Caught in Sudden Storm Advice?

[bekosh]

Re: Caught in Sudden Storm Advice?

bekosh, winnebago is not forgiving, iits a bit shallow (average of 15,maximum depth of 21') and the waves are closer together than most bodies of water which will play havoc on many boats.

I've been on the Winnebago system for about 8 years now. She can be a royal cast iron b**** some days.

Here are a couple of videos from July 2nd.
Me, in my slip on the river in Oshkosh.

 

[bekosh]

Re: Caught in Sudden Storm Advice?

And my friend anchored in the cove.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Caught in Sudden Storm Advice?

Sounds like you did well for the conditions handed to you. But let me throw something else into the mix that could have happened, food for thought...

What if the engine died or the boat was been disabled by one of the shoals that were narrowly missed? Did you have a big enough anchor for the conditions, chain and sufficient anchor line to hold the boat?

We were out Saturday and out of the blue the engine wouldn't start, hit the ignition key and, nothing... Luckily we were heading back to load up, AND, I knew to pop the engine cover and jump the slave solenoid to start the engine. But if this happened in storm conditions like you were experiencing, I would have resorted to "plan B", throw out the anchor with 15' of chain and 500' of anchor line attached.

 

[OllieC]

Re: Caught in Sudden Storm Advice?

And my friend anchored in the cove.

I think he summed it up perfectly at 1:05.

Is that the boat that sunk?

 

[bekosh]

Re: Caught in Sudden Storm Advice?

I think he summed it up perfectly at 1:05.

Is that the boat that sunk?

That was when it REALLY started to pick up.
This one didn't sink, he got his anchor chain wrapped around his starboard drive.

 

[JEBar]

Re: Caught in Sudden Storm Advice?

I think he summed it up perfectly at 1:05.

that is putting it mildly ... :facepalm:

Jim

 

[JEBar]

Re: Caught in Sudden Storm Advice?

let me throw something else into the mix that could have happened, food for thought...

What if the engine died or the boat was been disabled by one of the shoals that were narrowly missed.

that is about as good of an argument in favor of having a kicker motor that is powerful enough to move the boat in storms as I've ever heard

Jim

 

[four winns 214]

Re: Caught in Sudden Storm Advice?

I'm partners in an airplane (1980 F33A Bonanza) as well as a boater. In the air and on the water I use a Garmin 396 GPS that has dedicated aviation and marine maps. I subscribe to XM satellite weather and it displays on the GPS map. It's worth every penny of the monthly subscription.

XM satellite weather lessens, but does not eliminate, the threat of being surprised by convective weather. About a month ago, I was at home viewing the Weather Underground website as some convective weather developed near my home. The Weather Underground Nexrad radar images and XM satellite weather have the same data source and are updated every five minutes. One particular storm about five miles from my house went from a green dot to a severe thunderstorm in two data cycles- 10 minutes. Some boaters on the Ohio River about a mile from my house were surprised by the storm and were racing to a marina when their boat was struck by lightning. One of the occupants was gravely injured, but survived. The storm went on to cause considerable straight-line wind damage. In my years of experience with using XM weather, such a storm is exceptionally rare.

 

[Ernest T]

Re: Caught in Sudden Storm Advice?

What if the engine died or the boat was been disabled by one of the shoals that were narrowly missed? Did you have a big enough anchor for the conditions, chain and sufficient anchor line to hold the boat?

We were out Saturday and out of the blue the engine wouldn't start, hit the ignition key and, nothing... Luckily we were heading back to load up, AND, I knew to pop the engine cover and jump the slave solenoid to start the engine. But if this happened in storm conditions like you were experiencing, I would have resorted to "plan B", throw out the anchor with 15' of chain and 500' of anchor line attached.

Very good point and something I thought about after the storm. In the location that I first encountered the worst water, I realized that it was way too deep for the amount of anchor line I had on the boat. I would have been in deep kimchi if the engine had died at that point. More anchor line is on my list.