Florida Liveaboard Questions - Boca Raton Area

[AnchorageGuy]

Originally Posted by scallywag

Tim - It all is based on storm surge. If you are on the hard and the marina in 10 feet under water the vessel floats unassisted into everything. If you are at the dock and the piers are fixed the vessel can pull the pilings out of the mud. I have a floating dock but if dock floats higher than the pilings everything is loose, even though I have lines running from the dock to the land. I have even had a cleat pulled from the floating dock and the vessel moving around the other three cleats. The vessel is insured and to try to move it before a storm is a task. That is why some boat owners summer in the north and winter in the south.
John

This is quite true but only part of the equation. From someone that has been trough 15 named storms on this boat we have pretty much seen it all. The storm surge is indeed a serious issue. However, most of the marina damage we have seen has been from boats toppled off their jack stands from the wind. During a storm season they are pretty much packed in and when one goes....well you know the domino affect. Look closely those pilings are normally 8 feet off the docks.

[imagine2frolic]

I am all the way up the east coast of Florida. About 23 miles southwest of Jacksonville. I sat on the boat through Jean & Francis. We had up to 90MPH winds. We adjusted dock lines, and at one point let the motors run & in gear to ease the strain on the lines.

I sat on the hook in South Beach when Charlie circled Miami. That I didn't like at all, and the winds were about 60MPH, but the holding is poor. Once again I idled the motors in gear to reduce the strain, and we stayed put.

I think you will find Boca expensive, and the surge on the ICW a lot. In my mind the secret is to get far enough away that the surge is the minimum. Where we are now we only got about a 2 foot rise in water out of the 2 hurricanes back to back. Not to mention the cleats, bollards, and piers were built for the navy. We are talking a substantial structure.

I heard once on NPR that if you take the coastline from Mexico to the northeast, and divided it into 15 mile strips. That Jacksonville statistaclly has the mildest weather during hurricane season since statistics have been kept.

[Randall]

My parents live in pensacola and was there during ivan. They stayed and was very glad they did. They lost there chimmney top and was able to catch the water coming in, lost there front window but because they were there had extra wood and had minimaul damage none inside. They also got to stay at there house where those that left could not get back for 3 to 4 days due to roads not being there. More damage was done during those days due to the constant rain than during the hit. Now you must know that you have the correct house as they did a brick house ect. The insurance agent that also took care of the house across the street said being that they left, there damage was 5 times what my parents was and they only lost part of there back sliding door.. The insurenac agent said if they were there they wouldn’t have lost all there furnature ect inside, some family passed down pieces, art ect. So staying, going, it can be a toss up. As for a boat I would never be on a boat in a hurricane. Not much to ad to that.

[lannen]

I live aboard in St. Pete, west central Florida. This area runs generally around $675 to $875 a month, for a 40' boat.

I'm moving to the Keys this summer. There are live aboard slips available in Marathon for $550 a month for my boat. Money is not the only factor. Teal waters and a little slower lifestyle are the main reasons. The less money for rent is just a bonus.

I spend the hurricane season on my boat. I adjust dock lines as necessary as the tidal surges occur. During Francis when everyone else was looking for electricity and fresh water, well, a self sufficient boat is a great place to be! My biggest threats are the unattended boats in the marina. You know the ones, green decks, rotting dock lines... when one of them gets loose, well, that is where the trouble starts.