Hurricane Florence

boatman37

I am just NW of Pittsburgh on the Ohio and we are currently at 32.6' and supposed to peak at 35.5 sometime overnight. We just came from the marina where we were moving some things to a little higher ground. We pulled our boat Saturday afternoon but have been down the marina yesterday and today to help with what we can. We still have about 8' before the top of the pylings but there is a marina up river from us that is still full of boats that are all in finger slips (so broadside to the current) and the pylings are only sticking out about 4 more feet. About 1/2 of the boats at our marina have been pulled but the ones still in are either on A dock attached to shore or C dock that has a little shielding from the bridge pillars. B dock has fingers slips and it is empty

nhsd

Near Marietta OH the Ohio is normally at 13’. It is currently above 33’ and projected at 38.5’ Wednesday. Boat and docks pulled, everything moved out of bottom buildings. Summer is over....

LaRea

This was the ramp to my dock last night, over two hours before high tide.  Best-case scenario, we get only 4" of rain, but it's got noplace to go.  

randy56

@rowboat212  RUN! don't walk

Liberty44140

Would you guys on the top end of the path consider running the boat a couple of hours north rather than pulling? 

davidbrooks

I just made the call to pull my boat.  My marina on the Severn River has water a foot over the dock and it hasn't receded.  They said that the last time this happened water was 6-8ft above record high.  Water in Annapolis has the entire dock up to and past market square under water since yesterday and we haven't even hit the storm surge.  We are so water logged that i am thinking that trees are going to have a tough time staying in the ground if we do get the winds they are predicting for DC this weekend.  A weather report i listened to on the way in this am said that Frances actually hit a Cat 5 category for a while last night and was anticipated to hit land as a strong Cat 4.  DC is anticipated to have 60+ MPH winds for a good part of the weekend.

Handymans342

Are there a lot of trees around your marina?

Ransnan

Im a hour north of Annapolis by boat, just got on the list to pull the boat on Saturday, it's easier to cancel than to get on the list ! Be prepared!

Ransnan

Baltimore Yacht club 9/11/18

Dream_Inn

I need to go down to the marina and empty out my dock box.  Wondering if anything has already gotten wet.  It usually takes a bit before it actually goes over our dock, which is about a foot higher than the rest of the marina's dock.  I'll raise my boat up a bit more as well while I'm there.

davidbrooks

@Handymans342 the marina is surrounded by large old trees.  Not where they can hit the boats in the water but one of my main concerns when up on blocks.  So you get to pick wind and tree damage or sinking?  I found a lot of tips on what to do or not do but thought this one was pretty comprehensive. https://www.boatus.com/magazine/2011/june/hurricaneprep.asp 

The other one i read had a lot of really good tips.  https://www.boatingmag.com/how-to-secure-your-boat-for-hurricane#page-2

LaRea

Yup, I'm hauling out.  That east wind is gonna shove the Atlantic Ocean all the way up the Potomac River, which means the 6" of rain will be trapped here.  I'm betting river levels will be 4-6 feet above normal.  I don't want any part of that.

If I can do it this afternoon, at least it won't be as rainy as tomorrow.  

Michael T

Good luck guys - better safe than sorry! MT

Dream_Inn

Well, I know in my current marina, when Isabel hit, the boats on land that were on blocks floated away.  Even the boats on the first level racks (where fork lifts move them to), floated.  All the boats on the lifts were ok.  If it were coming right up the bay, I'd pull out at another marina around the corner (where I get all my work done).  They store the boats high up on land (like 30-40' higher in elevation). 

Good thinking LaRea!  Hopefully they have some higher elevation storage, cause that Potomac will just get higher and higher the further up you go!

MarkB

Handymans342 said:

Well a 342 is 16000 lbs. Hard to blow that off a lift or a dry storage cradle. I did tie mine to the dock in case the water level rose to the point of floating. 

I don't think so man. I've seen videos of transport trucks loaded with goods (and they are capable of transporting up to 20 tonnes ... blow around like rag dolls. If the wind is strong enough, it will move that boat, no doubt in my mind.

This video is from a 90 mph gust ... not even hurricane force.

https://youtu.be/oyny3p4ZhSc

Handymans342

My boat made it thru 120. And that truck has a huge profile

Stodge

Handymans342 said:

My boat made it thru 120. And that truck has a huge profile

Well it has diesels.  Just say'n....

boatman37

Here is a post by a Club Sea Ray member that is very knowledgeable. I haven't read the whole thing as I am not near hurricane weather but several on the site said it was very good information.

http://www.clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/hurricane-preparation-by-frank-webster.87162/

Admins, sorry if I violated any rules by posting a link to another forum but thought it was important enough to share.

Handymans342

No one recommend I leave my boat on my lift but it was no issue as far as the wind was concerned

davidbrooks

So your saying when i get on blocks to drop anchor?   Several of the sites recommend putting in large spiral stakes to help keep the boat from rocking on the stands.  I wasn't even thinking about floating away.  Our high gound is about 6ft above the water so i am glad my insurance premium is paid up.

Handymans342

David, its good to over prepare but I dont think the winds up there will be that bad. Flooding is your concern .

raybo3

Hey everyone just keep in mind to be safe. Boats can be replaced. RBOC members and their family can not................ BE SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Handymans342

Everyone, listen to Old broke a$$ Man Raybo!!!!! 

GMSLITHO

raybo3 said:

Hey everyone just keep in mind to be safe. Boats can be replaced. RBOC members and their family can not................ BE SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AMEN TO THAT 

GMSLITHO

Most of the boating season I wish i was on a bigger body of water,instead of my small puddle  but there a a few times I am very happy I don't boat on tidal waters When hurricane Sandy hit that was the last time , My dad had passed away and  his old 42 foot wood pacemaker was on land after Sandy hit the bulldozer came in and took away what was left of the old boat  

LaRea

Ready for some scary math? 

The Potomac River has a watershed area of nearly 15,000 square miles.  Essentially the entire watershed will get 4-10 inches of rain over the next week.  Let that sink in for a moment.  Even if it's only 4" everywhere, that's 140 billion cubic feet of water that has to eventually move past DC. 

When the Potomac is at flood levels, the discharge rate at Great Falls can be 150,000 cubic feet per second (15 times higher than average).  At that rate, it would take 11 days to move all that water.  

And it could be more than 4" of rain ...

I just double-checked that my flood insurance is paid up.  

Handymans342

@LaRea .Hang in there. You wont be dining out in Old town or Georgetown anytime soon. Think of all the money you will save on your grossly overpaid salary. LOL

GMSLITHO

I don't really think this a time to make jokes ,I think by Monday a lot of peoples lives will change for the worse 

Handymans342

GMSLITHO said:

I don't really think this a time to make jokes ,I think by Monday a lot of peoples lives will change for the worse 

Who is joking??

LaRea

Haha, gotta love gallows humor from Handy!  I parted with some of that salary hauling out today. 

But seriously, we could be in for some sh%t.  The 100-year flood plane includes part of my property, although the home is not in it.  We might get to 100-year levels if the worst predictions come true.  

Any boaters here from the James River, or Richmond?  That town is in for a ride.  East winds 30+ for four days?  Ouch.