What to do for Hurricane Matthew?

[jayhanig]

I live on one of the barrier islands just to the north of Wilmington, NC. My house is about 100 yards from the sound and 300 yards from the beach. I find myself at a loss as to what I should do about preparing for Hurricane Matthew if it decides to come for a visit next weekend. My boat lives in my driveway and it is covered with a trailerable boat cover with an underlying PVC frame underneath to prevent pouching of water or snow. In other words, the cover is very snugly secured.

What is the best way to prevent damage? Should I remove the boat to the mainland somewhere? Wherever it goes, it'll be outside. Should I leave it covered or just remove the cover and leave the drain plug out to take care of any collected water? (The plug's always out unless I'm putting the boat in the water anyway.)

From past storms, I know any flooding will come from rain water in excess to what the ground can absorb. Surge will not be a problem where I am unless the entire town is essentially destroyed. So the flooding is like overfilling a bathtub.... gentle but absolutely insistent. If I leave the boat and trailer in my driveway, do I need to sink or create some kind of tiedowns, maybe something like car tires filled with concrete with an eyebolt in the center to tie to? My boat is a 17' runabout that weighs about 2300 lbs with the trailer and full fuel

 

[Grub54891]

The only thing I can think of if you cant get it to a safe place, is to put it on the downwind side of the house and hope for the best.

 

[GA_Boater]

Do like my brother in law did for Andrew.

Put his old pickup in the garage and my sister's brand new car in the driveway. She was out of town and her car was sandblasted.

 

[wrvond]

Like Grub said, park the boat on the leeward side of your house just as close as you can get it. Leave the cover on and plug out. Chock the wheels. Update your insurance policy.
​Remember that hurricanes rotate clockwise, so consider the direction the storm is approaching from (south), so you'll want to put the boat on the north side of your house.

 

[oldjeep]

Make sure insurance is paid up and go somewhere safe.

 

[Scott Danforth]

make sure your insurance policy is up to date, fire up the blender and have a hurricane party.

 

[Clever screen name]

I was on long Island for Hurricane Gloria 1985 and I would avoid parking anything under trees cause I remember there was almost more trees on the ground then standing when that was over. And branches snap off and fly for a bit in all that wind.

 

[robert graham]

We're with the boat now on St. John's River about 100 miles south of Jacksonville....and rest assured I'm keeping an eye on Matthew....will pull the boat out and head West/North quickly if it comes this way....I expect by Thursday it may be time to run like hell!....

 

[wrvond]

The weather gurus are saying there is a cold front coming from the west that is going to push the storm east to clear the US. Canada, maybe not.

 

[jayhanig]

The weather gurus are saying there is a cold front coming from the west that is going to push the storm east to clear the US. Canada, maybe not.

God, I hope so.

 

[Bayou Dave]

We went through a flood in August. My local mechanic had about 10 boats in his yard and they just floated, trailer and all, to different places in the yard.

 

[youmansjason]

Definitely remove the plug. That way, if the cover leaks (likely with that much rain), at least the water will drain out of the bilge.

 

[Ned L]

............Remember that hurricanes rotate clockwise, so consider the direction the storm is approaching from (south), so you'll want to put the boat on the north side of your house.

Uhm mm,....... You might want to check that again, (unless you live south of the equator.)

 

[wrvond]

Uhm mm,....... You might want to check that again, (unless you live south of the equator.)

​You're absolutely correct. Mea culpa!
Take everything I said and flip it. :lol:

 

[Old Ironmaker]

We were in south Fla when Andrew visited. The last thing I would worry about is my boat. Untie the transom straps and throw the anchor and 150 feet of line onto the driveway.

Seriously I hope it doesn't touch the coast and please be safe, the boat is just stuff, stuff doesn't matter in life.

 

[jayhanig]

Definitely remove the plug. That way, if the cover leaks (likely with that much rain), at least the water will drain out of the bilge.

The only time the plug is in is when I put the boat in the water. The boat normally lives in the driveway with the plug out for exactly that reason.

 

[jayhanig]

We went through a flood in August. My local mechanic had about 10 boats in his yard and they just floated, trailer and all, to different places in the yard.

Good to know. I have a friend on the mainland who has offered me a place to park the boat where flooding is virtually impossible (never say never)..

 

[Clever screen name]

The weather gurus are saying there is a cold front coming from the west that is going to push the storm east to clear the US. Canada, maybe not.

I am in the 25% band now, it keeps moving over to the west. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/



Now I saved it here I can compare it to what I see tomorrow.

 

[Clever screen name]

This is what happened so far time of this post

Looks spot on, nice.


This graphic is or was here https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/atlantic/2016/Hurricane-Matthew?map=history&MR=1

 

[roscoe]

The way I see it, your insurance will never cover what you have invested in your boat. So protect it, in a garage, or 100 miles inland.

Insurance will likely make you whole on a car/truck if it is late model, 2-5 years old. And vehicles are easier to replace. So if something needs to be left outside, make it your car.