Hurricane Florence Prep

[Neutron]

We are staying put.
we will prepare as best as we can and put everything away. I will jam my wifes Rav in the garage with the 2 skis and the 2 bikes. I will move the boat from the side of the house to the center of the driveway that way its out of the way of any close falling trees.
So only my truck and the boat will be in the driveway.

 

[DieselCamel]

I was going to use these during Irma and 2 inch ratchet straps to tie it down in the storage lot. but ended up taking the boat with us.

 

[CraigAR]

I used these 4' ground anchors angled away from the boat.

That way when you go to tighten down the ratchet it will pull itself straight.

I used a 2x4 to twist it down into the ground.

I pulled the back strap through the tower

I angled the bow up as far as it would go and pulled all the extra drain plugs, ski locker and engine bay.

Left the the poles in also and never got a smudge on my cover or a tear.

 

[CraigAR]

Fyi those were my old Wet Sounds Icon 8's that I forgot to take off and they never got damaged and played well.

 

[Seadeals]

It is amazing how fragile life can be. I know, I know, regardless of a hurricane, any of us could be gone in a matter of seconds, from deciding to look at the phone in the car to a spontaneous strike of lightning, or by a sharp pain that signals eating deep dish pizzas every day might not have been a good idea after all.

Everyone near the coast, please be safe and just don’t be too proud or too attached to “home” to overlook the potential this storm has to make lots of things simultaneously go horribly wrong in a matter of seconds and that you have the choice (and the ability right now) to remove yourself (family) from the equation. With every second it approaches, your options quickly become more and more difficult and more and more limited until there are no options left and you are simply along for the ride (hopefully on the survival train).

It is definitely an appropriate time for game plans and prep work. It is probably a little early to call as far as evacuation; but time for that call will likely be a very small window, so be ready to make the call. The Upstate will welcome you. Good luck to you all.

 

[CraigAR]

One other piece of advise, hurricanes will suck up water so I would not recommend leaving your boat in the water. Irma pulled all the water out of all our canals (400 miles worth) and also pulled it out of our Gulf beaches.

 

[BigAbe75]

I feel silly offering, but I’ve got an acre of nice flat yard at my house if anyone wants to make the trek to IL. Plenty of room for boats and/or campers.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

If you are in the path....nows the time to cut those trees down. The haul away after the storm will be free!

Prepare for 2 weeks of no power. 1 week of no gas station, 3 weeks of no cell service.

Every storm is different, be careful.

Try to predict what side of your house will take the most wind and wind driven rain and prepare it properly.

Good luck and stay safe.

 

[BlkGS]

My boat is in a dry rack storage. Back home in Florida, these sorts of places could close the two halves of the warehouses to protect boats. Not sure about here.

It should be interesting. Stuff up here isnt built well, everything is made with cheap 2x6s instead of concrete walls. Having spent 25 years in Florida growing up... I dont feel like this one is going to go well, I suspect major damage across the state.

 

[Julian]

Just checked our generator and some moron (me) didnt empty the gas out of it last time....not sure carb cleaner is going to cut it.....$#@!#%#&&$*$^#^@%!$%# IDIOT......

Spark plug is dry.....no fuel draining from carb bowl....fuel makes it to the hose entering carb....

Added stabil....

 

[Julian]

@Julian are you referring to my last post? I was asking @Joshua Miller to get west and south of the path, we have ridden out 6 hurricanes over the years and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, Raleigh, Greenville, anywhere in Eastern NC will be on the North quadrant and that is NOT where you want to be. Our experience with Hugo, Fran, and Bertha is that Raleigh and west gets all the spinoff tornado's, hail, etc. I would be hunkering down if I live in that area. Hope all you in Eastern NC, the Piedmont, take this thing serious and prepare and if you live on or near the coast get out now!

No reference to your post....just the latest storm track....now they are saying it is shifting north and models are becoming less clear/consistent.

 

[Neutron]

Just checked our generator and some moron (me) didnt empty the gas out of it last time....not sure carb cleaner is going to cut it.....$#@!#%#&&$*$^#^@%!$%# IDIOT......

Spark plug is dry.....no fuel draining from carb bowl....fuel makes it to the hose entering carb....

Added stabil....

If the float is stuck closed try a shot of compressed air through the fuel feed.
Tap on side of bowl also

 

[NewBoater]

We are under a mandatory evacuation starting 8am tomorrow in va beach which blows my mind as it could still go back out to sea. I’m really hoping it does as this damage will be terrible for so many people. Today we prepared for the worst and got boat off lift and on trailer, cleaned then put in the garage. Fortunate to have a 3 car garage. Filled my car with gas and got 6 extra jugs for the generator (which I can put in boat if I don’t need generator). Got in everything outside around exterior perimeter of Home, pool chairs, outside chairs, literally everything and put it in the house or sunroom.
We are going to see what the hurricane does for the next 12-24 hours before leaving. Really hoping it goes back out to sea.


So now Boat is safe in garage, Lift is raised up pretty darn high. Do you guys suggest tying lift bunks to the pilings? I’ve heard the lifts can break with too much swaying in high winds. This one may be a Cat 4 or 5 with 150+ winds. Seems keeping the lift from moving around so much would be a good thing.

 

[robert843]

My boats have sat outside covered in my dry storage facility through multiple hurricanes and so far I have been lucky no damage not even to the covers. I plan on the same this time but watch now I jinxed myself and something will happen to it. I will go down tomorrow and make sure the cover is good and tight and probably raise the tongue jack a little to make sure the water drains out the rear

 

[bronze_10]

My boats have sat outside covered in my dry storage facility through multiple hurricanes and so far I have been lucky no damage not even to the covers. I plan on the same this time but watch now I jinxed myself and something will happen to it. I will go down tomorrow and make sure the cover is good and tight and probably raise the tongue jack a little to make sure the water drains out the rear

Looks like u guys are going to be on the weak side. U should be good robert... weak doesnt mean no danger but still..

 

[Speedling]

Will be praying for you all!
My sil moved to Florida a week before irma and is dispatch. I believe it was 2 days of lockdown meaning mandatory work for her. She did 911 calls for two counties up here before.
It was eye opening i am sure!
I would be getting up or over the apps with anything i could.

 

[robert843]

Looks like u guys are going to be on the weak side. U should be good robert... weak doesnt mean no danger but still..

Yep been through a bunch of these over the 25 years I have lived here. I have been telling people all week we did not have much to worry about as the track it was on they almost always turn north of us. We will probably see 50 mph winds here and 6-8 inches of rain so nothing terrible I agree. Biggest problems we run into is the over preparation of people don't get me wrong I shouldn't call that an issue but things like most stores are out of water already and most gas stations here are out of gas already as well make it difficult to stay. Don't get me wrong all 4 of our cars have full tanks and there are two cases of water in the garage as well.

 

[BigN8]

Ya'll need to keep the families of the Navy in your thoughts and prayers. All the guys stationed on ships in Norfolk will be recalled back to the ship and they will pull out and go to sea, leaving their families and loved ones behind to fend for themselves. It really sucks, but I understand why they do it. I kissed my wife and wished her luck on many occasions back in the day.

 

[Jameson Clark]

Since the storm is turning north, I should be out of its path now. For anyone that isn't, I have room for 3-4 boats in the driveway. I'll be happy to meet someone and get their boat to my house until all passes. Everyone stay safe!

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Just checked our generator and some moron (me) didnt empty the gas out of it last time....not sure carb cleaner is going to cut it.....$#@!#%#&&$*$^#^@%!$%# IDIOT......

Spark plug is dry.....no fuel draining from carb bowl....fuel makes it to the hose entering carb....

Added stabil....

Propane generators are the bomb! No fussing with them.