It appears that Dennis is going to make a close pass just off the west coast of Florida, then slam into the Panhandle or Louisiana this coming weekend. Damn, you'd think we'd get a break after last year's pummeling by Charley, Frances, Ivan, & Jeanne. After Andrew, most people in Miami take Hurricane warnings pretty seriously. Last year, we took the DiveSpots.com boat out of the water 2 of the 3 times Miami was "in the cone of death". But after two iterations of hauling the boat out (and boarding up the houses), the third threat we just kinda ignored. Dumb I know, but we got lucky. For us, it's a huge hassle hauling out the boat because 1) it's a catamaran (which means you need a special trailer), 2) it has very high gunwales, and 3) it exceeds the trailer weight limitations of most SUVs. And then once you pull it out, where do you put it? Is having it ashore really any safer than securing it at the slip?

According to a post on boats.com, if you're going to leave your boat in the water, anchoring is about your worst option. Anchors will not hold on soft bottoms. One report estimates that the survival rate of boats at anchor is 5 to 10 percent. Your next best option might be to secure it at the marina, but keep in mind that even a secure marina may not be the most hospitable location during a hurricane. Despite your best planning efforts, your neighbor may not have been so diligent in his. Loose boats in a marina wreak havoc.

If you have the option, taking it out of the water might be the way to go. A study conducted by MIT after Hurricane Gloria (1985) found that boats stored ashore were far more likely to survive than boats on the water. The simplest and most obvious solution if your boat is on a trailer is to drive it far enough out of the path of the hurricane. Your second best bet is to park your boat inside a garage that is strong enough to weather the storm.

Here are a few good articles on the subject:

• BoatUS
• Marine Survey
• Boat Safe

Comments:

	Post a Comment