Re: [Cal_Boats] my Cal boats are ready for the next $%^&&#@ WX
Tom,
We've been very fortunate here in the Keys so far. 2 years ago we were tucking 19 dive boats and 31 sailboats in the mangroves every other weekend. Knock on wood we've been very blessed with great weather.
Rich & Carol
Islamorada, Fl.
From: Tom Vandiver <bs… [at] yahoo.com>
To: Cal List <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 6:23:46 AM
Subject: [Cal_Boats] my Cal boats are ready for the next $%^&&#@ WX
Hi Cal Folks,
One of our fishing friends spotted Jim Cantore from
the Weather Channel out on the Pensacola Beach Pier
yesterday. In this part of our country he is known as
the original "Hurricane Magnet", so our angler group
is planning on escorting him out of town today.
At present, 0600 CDT, none of the computer models show
this low as developing into a tropical storm, just a
lot of rain, which is good as we are 21" of rain
deficient this year. However, having endured several
hurricanes and tropical storms in our 15 years on
Bayou Chico, we have learned it is better to prepare
before the storm rather than during it.
Bravura, our Cal 25 is on her trailer way out in the
woods east of Foley, Alabama getting prepped for her
new paint job by our airplane painter friend. She will
be okay. Satori, our Cal 46 is hunkered down in our
reinforced slip at our dock on the bayou. After
hurricane Ivan, 15 Sept. 2004, I reinforced and added
more pilings. I sistered all of my six hold off
pilings, 6" X 25' long buried 10' in the bottom with
three different length pilings, tied off with 3/4"
nylon so as to take shock loading at a different
location. After Ivan some long creosoted boards, 4" X
12" floated up from an old sunken barge. I through
bolted them through the three hold off pilings on the
west side of Satori, up high enough to keep other
boats off.
Depending on todays WX prediction, I will get the
pontoon boat on it's trailer and fill my work barge
with water, so it won't sink (?). Several years ago I
placed dolphins,(3 long pilings, bottoms 6'- 8' apart,
tops tied together in a sort of pyramid shape, very
strong)at the outer end of my dock and my two adjacent
neighbors docks. I attach 5/16" chain near the the top
of all of the dolphins, pulling it tight with a
come-along. This keeps the alpha hotel's boats off us
when they abandon their boats upwind in our bayou on
inadequate ground tackle.
I though I would share what it takes to get boats
ready for heavy WX, since all of you northern folk
always share your winter prep. It is the tax we pay
for not having cold WX.
High tides are predicted to 3 - 4' above normal, so
may need to evacuated the BSH, our guest/boat house
down by the dock. Last hurricane we had six feet of
water in the BSH, destroyed all of the contents. After
fighting the *&#@@! insurance maggots we still had
over $30,000 "uninsured" LOSS.
Later....
Tom and Bobbie Vandiver