Hurricane Florence

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

He knows one of the guys who was on 2 anchors with 60 feet of chain and 3/4 inch rope rodes. Both rope rodes failed and his boat is aground up the creek in what is now shallow water.

60 feet of chain? For a Hurricane? Yeah well this is just playing and not a serious attempt to survive at anchor (my experience a long time ago on a 51ft monohull was 2 anchors, both with 300ft of chain, and I'm not saying even that is enough if it's blowing 100kn+).

Originally Posted by hpeer

That’s dissapointing. I would have thought a boat in the hook would have faired well.

Yes, but with proper preparation and a proper setup.

In our case everyone was trying to haul out (we were already on the hard) but instead we asked to be put back in the water. The thought of boatyard detritus, as well as just other yachts flying about and falling on us was not very comforting. NB: we were experienced professional sailors at the time, so I can't recommend this option for everyone, and as mentioned, you may need to check your insurance policy too.

Originally Posted by hpeer

The all chain rode observation is very interesting. I’ll definetly keep that in mind.

I would say not so much interesting, but more a prerequisite. Go all chain rode whenever you can of course.

[hpeer]

JMH2002,

Thanks for your input. We’ve had some rough weather at anchor, up to 50 knots, and been fine with our normal ground tackle. I think a big point in these conversations is to go over winning and loosing strategies to evaluate what works best when and where.

So let me ask this, in part because we don’t know what kind of boats we are discussing. The theoretical downside to all chain rode in a storm is that it puts too much strain on the securing points, typically the cleats. I’ve heard stories and seen pictures of boats with significant bow damage due to cleats letting go under shock loading. So folks want a snubber, which leads to rope over the roller which is subject to chafe.

Thinking this through I’ve 2 suggestions.
1- have the chain run through the roller back 10-15 feet, then have a snubber run to an aft cleat or winch.
2- have your chain, then some rode (could be a lot) then some 5-10 feet more of chain to go over the roller and finally enough line to tie off.

What are the disadvantages of each?

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by jmh2002

60 feet of chain? For a Hurricane? Yeah well this is just playing and not a serious attempt to survive at anchor (my experience a long time ago on a 51ft monohull was 2 anchors, both with 300ft of chain, and I'm not saying even that is enough if it's blowing 100kn+).

There was 60 feet of chain on each anchor plus a rope rode attached to the chain. one rode was 5/8 and one was 3/4. I don't know how much rope rode he had payed out, but he was hanging on the rope plus the chain.

[hpeer]

Bill, any idea what size boat?

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Bill, any idea what size boat?

No, but I'll ask next time I talk to him.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by JimsCAL

Will probably need a crane.

We had some boats come off stands at our club lot in Sandy. We hired a crane to lift them back up. Cost was shared by the boat owners insurance.

This is the best way to get it done, IMO. Make sure everybody who needs crane work is all together with it, the crane makes one trip, does all the work, and the travel costs and wages for the crane operator are all shared out. If possible have the insurance companies set it up, but if it isn't (they're going to be busy, simply inform whoever's involved, and set it up and get 'er done).

Ann

[hpeer]

Re cranes: Done this a couple of times. More involved than it looks like if you can’t get right up to the boat. The further out you lift the more over turning moment. Then they worry about getting too close to the bulkhead. Then big cranes are hard to maneuver in a crowded marina lot. I ended up with a 100 ton crane to lift our 8 ton boat, the 50 would not do it.

[a64pilot]

It seems in the picture that there is grass real close to the boat, making me think a crane can get close.

[a64pilot]

Storm anchoring.
I originally had dual 25’ snubbers, my thinking now is at least twice that, 50’ of 5/8” three strand nylon in 2.5” fire hose.
If you lose both snubbers, then its the chain stopper as a last hope.
My chain stopper is mounted as strong as I could with thru bolts thru the bow sprit.

[model 10]

Not all fire hose is equal. The primo stuff is from a city fire dept. Wildland fire hose is crap. The city hose is made for going around corners, sharp edges etc. and much more heavy duty. However the spiral wrap sold for heavy equipment Hyd hoses is by far the best thing going.

[Franziska]

Just speculating, but a 100ton crane partially supported on very wet and soft grassland close to shore sounds tricky.
Just make sure the crane does not get destabilzed.

Attaching slings to a boat perched somehow at an oblique angle is a dangerous job. How stable is she?

Still, crane seems like your best bet.
I wish you all the luck there is, just be careful.

[Exile]

Oftentimes cranes on barges are used to set pilings, etc. If there's access . . . .

[jimbunyard]

Originally Posted by chrismct

Trying to upload pictures

Originally Posted by chrismct

not sure how to get it down

If you've not yet refloated her, and have logistic or economic problems with cranes, barges or cherry pickers, your boat can be easily launched with appropriate rope or cable bracing, one (if you're feeling brave) or two (to enable you to control the 'launch speed') appropriately sized (2-3 ton?) chain falls, and some dunnage and perhaps blocking in case of unforeseen situations. You might have to do a little dock repair where the leading edge of the keel slides against the dock as the boat enters the water stern first.

You must have a secure anchorpoint to the port side to accomplish this.

Briefly, attach lines to both sides of the boat, fore and aft, and pull the hull so she is plumb, or so that she clears the pilings that are at this time supporting her on the port side. Attach chain falls to fore and aft anchor points and to the keel with web slings, and take up the slack in both directions. Then, as one person loosens the forward chain fall, the aft person pulls the hull back, easing the hull into the water. Obviously this is a caricature of the process; the situation will call for a careful analysis of where and how to attach lines and winches, and the placement, timing and execution of various operations.

The construction of the dock should be taken into account before this is attempted; if it is not robust, some reinforcement will be necessary.

If you've never attempted something like this, it would be good to cast about and try to find someone with experience in these situations. Luckily, the percentage of those that are more likely to have this is much higher in a marina environment...

[a64pilot]

Hose I got was old retired stuff from the plant I worked at.
It’s heavy fabric and rubber lined, and stiff as a board, really wants to stay flat as I’m sure it spent decades on a reel, flattened out.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Bill, any idea what size boat?

Ok I talked to him today and the boat was a 42 ft Beneteau. The bad news is that what was shallow water a few days ago is now dry land after the water went down some more. The owner reports damage to his bowsprit that would indicate a collision with another boat. A couple of the missing boats were apparently anchored upwind from him. He suspects one dragged down on him. I guess that's one of the dangers of anchoring out. I had a friend who lost his boat in Irma last year because a boat dragged into him and his rode parted.

When Matthew was headed at Melbourne Fl two years ago I stayed in a slip with three levels of fender boards 8 feet long and did fine. One additional thing I did was tie three 5/8 inch line across the pilings in front of my boat. Someone who stayed told me that a monohull that broke loose in the storm spent about an hour bouncing off of those lines. I had never heard of anyone doing that before, but I had some extra line left over after I was tied up and thought it might not be a bad idea, turned out it wasn't.