Up next in 10
Do Boats FLOAT Through HURRICANES?
2K views
Aug 16, 2024
Learn More About Your Boats Systems By Joining The Born Again Boating Academy! https://www.bornagainboating.com/ Get Your Born Again Boating Clothing! https://www.bornagainboatingshop.com Get Savings On Boat Parts With BAB Coupons At Partsvu Here: https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1991037&u=3159438&m=119617&urllink=&afftrack= Please Buy Anything From This Link To Amazon & Help Us Keep Bringing You Content!!!! https://www.amazon.com/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=bornagainboat-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=97bb1968e1ac47dfc3703d401d95fb5a&camp=1789&creative=9325 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PARTS USED: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DONATE Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/bornagainboating ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JOIN THE BORN AGAIN BOATING COMMUNITIES! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/born_again_boating/?hl=en
View Video Transcript
0:00
It might surprise you that many commercial fishermen leave their boats in the water for hurricanes in the Caribbean
0:06
Even for hurricanes like a Cat 5 hurricane such as Hurricane Irma in 2017
0:21
Getting a boat to survive a massive storm like this is a skill that just requires a few pieces of information that until you think about it or you see
0:29
it firsthand, you don't really consider them. The first thing that will affect how a boat weather's a storm is going to be the location
0:37
of the boat, because dealing with a flooding situation is completely different than dealing
0:42
with some waves and some wind. Locations on the mainland where the water has nowhere to go are more likely to flood during
0:51
and after a hurricane, whereas on an island like this, the water will come up on the land
0:58
But then quickly recede back into the ocean as the storm moves over, making a situation
1:03
where flooding isn't an issue. At least not when we're talking about a boat
1:07
Now the house is a different story. But when hurricanes come in, they bring along what is called a storm surge
1:14
And the easiest way to describe it is to look at the storm like this, because it is spinning
1:18
in a circular motion. With that circular motion, it's pulling water from this side of the eye and pushing the water
1:25
on this side. So when it hits land on this side of the eye, you've got this wall of water that you see come up
1:32
And that is what a storm surge is. But then that's just the height of the water level
1:37
You've then got waves on top of that water level. Depending on the size of the storm, this can be multiple feet high
1:43
Irma's surge was somewhere around nine feet or so, but that didn't include the waves that
1:48
were on top of that surge. The issue turns into a flooding problem when you are talking about being on a landmass and
1:54
not an island type of location. Like how bad it was in Louisiana when Katrina hit in 2005
2:01
Because of levees failing and the water not having anywhere to go, there was massive flooding
2:05
all over the place. These neighborhoods were just completely underwater. So you can see how much of a difference the location plays apart and what you're going to
2:14
deal with when it comes to a hurricane and whether you have to deal with flooding or not
2:18
Now in order to deal with the location there are basically three options on where to leave your boat You can either pull it out of the water whether that is at a storage facility on a bunk or stands or on the trailer You can pull it out
2:30
and leave it on a boat lift, or the last option is going to be leaving it in the water, which is our main
2:36
focus today. But we'll briefly touch on a couple of considerations for the other two options really
2:41
quickly. When it comes to pulling the boat out of the water for a hurricane, you've got a couple
2:46
of considerations to make, like when we are talking about dry storage as say a marina
2:51
There are two main ways the boats get dry stacked at marinas, being either on a bunk
2:56
or on jackstands, bringing that location deal back into play again. Depending on where the storm
3:02
is coming from, we'll determine the amount of protection you have. Remember how we talked about
3:06
the storm pulling water from this side of the eye and pushing the water on the other side of the eye
3:11
Well, the funny thing about the surge and the wall of water is that when we were talking about an
3:16
like say Marathon, when Irma came through, it hit the islands straight from the southern area
3:21
which brought that surge head on from the ocean side of the islands. But once the surge hits land, it will usually dissipate that surge, so on the other side of
3:29
the island, it's pulling the water away, and the Gulf side of the island isn't getting hit
3:34
with that surge at all. In fact, as the storm moves away, it sucks up all the water behind it, which is why there are so
3:40
many places where you can get out on the seabed and walk around until the water comes flowing
3:44
back in. example of this protection deal is Hurricane Wilma. This hurricane came from the Gulf
3:50
side and just ran eastward along the top of the islands, surging and flooding all of the
3:55
Gulfside places and leaving the ocean side high and dry, figuratively speaking that is. For example
4:01
this is a normal height of the water at Keys Fisheries and Marathon, and this is what it looked like
4:06
during Wilma. You can see how high the water was and it really puts the surge issue into perspective
4:11
This is important to understand because if you have a landmass that will take the blow from the surge and dissipate that water
4:19
you will be in a much better position bringing us back to talking about the differences between jack stands and bunks
4:25
The closer you are to the surge side of the island, the higher the surge. And when the surge comes in, the boats are going to float
4:32
Once they float up, they will reposition themselves and they won't be coming back down on the stands like they were when they were first set down
4:39
Whereas on the bunks depending on how the bunk is positioned a lot of times the boat will float back down smoothly on the bunk without needing to be positioned as exactly as it does when it comes to being on the jackstands But at the same time this is just relative because there is no predictability when it comes to a hurricane
4:56
and how a boat is going to float up and float back down. Because most of the time, they will just float up and then float back down, resting on the ground, if not back on the bunk
5:06
But again, it's all relative because we didn't even talk about tornadoes or water spouts
5:11
Then when it comes to putting the boat on a trailer as the other dry storage option, the protected
5:16
spot is going to be key and unlike the bunks or the stands, you'll want to make sure the boat
5:22
is strapped down securely to the trailer. You might even want to strap the trailer down to something as well, depending on that location
5:29
and whether you are going to be hit with that huge surge of water. We don't strap the boats down to the racks because they are where they are
5:35
You don't have the option of parking the bunk somewhere safer like you do with the trailer
5:39
And if the surge is high enough, you'd rather the boat float, then fill up with water and sink
5:44
because it's tied down. But the main point here is that you want to understand the protection aspect of the boat's location
5:51
When it comes to being on the lift, though, just beating the dead horse here, depending
5:55
on that location, you might not want to leave the boat on the lift at all
6:00
Even if you strap it down to the lift, you still run the risk of the lift failing
6:05
Also, if you don't strap it down, then unlike being dry racked where the boat will just float down
6:09
onto the ground if the boat floats off the lift then it's just going to sink when it settles down
6:15
which is not what you want to have to deal with so based on where the storm is coming from what
6:19
condition your lift is in and what kind of geographical protection you have you'll have to decide on
6:25
whether you want to leave the boat on the lift or take it off the lift leaving us with the last
6:30
option and the one that we are mainly concerned about being to just leave the boat in the water
6:36
and labor day is coming up next week so we've got a sail going on to
6:39
right now for your Born Again Boating Fishing Shirts. Get yours today at bornagainboating.com slash shop
6:46
And the first consideration here wouldn't be a surprise if I said that the location is top priority
6:52
But we won't harp on that anymore because you already know that the more protected the c
6:56
is, the better off you will be. No, instead I want to talk about the type of boat because it really plays a big part here
7:03
The shape and size of the hole is extremely important here because an offshore boat with high gunnels that designed to take on lots of wave action is going to fare better in the water than say a small pontoon boat that isn designed to be taken out in rough water
7:19
And I'd say that when a hurricane rolls through, then a light chop in the water is to be expected
7:24
Overall, a boat is designed to stay afloat in the water. But again, a small pontoon isn't designed for rough water
7:30
So the potential of the boat taking water over the bow, which will end up sinking the boat
7:35
is what we're really concerned about here when it comes to the shape of the hull
7:39
The other aspect of the boat that needs to be considered is the design of the deck
7:43
and whether you've got what could be considered a wet deck or a dry deck
7:47
Most boats are designed to allow water to flow off the deck of the boat and straight overboard
7:52
with little chance of water being able to get down into the bilge. But then other boats, like say a ski boat, isn't designed to have tons of water inside of the boat
8:01
which means that during a massive storm like a hurricane, you're going to see tons and tons of rain
8:07
With all that rain, it'll build up in the boat, and if the water can't get off the deck of the boat
8:12
it'll fill up and sink the boat. The same goes for center consoles and offshore boats
8:17
that allow water to get into the bilge. The bilge pump can only keep up with so much water
8:22
and the battery is only going to last for so long before it dies and stops pumping the water out
8:27
which can happen during a hurricane that can last for 24 to 48 hours
8:31
and even longer in some cases. like Hurricane Dorian that sat over Grand Bahama and the Abakos in the Bahamas in 2019
8:39
from Sunday until Tuesday. So, considering how water flows or doesn't flow out of your boat is crucial when it comes to leaving it in the water for a storm
8:49
And the pivotal point in securing a boat to weather a hurricane in the water is to follow our instructions in our video about how to tie up your boat
8:57
The key to making a boat float through a storm is to have it secured in place, with a really long and tight lines
9:03
The more, the better too. The long, tight lines will pin the boat in place, but give it the ability to move up and
9:11
down over a large distance as a surge comes through and the waves crash in on top of that surge
9:17
It'll also be best if you can get the bow of the boat to face towards the oncoming water
9:21
allowing the hull of the boat to do exactly what it's designed to do, which is to cut through the waves
9:26
A boat does a lot better moving forward through the water than it does backing down, but again
9:32
your location and the protection you have will determine what kind of water it'll need to float through
#Beaches & Islands
#Boating
#Cruises & Charters
#Tourist Destinations