TWL: Isabelle Report/Check In
We are located on the Middle Chesapeake Bay, off the Rappahannock River, lat
37 43, long 75 27.
My dock is well protected, my home about 30 feet above the normal water
level.
I decided to pull my trawler because I had no faith in the cleats, which are
just screwed into the wood.
My marina was able to pull about 80 boats before the storm.
Power was lost 11 am on Thursday, large 100 plus feet oaks came down staring
about 3 pm. Winds shifted East to SE with strongest winds estimated at 70
mph.
On Friday we found 25 trees down on nearby properties, 63 trees down on our
state road. No damage to my home, dock or my nearest neighbors.
On river where there were waves many docks destroyed. On South shore of
Rappahannock between Stingray Point & Urbanna almost 100% dock destruction.
Phone lines out from Thursday until today, Mon, Sept 22.
All boats at marina came thru OK, all boats nearby in the cove/river OK.
Not sure when we will get power ( on generator now )
Hope not to do this again.
Joe Urban
Punches - Senator 25
Lancaster, VA
Hello All,
Glad to hear the reports of all who made it through the storm. We also
suffered no casualties. We remained firmly tied to the docks and I stayed
with the boat throughout. Our dock box did try to get away, but I managed
to lasso it before it could get far. Other than some lost dock boxes and
some torn canvas that didn't get put away, I think most of the boats in the
area are unscathed. The marinas in the harbor did suffer some damage as the
storm surge was about five feet. A lot of things were under water. We do
not have shore power available.
My dock neighbor fretted for two days about whether to stay in or be hauled
out. He decided to stay in and put out his extra lines and tucked away his
canvas. Then on Thursday he decided to be hauled out and be blocked up.
Unfortunately he was not blocked up on high ground, so when the storm surge
came in his boat, along with about 20 other boats, came off the blocking and
started floating around! When my neighbor came back on Saturday he found
his boat tied to the fuel pier at the marina where he was hauled out. He
was not hauled out by our marina. Actually, our marina was discouraging
hauling out because of the predicted storm surge. They did haul out small
boats that could be trailered.
I am docked at Georgetown Yacht Basin, and I would just like to give them a
plug here. I have no financial affiliation with them other than they get a
lot of my money. Georgetown Yacht Basin employees were here all night
Thursday night. When there was four feet of water over the docks, two
employees waded through it to check every boat on the dock. It was four in
the morning. They helped me tie up the dock boxes that were trying to float
away. If they had to adjust lines, they did. If they had to cut spring
lines that were to short, they did. I heard several stories from fellow
dockmates who said someone adjusted their lines on the boat, or retied the
dinghy, because it wasn't the way they left it. While listening to the VHF
I discovered that GYB had the entire crew here checking boats on all of the
docks, not just mine. The owner was here directing the crew. The dinghy
racks that tried to float away were caught and tied to a piling. I am sure
other marinas take the same precautions and operate the same way. At least
I would like to think so. On the down side, one of my dockmates said GYB
was supposed to take down his canvass and they didn't. The canvass was
damaged. Probably an oversight or a loss in the communications.
Unfortunately, Hurricane Isabel has knocked us off our schedule and we will
not be able to attend TrawlerFest this year. The loss of shore power,
difficulties with the generator, and some other issues have also
contributed. Hope everyone has a grand time, and perhaps we can attend next
year.
Regards to all,
Andy
Andy & Linda Woods
Grand Folly
1970 Grand Banks 36 Classic
Georgetown, MD
grandfolly@hotmail.com
From Worton Creek Marina up the Chesapeake Bay a few miles from Rock Hall.
Skooch was fine. She (14'6" beam) was sprung between new extra high pilings
in a 20 foot wide slip. No Skooch marks on the pilings and no piling marks
on Skooch.
The only boats with major damage were under the sheds and didn't have
enough clearance after the 8 foot surge. Many boats had battle scares from
rubbing on poles. Highest wind recorded was 57 knots. Luckily the winds did
not coincide with the high water. The high water came following the highest
winds. The marina folks including the owner and his wife worked around the
clock, added double lines to those not able to get to their boats and spent
the night adjusting and tending to their customers. They were all still
working hard on Monday morning when I left.
On Friday at 4pm I got to the marina and waded thru two feet of water over
the docks to check out Skooch. This is the first hurricane I've not spent
on my boat as the Admiral put her foot down and said no. The water had
reached 8 feet over high tide. The Marina suffered the most with their
store and machine shops flooded. The boats hauled out for protection where
inches from floating away, but did not. Power was restored by Sunday night.
I was major impressed with the marina crew and owners efforts on behalf of
the boats.
Skooch Hatteras LRC 42
Worton Creek, MD
David Stahl
Beacon Technologies Inc.
Serving The Delaware Valley
Business and Residential Internet Services
Georgetown Yacht Basin employees were here all night
Thursday night. When there was four feet of water over the docks, two
employees waded through it to check every boat on the dock. It was four
in
the morning.
If they had to adjust lines, they did. If they had to cut spring
lines that were to short, they did. I heard several stories from fellow
dockmates who said someone adjusted their lines on the boat>
Andy
Well put.
That is the reason a boat should be tied to the dock and not the converse.
When the eye of the line is on the dock and the bitter end is on the boat ,
lines may be readily adjusted, even if the dock is under water! The same
holds true when you are on board and simply need to adjust lines during
docking or for a change in water level. This very weekend my wife and I
were assisting in the docking of a brand new , expensive, trawler and they
threw the bitter ends to us with the eyes made fast on the boat. This put
the crew in the position of trying to tell us how to dock their boat ! Not a
good thing. There is an article about this on our web site. It was
published in a recent issue of PASSAGEMAKER magazine.
CCC
Charles C. and Pat Culotta
Patterson,La.
Web Page: http://www.geocities.com/charlesculotta
Charles Culotta wrote:
This very weekend my wife and I
were assisting in the docking of a brand new , expensive, trawler and they
threw the bitter ends to us with the eyes made fast on the boat. This put
the crew in the position of trying to tell us how to dock their boat ! Not a
good thing.
I generally agree with you, but sometimes it is a good thing. If you are
pulling into a full-service marina, use the dockhands. Let them do the
tying. That means your mate can throw a line and immediately move to the
next one...rather than spending time waiting for the dockhand to secure the
loop and adjusting the line on the boat.
I am thinking of Beaufort and Charleston South Carolina when the current is
3-4 knots and docking can get kinda fun. The dockhands are rather competent
and they know how to handle the local conditions. I believe it is safest to
get as many lines as possible out quickly.
Bob
R C Smith Jr
M/V MARY KATHRYN
Hatteras 58 LRC
Annapolis
Hmmm...Just because your dock line comes with an eye splice on one end
doesn't mean you have to use the eye splice. In our cruising waters (PNW),
once north of Port McNeil, dock cleats are practically extinct and low
wooden dock rails rule. When preparing to dock, we keep the eye spliced end
aboard but cleat the line normally leaving a 3-5 foot tail. After we get
tied up to the dock, we can then fine tune the way the boat sits from on
board. On our new boat, we won't even have eye splices on our dock lines as
we find them more hindrance than help.
Mike O'Reilly
M/V Ladyhawke
Sunnfjord 54 LRC
Portland, OR
Charles Culotta wrote:
This very weekend my wife and I
were assisting in the docking of a brand new , expensive, trawler and
they
threw the bitter ends to us with the eyes made fast on the boat.
I must say that out here in the land of big tides and floating
docks belaying dock lines on the dock seems to be the norm. This is
especially true at the many docks which do not have cleats and just
have a 4x4 or 4x6 rail running the length of the dock.
It is possible to send an eye to the rail on the dock but you
need to have a wood block to run through the eye splice once the eye
has been passed under the rail. Usually folks use a short length of
4"x4" lumber about 8"-12" long with a taper towards the middle and fat
ends.
This put
the crew in the position of trying to tell us how to dock their boat ! Not
a
good thing.
That is why I always put my most trusted crew member in charge of a
aft leading breast line. With this one line I can maintain fairly
tight control of where the boat ends up and hold it against the dock
with the engine. This works very well in our local conditions but I
can easily see how it would be different with a fixed pier and
pilings.
Ross Fleming ross@renoun.net
S/V Renown Gulfstar 39
Seattle, Washington http://renoun.net
. This put
the crew in the position of trying to tell us how to dock their boat !
Not a
good thing.
=======
I generally agree with you, but sometimes it is a good thing. If you are
pulling into a full-service marina, use the dockhands. Let them do the
tying. That means your mate can throw a line and immediately move to the
next one...rather than spending time waiting for the dockhand to secure
the
loop and adjusting the line on the boat.
I am thinking of Beaufort and Charleston South Carolina when the current
is
3-4 knots and docking can get kinda fun
Bob
Bob,
Just as Michael Oriett and Ross Fleming state You want your
instructions followed and who better than YOUR CREW?
As I stated in my article my wife or deck hand have discussed the variables
of the docking situation BEFORE WE GET THERE. We KNOW what we want to do.
I do not want to relegate the docking of my boat to someone whom I have
never met. After all if there is damage to the boat or dock I am the one who
pays!!
Note that we do not decline assistance in getting a line on a piling or
cleat of OUR CHOICE.
When there is heavy current that is definitely the place that I prefer to
be in CONTROL of my boat.
As Bob Austin said sometimes you need a Spring First and YOU know which
cleat or piling YOU want it on. Or, maybe the situation calls for a bow
spring , I don't want
to take the chance of the dock hand putting it where I do not want it
either thru his ignorance ( I do not use that term lightly) or just a
mistake. Unfortunately I speak from experience!
Example:
We were docking with a heavy current and adverse wind in a VERY TIGHT
alongside situation. We mapped all out and as I was going in , the "
experienced OWNER" of the marina thought he knew better and would not
follow my wife's request as to which piling I NEEDED , not just wanted, the
first line to be made up to. There was a big problem and but for some
significant maneuvering, damage to my boat and another was avoided.
When I came in the second time and made up withOUT incident ( he actually
told me that I was doing it wrong) there was less than 3 ft between my
boat and the boat in front AND the one behind me.
Mike O'Reilly makes a good point abt the PNW and I pointed that out in my
article , that the PNW is an EXCEPTION.
The foregoing is my experience and of course as always YMMV.
CCC
M/V CC RIDER
CHARLES C. and PAT CULOTTA, Jr.
Patterson, La.
http://www.geocities.com/charlesculotta/
Example:
We were docking with a heavy current and adverse wind in a VERY TIGHT
alongside situation. We mapped all out and as I was going in , the "
experienced OWNER" of the marina thought he knew better and would not
follow my wife's request as to which piling I NEEDED , not just wanted,
the
first line to be made up to.
Interesting that this seems to be fairly common at docks I've visited. The
dockhand/owner/manager/helpful person/whoever that catches the line simply
WILL NOT put the line where asked... they almost always seem to think they
know better. And they usually try to hang on to the line and pull MOJO in,
stop our foward progress, etc... why they think they can man-handle an
80,000 lb., 50' steel boat is beyond me! My wife (who is on deck throwing
lines while I'm at the helm) has finally figured out a way of effectively
communicating where to put the aft-leading spring (the first line we put
on - with a single screw and no thrusters the aft leading spring gives
awesome control!). She tells the dockhand, "The captain says put this line
around that piling/cleat - NOW!" It seems that invoking the request of the
"captain" more often than not does the trick whereas simply saying, "My
husband says put the line, etc., etc.," carries no weight at all!
Ray B.
m/v MOJO
Bebe Design #112 Passagemaker 49-10 in steel
www.mvmojo.com
Ray, and the fitting way to handle things once all your lines are made fast
would be to walk up to your wife and in a voice that all can hear say "Nice
job with the lines Captain"!
Bob Peterson
-----Original Message-----
From: m/v MOJO
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2003 3:31 PM
To: Charles Culotta; trawler-world-list@lists.samurai.com
Subject: TWL: Re: Tying Boats to Docks & the Converse
She tells the dockhand, "The captain says put this line around that
piling/cleat - NOW!" It seems that invoking the request of the "captain"
more often than not does the trick