25 TR/FK #2092 Limerick
Rowayton, Ct
Port Captain: Rowayton/Norwalk/Darien CT

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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Response Posted - 10/04/2015 : 06:37:56

As I think about it, there's another consideration that you should be thinking about when you tie up your boat in preparation for a major storm. At my marina, a few of us stay at the marina and adjust docklines during a hurricane. That has given us an opportunity to watch boats ride in their slips during the storm. One of the interesting things I have seen is that nylon dock lines stretch like rubber bands in strong wind gusts. A dockline that is 10' long can stretch 12-15" in a gust. That suggests that, when you're tying up your boat, you should anticipate that your docklines will stretch, and the longer the line, the more it will stretch. Therefore, a long springline that is intended to hold a boat back from the dock should be adjusted so that, even if it stretches, it still won't hit the dock.

Also, when you double up your docklines, if you adjust one slightly looser than the other, then one will stretch easily until the other becomes taut. When that happens, they will both be sharing the load, instead of one of them bearing the whole load. That will let them absorb the shock, but it will prevent them from stretching too much.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

Edited by - Steve Milby on 10/04/2015 06:44:08

JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 10/06/2015 : 10:40:00

Joaquin missed us on the east coast, except for beach erosion and some flooding.

I usually ride out a hurricane by having my boat hauled out by the marina using their travel lift. The parking lot is about 10-15 feet above sea level.

BoatUS has excellent info about everything discussed above. They have decades of experience with rescues, damage reports, and insurance claims to back up their information.

Boat US hurricane preparedness

JohnP
1978 C25 SR/FK "Gypsy"
Mill Creek off the Magothy River, Chesapeake Bay
Port Captain, northern Chesapeake Bay

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9017 Posts

Response Posted - 10/06/2015 : 13:28:19

I live by a wonderful hurricane hole at the north end of the Mystic River (an estuary), with a floating dock. For a big storm, I make my normal nylon docklines almost snug, and use double-braid for secondaries that I leave slightly looser in case the nylon lines chafe. My dock-neighbor generally pulls his boat for an expected hurricane, so in that event, I can run a line from his floating finger dock (as shown in Scott's last picture) instead of from the piling between our slips--eliminating the tidal issue. Normally I'm tied to that piling with a line that crosses the boat to the opposite side stern cleat so there's much less change in the angle with the tide.

I just wish our pilings were taller--Sandy took the dock within a foot of the top! But when all is said and done, that's why we have insurance on our boats. (As mentioned above, I take pictures of the whole arrangement in case the insurer wonders.)

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 10/06/2015 13:31:11

Voyager
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Response Posted - 10/06/2015 : 18:52:57

For the past few nor'easters and SS Sandy, I took Passage off her floating dock / mooring and moved her all the way upriver to the host marina. My dock is 25' long attached to the harbor bed by four flexible lines that are helix screwed into the mud, sand and shell bottom of the harbor. In all these storms, none of the 100+ floating docks ever broke free. I chose to move Passage another 1/4 mile upriver to the floating slips - consisting of a dock with slip fingers, all attached to 14 ft pilings. SS Sandy had a 12 foot tidal surge in our locale so we lucked out by two feet. Another two feet, we would have been off the pilings and up on the town green. Based on this, next time around I will double tie to my floating dock, take photos, remove all windage and hope for the best.

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 10/07/2015 : 03:33:06

I think it is great that a topic like this explores options regarding dealing with big storms/hurricanes. Many of us have our stories of what we have had to deal with while sailing under adverse conditions and while docked with preps for a hurricane. One thing to also be concerned is with those that own boats adjacent to ours and they do not prepare for impending doom. Case in point, a couple of years ago, we had to deal with a hurricane that was coming for a near hit to the DC area. I went down to my boat during the calm before the storm and was in the process of doubling my lines and attaching snubbers to my main dock lines to absorb the stresses when a line suddenly becomes taut from wave motion in the docking area. Then, somehow, I managed to drop my work cell phone in the drink. The marina could not find their long pole with a net and so I was initially trying a futile effort of attaching a bucket to the end of my hook pole and pulling up what I could in about 6 feet of dark muddy water. As I was doing this, I heard a soft thud. The motorboat next to me had just hit my boat. The winds were only about 5 mph !! I pulled his boat back to his finger slip and with what was his wretched stringy line that was well past it's useful life...secured it to the dock cleat. I then informed the marina to call this guy and get him down to the dock to secure his boat for the approaching hurricane and buy new dock lines.

Back at my finger slip, the boater on the other side of this boat with the deteriorated dock line told me that he had mentioned earlier in the summer that he should change his dock lines - They were getting ratty. He indicated he would and then was rarely seen the rest of the summer down at his boat. We all have these type boaters lurking in our marinas !!

After a few addl futile attempts to retrieve my cell phone, I told the marina that I can't wait any longer for this guy to get down to the marina, I was going to West Marine to buy a net pole and would also buy a docking line for the adjacent boat. The marina indicated they would credit me the cost of the line and charge the boat owner.

So, I replaced his badly deteriorated line. His other line was sort of okay - I would hope for the best. I was able to retrieve my work phone with the net pole - I really wanted to turn it in for a another one rather than report it missing or that I dropped it into the drink.

Bottom line - As we make preps for securing our boats for a hurricane (taking my boat out was not an option), if you have an adjacent boat - may pay to check out his lines to see if they are at least in decent shape.

The hurricane grazed our area and my boat was fine and same with the adjacent boat. he never did get down to his boat !! But I noticed he left our marina this year about 2 months ago !!

Larry
'89 Robin's Nest#5820, Potomac River/Quantico, Va
http://catalina25.homestead.com/olarryr.html

Edited by - OLarryR on 10/07/2015 03:36:08

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 10/07/2015 : 07:43:21

In additon to the above, I like to secure the secondary dock-lines to other cleats than those I typically use.

Jerry

bigelowp
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Response Posted - 10/09/2015 : 19:26:11

I have weathered many bad storms/Hurricanes -- but on a mooring where my biggest concern has been neighboring boats dragging their mooring and/or breaking loose. At mooring the C25 takes it like a champ.

Peter Bigelow
C-25 TR/FK #2092 Limerick
Rowayton, Ct
Port Captain: Rowayton/Norwalk/Darien CT

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