Texas Flooding

[joemerchant]

So a couple years ago we trucked our Cape Dory up to Dallas to be closer to work and what we thought was a safer place to keep it and refit it to be ready to cruise a year and a half from now. We thought long and hard in picking a lake that was still holding good water after the drought and had a good history for lake levels. Little did we know that Texas would have record rainfall and now the docks are starting to float free with one boat sunk and others in danger. The Corp of Engineers are saying it may be the end of July before they can get the water low enough to start repairs and pull boats out. Until then, all we can do is watch from the road and hope we don't lose any more boats and the batteries keep the bilge pumps running long enough to get back to them or not smashed into other boats or grounded. Petty thing when so many people have lost their lives, homes and vehicles, but the next worse thing to not owning a boat is owning one that you can't get to left to fend for herself. Our sister marina on the lake, the docks have all floated free and now held in place only by old tire breakwater.

marinafromair.jpg

marinafromair2.jpg

[fmueller]

hope your boat survives ...

Meanwhile up here in New England, no rain to speak of for most of the spring ... lawns are dry ... but still plenty of water in the ocean ...

[joemerchant]

Careful, I was bragging all winter on how nice it was to sail almost every weekend....

[joemerchant]

The Other Marina this morning.

[Jdpmus]

So, which lake? We are at Grapevine where it's been flooded for a couple of weeks, but nothing as bad as your pics.

[Steve Laume]

Is it not possible to dinghy out to get the boat off of the dock? Why not anchor out in a sheltered area until the water recedes a bit? I have no experience with this sort of thing but I don't think I would just wait to see if the dock Raven was tied to was going to float off the pilings.

I hope all ends well, Steve.

[joemerchant]

Joe Pool Lake. Joe Pool Marina is the worst affected and Lynn Creek Marina is holding in there with the exception of the two docks and one boat sunk thus far.

There is no place to really put a dingy in and then when you did, not allowed on the property until the city declares it safe.

[Jdpmus]

Just got an email from our marina at Grapevine (Scotts Landing) that the city has closed all roads going into Oak Grove Park. They had parking for marina clients at the ballparks across the road last week. They now have closed that and will be shuttling clients from Silver Lake on a limited schedule this coming week and next weekend.

[joemerchant]

Here is a flyover of our marina. All 3 Cape Dory's are safe for now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCKMag4WUt0

[Skeep]

Thanks for the aerial views of the situation. Regret there is not much one can do during an emergency such as this flooding event except to hope for the best. All of us sympathize with your frustration that is for sure!

Hope this rainfall dilemma will sort itself out with no more loss of life. Our wishes for your safety and the eventual recovery of your vessel in good condition!

[Astronomertoo]

Hello all,
I wish all of you involved in the flooding in Texas, or elsewhere, the best of luck. I think this is a wake up call to all of us who leave our beloved boats alone out on a mooring or at anchor for periods of time, without shore power to charge batteries. Due to a lack of dockage in our area, and zero floating docks, I will be keeping my old CD25 out in an open anchorage in Kings Bay, at Crystal River FL. I am now more serious than ever about providing enough solar power to maintain the batteries sufficient to keep up with bilge pumping for a long week of rainy weather, ie, tropical storms. My intent is to make a strong wind resistant platform similar to a bimini frame for solar cells mounted above the rear lazarrete that will keep the cells in sunlight, behind the main boom.
If I currently had a boat in the Texas flood areas and could get out to the boat with a kayak or something, I believe I would carry at least a couple small solar panels out to my boat, (prewired (and tested) with a cigarette plug cable long enough to plug in the cells to backfeed the boat (inside the boat) battery to charge the batteries. Pre-testing is important, and a controller inside the cabin to prevent discharging or over charging is also important. The panels could be at least set up in the cockpit, and tied down for wind protection, to provide at least minimum charging to prevent excessive bilge flooding and discharging of the house batteries.
Best wishes
BobC
Moon Shine