HOW TO SURVIVE A HURRICANE AT ANCHOR

Yeah, we did this a couple of times, once in 2001 and just recently in Sept 2009. Here are some good ideas on how to anchor to survive a hurricane on the hook.

1. Pick an anchorage that has no or very little fetch. We anchored in the same anchorage for both hurricanes and the fetch was only 150 yards. Even at 100 knots the waves were insignificant.

2. Pick an anchorage that has few other boats. Probably the biggest danger is other boats dragging down on you or fouling your anchor. There is no safety in numbers in a hurricane situation.

3. We feel the best anchor set-up is what is referred to as “tandem” anchoring. That is a second anchor placed in the middle of the rode between the main anchor and the boat. We use a similar method except we use a 40-pound weight (kellet) in place of the second anchor. No kellet? No Problem! You can use a burlap bag full of rocks or a bag of chain; any weight that is equal or greater than your main anchor will do.
4. Rig a second emergency anchor on deck complete with chain, rode, and chafing gear ready to deploy if needed. Make sure that you flake the rode to run freely.
We feel it is a mistake to deploy two anchors on separate rodes. First, they can become tangled if the wind shifts, second if one drags it could foul the other anchor and third we would rather not put all we have in the water but keep one in reserve.
If you have to anchor on chain/rode combination tie or splice a second rode directly to the chain as a back up.

5. Put a nice big anchor marker on your primary anchor. If someone drags they will know where your anchor is located and can make attempts to avoid it.

6. Set your anchor in 25 to 30 feet of water. If you anchor in too shallow water you are more prone to dragging because of decreased chain cantenary.

7. Set a double snubber with chafe gear at least 15 feet long and mouse the chain hook to the chain. The snubber must be long enough to be able to stretch. A fifteen-foot snubber will stretch about 2 feet. Then closer to the boat install a back-up snubber of the same length in case the primary breaks.

8. Have on the foredeck: extra chafing gear, various shackles, mousing wire, pliers, serrated knife, extra snubbing line, gloves, and some small diameter line.
Remove the chain completely from the windlass and wrap it around a big post if you have one otherwise loosen the chain gypsy on the windless and install a short snubber at that point. If you leave the gypsy tightened and the worst happens (all the snubbers fail) you don’t want the windlass flying off the deck taking a piece of the deck with it.

9. Take your roller furled sails off, off, off! You can either remove the main or put the cover on and wrap it tightly with line.

10. Try to stow as much windage as possible below and tie everything on deck down. Don’t forget to remove those flags!

11. We recommend leaving the dodger up for two reasons; one if you have to get out there and drive the boat then you will need the protection; two it will keep the interior much drier as you go up to check the anchor gear.

12. Make sure you have some long sleeve clothing and a dive mask to protect yourself for when you go forward to check the anchor. Wind driven rain at 100 knots is similar to flying gravel.

Below deck preparations

1. Secure everything below like you are going on a passage. Get the towels out but keep two in a plastic bag so when it is all over you have at least two dry towels. Make some sandwiches. Be ready to find lots of new leaks. Have flashlights and spotlights charged or with good batteries. Turn on your masthead and anchor lights. You want to be seen.

2. Set a mark on your GPS and set the anchor alarm, it is the only way you will know for sure if you are dragging at night. If you have more than 1 GPS then do it on both of them. What we do is set a mark then make that mark a GoTo mark. The GPS will tell you the distance to the mark. Just keep an eye on the distance. It will change as the boat clocks back and forth but the distance will fall into a predictable range. If you start to drag the distance will increase very quickly then it will be time for your fire drill.

Check our personal blog Svmitakuuluu.blogspot.com to read about our last hurricane experience.

GOOD IDEA!

There are no shortage of ideas in the cruising community when it comes to ways to do things. The old adage "there is more than one way to skin a cat" is taken to the extreme when it comes to boaters. Here are a few ideas:
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Nav Station Storage Pocket

Not all boats come with a nice sit-down nav station with plenty of storage. Ours on our Irwin 37 is located over the port side referigerator and there is no storage under the counter. We needed some where to store our log, a few manuals and related items. We came up with a quick and easy storage pocket. We just used a flat piece of fabric and put a grommet in each corner then mounted it to the overhead with screws. We put a little safety tie at the open end so the contents wouldn't slip out on a severe port tack.
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Information at Your Fingertips

These Davis Quick Reference waterproof cards are an endless source of enjoyment and education for us. Davis publishes them on a wide variety of subjects. Because they're waterproof we can keep them in the cockpit underway for when we have one of those what-kind-of-whale-is-that moments. For those long ocean passages we enjoy the weather forecasting card.

Keeping Your Boat Secure

It's easy to tell when a boat is unattended, especially at night so we always worried a little while we did our overnight inland traveling. We found this 8-event 12 volt timer made by Flexcharge on the internet. We attach a couple of lights and program them to turn on and off throught the night. In addition, I suppose you could also attach a stero or radio as well.

Keeping Those Head Hoses Clear

"Honey, I just pooped and the head won't flush!" These words cause skippers to double over and cry or even to go as far as to feign death. The usual cause is a crystal-like build-up in the hoses sort of like your arteries after a pork rib dinner. No choice now you have to pull the hoses, beat them on the dock to dislodge the build up and stick 'em back in (unless your lucky enough to be some where where you can buy new hoses). Some boaters peridocially put vinegar down the toilet in hopes of keeping the build up at bay. Don't waste your time (or vinegar). At 3% acidity vinegar is way too mild. You need a strong acid like muratic acid. Not the diluted home-use stuff that you can buy everywhere in Latin America but the industrial-strength acid used for concrete and motar work (the stuff that smokes when you remove the cap). We flush a cup of acid once a month and have done so for seven years. Our method is to put a gallon of fresh water in the toilet, flush the bowl dry, add a cup of acid and flush the bowl dry. You will hear all sorts of bubbling action as the acid does its' work. After ten minutes put about a half-gallon of fresh water and again pump the bowl dry. This will push the acid/water mixture farther up the hose to continue disolving the salts.

How Long Has That Been Running?

For peridoic maintenance nothing beats an hour meter. You have one on the engine why not put one on the water maker and referigerator. Now you don't have to log everytime you run the watermaker to figure out when to change the pump oil or you'll know how many hours the last drive belt lasted. I peridoically log the refrigerator hours daily to gage how well the system is operating. If, for example, if the system normally runs 3 hours a day and now it is running 8 hours (or one hour) then you know to take a look and see what's going on. If you know the average hourly amperage draw of your system you will also know how many amps per day you are using for the system. Hour meters are pretty pricey, about $50, but are worth it for the serious cruiser. By the way, we also installed an led light in the refrigerator power circuit so we know when it turns on and off.

When Is The Last Time I Did That?

So you get underway after three months in La Paz and damn ... the wind vane is frozen. When did you last lubricate the poor thing? Some things need to be looked at least one a month. We have a list of things that we take care of once a month and we do it the first of each month. That way we don't overlook important but easily forgotten maintenance. Our list looks something like this:

1. Run engine (or engines like the Honda generator)

2. Lubricate outdoor zippers.

3. Check zincs.

4. Acid treat head.

5. Check battery water.

6. Run all electronics.

7. Check water strainers.

What Do You Mean You Don't Have My Filter?

When ever I buy oil filters and the parts guy gives me a local cross-referenced filter I keep the box top with the part number on it. Then when I go to another parts store in another country I can show a selection of filters that I can use.

HOW HOT WAS IT?

Well, it was so hot that the fire hydrants have signs on them that say "Dogs Welcome"! We've spent a large portion of our time in the tropics in average temperatures of 90 degrees or more. The two easiest tricks to keeping cool (a relative term) are air movement and shade.

AIR MOVEMENT

If your lucky your boat will have lots of opening port lights and hatches. If not, well you gotta' do what you can to make up for it. A good way to start is with fans. We have eight fans and use four types of fans: a two-speed Hella fan, a 12 volt car fan, a 12 volt computer pancake fan and a 12 volt, 18" three-speed box fan. Let's look at the pros and cons of each.

Hella Turbo Fan.

The Hella is a very durable fan and the one we prefer. We had one that ran non-stop for 7 years! They put out a fair breeze at the cost of only 1/2 amp. Be prepared to pay $60 or more and they can be a little noisy . We have some that are almost silent and some that rattle like a snake. They can be taken apart for cleaning if you think ahead before installing. You can purchase them at marine stores or on-line.

Portable Car Fan

You can pick these up at an automotive parts store for arount $10 or, if you like paying more, at a marine store. These fans put out a lot of air but are noisy, difficult to clean and draw over one amp. We have one mounted so when we are motoring, it blows the hot air away from our aft cabin. We also have one that we use in the cockpit. We generally use it when we have plenty of elecrricity.

Computer Pancake Fan

Another long-life fan. We use one to keep the electronics cool for the auto-pilot and one in the V-berth just to provide air movement for mildew protection. We have a friend who uses them in the hanging lockers to prevent mildew and "boat" smells in the clothing. Very low amperage draw but not a large amount of air movement. Available at electronics parts stores like Radio Shack.

12 Volt Box Fan

We, and others, ador the 18" Endless Breeze box fan sold by Fan-tastic Vent. It has 3 speeds, quiet operation and moves a lot of air. It is easy to disassemble for cleaning. Amperage draw is modest given the amount of air movment provided. Available at RV stores, marine stores or on-line. We've gotten the best prices on-line for around $70 - $80.

Other Fans

There are as many fans as there are boaters. Everyone has their favorite. We avoid fans without finger guards because even if the blade is made of soft material if you touch the turning blade it will scare the crap out of you. Those which have the suction cup don't stick to all surfaces. AC fans, even though they really move the air, draw a punitive amount of amps.

Fan installation and cleaning tips.

Hella Turbo Fan

Mount the fan where ever you want. Install a plug and the recommended fuse about 16 inches from the fan. Be sure to use a fuse. We know one boater whose boat caught fire due to a failed fan. You'll need the plug so you can remove the fan and clean it. To clean the fan first unplug it then remove the fan blade by prying off the little cap over the shaft. It should come off using your fingernail. Then loosen the collett nut with needle-nose pliers or a 3/8 inch socket. Then remove the front rotary switch. It is a little more difficult to pry off. Now you can pull the motor out and dunk the frame to clean it. If you like you can lubricate the two motor bearings. When re-assembling the rotary switch use the "on-off" indicators to orient the switch. When installing the fan blade put the shaft in-line with the collett.

Portable Car Fan.

These fans come with clamps or permanent mounts. Take your pick. If you are going to use it as a portable be sure to use a lighter plug that contains a fuse. We prefer the plugs that have not only the fuse but a little LED indicator light. To clean you usually have to remove a few screws in order to remove the fan guard. The fan blade is often impossible to remove.

Computer Pancake Fan

If you install these permanently be sure to include an on-off switch so you can clean the blades. You may want to consider using a blade guard to keep your fingers from getting bit. They will definetly make you say a swear word *2#$%! No disassembly possible for cleaning.

Endless Breeze Box Fan

The fan comes with a fused power cord and when we ordered one on-line it came with a free extension cord. We mount ours in the overhead hatch in our cabin. Both fan guards and the blade disassembles for cleaning. The blade has a set screw to allow removal however, as soon as you get the fan remove the set screw and apply anti-seize to the shaft and screw.

SHADE

The obvious choice for shade is the awning. There basically two types of awnings, flat and tented plus there are numerous variations. They can be fabricated from basically two types of material: porous shade screen or close-weave acrylic (eg Sunbrella). The choice of material and type depends on the cruising area you will be spending most of your time.

Material

This is an easy choice. If you want to keep out the rain then acrylic is the only choice but it is heavy (which makes it a bear to handle in high winds), expensive and requires a lot of re-inforcement. Shade fabric (which comes in varying percentages of shade) on the other hand is light weight and cheap but the rain pours right through.

Flat Awnings

These awnings are usually quite large and do a good job of shading the boat. They make it easy to walk around the deck underneath and they look nice. A great choice if your living in the marina or in an area that doesn't have much wind or rain. In moderate winds they really put a strain on the fabric, create a lot of windage, and are difficult to take down in an emergency. In the rain the awning tends to catch the water putting even more strain on the attachment points.

Tent Awnings

The best thing about tent awnings are their ability to hold up to high winds and keeping the rain out of the boat. However, they don't provide much head room to walk around the deck and to get in and out of the cockpit. We made a Sunbrella tent awning for the back of the boat and a tented fore deck shade awning using 80% shade cloth. We've left our tent awning up in 20+ knots with no problems.

Other Shade

We spend a lot of time along the Eastern Baja where the temperatures run in the 90's and the sun makes even the white decks hot to walk upon. On the deck areas where the awning doesn't shade we put low-cost automotive window shades. They significantly reduce the amount of heat the deck radiates into the boat. We lay them down and put a couple of weights on them. If the wind comes up we'll run out and remove them. We also wrap our ice chest with one. Other boaters hang them over the side where their referigrator is located. Another good item to have is some of that aluminized bubble wrap. Doubling a piece and placing it on top of the food in the referigrator and in the portable ice chest makes a big difference. You can also cut it to shape and put it in the portlights.