Here Comes Dorian

[Capt. Fritter]

As of this posting Hurricane Dorian is predicted to hit the east coast of Florida near West Palm Beach late Monday or early Tuesday as a Cat 4 major storm. Here in the Florida Keys we are predicted to get sustained tropical force winds beginning Sunday with gusts and of course lots of rain. Everyone in Boot Key Harbor is getting prepared.
On Hard A Lee I have four lines of ½" going to the mooring ball with chafing gear. Two lines are primary and two are back up in case a line breaks or the cleat fails. I've pulled the headsail down and need to secure halyards and tie down the mainsail. The deck is cleared and I need to decide when to take down the solar panels, probably Sunday.
The marina will be taking in dinghies for storage on Sunday and I have not heard when the local shelter will be open. Getting all the other prep done today, laundry, cleaning out compost toilet, getting some cash from the ATM, and laying in extra food and water.
The boat has a pretty dry cabin and two batteries. If I do take down the solar I am hoping the batteries will last until I can get back on board and reinstall the panels. Upside the storm is to turn north at or right after landfall meaning our weather here in the Keys should be back to normal fairly quick.
The harbor is about half full and there are a lot of boats in the surrounding anchorages which are questionably anchored. There is a good chance most of them will slip and slide and ping pong into the those on mooring balls. During Irma, only one mooring ball failed, the rest of the boats either lines or anchors failed.
You do all you can to prepare for a storm like this but you keep wondering if you missed something or if you did everything correctly. Very stressful.
I've had the boat for sale but this storm will destroy the used boat market in Florida, much like Irma did.
Guess I'm about to find out just how well built a Cape Dory 25 really is. Should be fun!

[moctrams]

I heard Dorian will come ashore 8am Sunday.

[MHBsailor]

Good that you're making preparations Captain. I always remove the mainsail when a significant storm is threatening (both to reduce windage and to prevent it from being flogged to death if the cover comes off). Also I'm surprised that you're only using 1/2-in pendants for a 4000 lb boat. I use 5/8-in and mine Cape Dory Is 3300 lbs and 22-feet LOA (16 LWL). How deep is the water where Hard A Lee (great name btw) is moored? Is it in a protected area or open to a fetch during storms? What kind of anchor do you have (e.g., mushroom? helix?) What weight? How good is the holding ground? What do you have for bottom and top chain? What about the size of the swivels and shackles? How old are components? When were they last inspected out of the water? I ask these out of concern and not criticism, as I asked myself the same questions every year, and when I bought my mooring system I went to a local company that manages over 1,000 moorings locally so they know what works and what doesn't in my local waters. I also use only American-made mooring system components.

There's a helpful video here "What's in a Mooring?" https://www.offcenterharbor.com/hm-hami ... ings-1804/ from Mr. Wayne Hamilton, Searsport Maine's Harbormaster and co-owner of Hamilton Marine (with his wife) in which he discusses (among other things) the importance of ensuring that any connecting pieces (e.g., shackles, swivels) are rated for the same load as the chain. His approach is somewhat different than we use here in Southeastern Massachusetts (we get some crazy Nor'easter storms here too but their tidal swings are bigger).

I'm also reposting this link https://marinehowto.com/mooring-pendant ... s-musings/ because it really makes you think about the wild gyrations that a moored sailboat makes when riding out a storm at mooring. One of the chief recommendations from this article is to remove the bow anchor so that it doesn't chafe through the pendants. Another of the article's recommendation is to use unequal length pendants because equal length pendants wear equally (although the author notes that Wayne Hamilton disagrees with him on this point).

Agree the biggest worry are the folks who don't keep up their moorings. Unfortunately like uninsured drivers and boaters, we all pay for their negligence through our insurance premiums. Best wishes!

JD

[Capt. Fritter]

I heard Dorian will come ashore 8am Sunday.

Tuesday somewhere around West Palm Beach. If it hits Sunday it will set a world record for fastest traveling storm.

[Capt. Fritter]

Good that you're making preparations Captain. I always remove the mainsail when a significant storm is threatening (both to reduce windage and to prevent it from being flogged to death if the cover comes off). Also I'm surprised that you're only using 1/2-in pendants for a 4000 lb boat. I use 5/8-in and mine Cape Dory Is 3300 lbs and 22-feet LOA (16 LWL). How deep is the water where Hard A Lee (great name btw) is moored? Is it in a protected area or open to a fetch during storms? What kind of anchor do you have (e.g., mushroom? helix?) What weight? How good is the holding ground? What do you have for bottom and top chain? What about the size of the swivels and shackles? How old are components? When were they last inspected out of the water? I ask these out of concern and not criticism, as I asked myself the same questions every year, and when I bought my mooring system I went to a local company that manages over 1,000 moorings locally so they know what works and what doesn't in my local waters. I also use only American-made mooring system components.

There's a helpful video here "What's in a Mooring?" https://www.offcenterharbor.com/hm-hami ... ings-1804/ from Mr. Wayne Hamilton, Searsport Maine's Harbormaster and co-owner of Hamilton Marine (with his wife) in which he discusses (among other things) the importance of ensuring that any connecting pieces (e.g., shackles, swivels) are rated for the same load as the chain. His approach is somewhat different than we use here in Southeastern Massachusetts (we get some crazy Nor'easter storms here too but their tidal swings are bigger).

I'm also reposting this link https://marinehowto.com/mooring-pendant ... s-musings/ because it really makes you think about the wild gyrations that a moored sailboat makes when riding out a storm at mooring. One of the chief recommendations from this article is to remove the bow anchor so that it doesn't chafe through the pendants. Another of the article's recommendation is to use unequal length pendants because equal length pendants wear equally (although the author notes that Wayne Hamilton disagrees with him on this point).

Agree the biggest worry are the folks who don't keep up their moorings. Unfortunately like uninsured drivers and boaters, we all pay for their negligence through our insurance premiums. Best wishes!

JD

The mooring field is maintained by the city of Marathon and Florida. The moorings are heavy duty capable of handling vessels up to 60 feet. They are anchored into the bottom with a heavy post screwed into the coral/rock. Attached is a mooring ball about 2 feet in diameter with a large chain I believe and a line to a pendant. The pendant line is about 3-4 inches thick. Pendent is as big around as your hand. The moorings are well maintained. In fact a company came in right at the start of hurricane season, sent a diver in, using high pressure water, cleaned all 220 moorings from top to bottom. So the mooring Is not the weak part.
Yeah, I know, should have gone ⅝ but I only have a single cleat forward and two ½ lines barely fit over it. This boat has a heavy duty anchor mount with two rubber rollers bolted in three places. My back up lines are tied to it with about a foot of slack so if the main lines snap or the cleat fails, I have a decent back up. Lines are of equal length on both sides. Chafing gear is the key. Fire hose works best and the marina provides it free of charge. As long as the lines hold and the cleat doesn't pop off, I'm good to go.
The anchor was taken off when I bought the boat last year for the very reason you mention. The fluke was rubbing up against the line (previous owners used ⅜!) and it was just a matter of time before it would cut through.
Upside, latest forecast has Dorian shifting slightly more north. Hoping it swings away quickly. Some rain ain't no big deal but there are a bunch of boats anchored around the edges of the mooring field which are bound to break loose and ping pong through the moorings. So the less wind, and the quicker it goes away, the more better.
The harbor is about ½ mile wide, maybe 3 miles long going east to west. The west end is open but land on the other three sides. http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government ... g-dockage/
It's about 12 feet deep in most of the harbor with some shoals and grass flats well marked. Most of the southeast side is condos with docks, north east is some canals and mangroves, northwest is canals, marinas, an old unused bridge, and then the south west is mangroves. We are reasonably sheltered from the winds but it can get bumpy in here. They lost well over 200 boats during Irma. Most were at anchor and wound up in the Mangroves. As I mentioned in the opening post, only one mooring failed. So I am reasonably confident the boat will make it through intact.
It's going to be a long week in Florida. Avoid it for the time being. And this is just the middle of hurricane season. Another is already coming off the coast of Africa.
I've been in more than 10 of these damn things, I think. I lost count over the years. They are not fun, no matter if you are on land or sea.

[MHBsailor]

Thanks for your detailed reply Captain - it's very educational to learn how moorings are done in different parts of the country and it sounds like the Town is well prepared . I have the same dilemma as you - only one foredeck horn cleat, and I'm currently trying to figure out if there is a way to add a second 5/8-in pendant, as the factory horn cleat isn't big enough (but adding a bigger one would create a bigger tripping hazard). As for the securing point, I'm not sure how much the foredeck horn cleat could take before being ripped out either, as the backing plate isn't very large, but I have plenty of chain and the pendant is 16-feet so that should help.

I've also contemplated adding p/s bow chocks, but have the same concern about how much load they could take without being ripped out. Of course, i could install a bigger horn cleat but then it would be easier to trip over, and it would probably require a larger backing plate to spread the load more. I've heard that some folks will run a Dyneema line from the mooring ball around the mast as a last ditch effort, but I'm not sure if that would be a good idea either. Of course, it's probably still better off being able to swing around on a mooring than be tied to a dock or even on the hard at the marina.

[Capt. Fritter]

Thanks for your detailed reply Captain - it's very educational to learn how moorings are done in different parts of the country and it sounds like the Town is well prepared . I have the same dilemma as you - only one foredeck horn cleat, and I'm currently trying to figure out if there is a way to add a second 5/8-in pendant, as the factory horn cleat isn't big enough (but adding a bigger one would create a bigger tripping hazard). As for the securing point, I'm not sure how much the foredeck horn cleat could take before being ripped out either, as the backing plate isn't very large, but I have plenty of chain and the pendant is 16-feet so that should help.

I've also contemplated adding p/s bow chocks, but have the same concern about how much load they could take without being ripped out. Of course, i could install a bigger horn cleat but then it would be easier to trip over, and it would probably require a larger backing plate to spread the load more. I've heard that some folks will run a Dyneema line from the mooring ball around the mast as a last ditch effort, but I'm not sure if that would be a good idea either. Of course, it's probably still better off being able to swing around on a mooring than be tied to a dock or even on the hard at the marina.

The good news is Dorian is predicted to turn north before making any landfall in Florida. At worst we might get some gusty winds here in the Keys but unless the NHC hurricane tug runs out of steam, we are in pretty good shape here. Very stressful week but a good practice for the next storm, which is already forming up in the Atlantic. We have 3 more months of storm season to get through.
I included a photo of the heavy duty bow mount with this post. If it fails, the entire bow is coming off. You can also see the mooring ball and pennant in the image. I rely on those two mermaids to have a strong grip on the lines.

[Capt. Fritter]

NarragansettSailor: I've attached a photo of the mockup at the Marathon City Marina of the mooring ball set up. A two inch thick post is screwed into the bottom, which is solid coral and limestone, with a line attached to a heavy duty shackle. From there the mooring ball and thick line with the pendant at the end. Very well made and maintained.

Looks like we dodged a big one here in the Keys. In fact, as of this posting, people in Miami are evacuating to the Keys. As safe as anywhere. But I have to say, this past week was stressful, tiring, and expensive. At least we are ready for the next one.