Hurrican Earl and a camper top

ippa2

ippa2

New Member
Jul 24, 2010
229
Buzzards Bay
Boat Info
1997 330 Sundancer
Engines
7.4 Mercs
OK, so here is where I stand with Earl and my boat. I will be leaving it at the marina in its floating slip. The marina is designed to handle up to a 20 ft storm surge and a Cat 2 direct hit, so I'm fairly confident in the slip. What I'm going back and forth with is, do I leave the camper top up or take it down? With winds forecast for 40-60 mph I'm leaning towards keeping it up and keeping all the rain out. I might roll up the windows in the back of the camper top and leave 1 panel out of the front to let the wind go through the boat and relieve some pressure on the top from the wind.

I'd love to get some opinions on this. I'm also going to take a good look at all the other boats in the marina on Friday and see what the majority are doing...
 
My gut says to leave it all up or take it all down.

Leaving a piece of canvas out would be similar to erecting a sail for the wind to catch.
 
First of all, check with your insurance company. Many do not insure against damage from "named" storms. This may make the decision for you. Second, check with the marina. Many force slip holders to pull there boats, and charge a fee if they have to do it, at their descretion.

If you leave your boat in the water, and expect winds above 65 mph, pull all the canvas off. It's one thing to have ripped canvas, but another to see the poles twisted like pretzels and torn loose from the fiberglass and blown into other peoples property where they do damage.

There's still a few days to decide, but I don't suggest cutting it too close. I've prepared for the worst, and it didn't happen, but I've seen the aftermath of Katrina and Ivan, and others first hand.

Don
 
Well, I for one am going to keep an eye on the reports and see where and when it'll hit...and how hard.
I'm on the South Shore, on Long Island NY, and I believe I'll be hit with some decent wind...The last time something like this hit, I left my camper top on, but I put the screens on in front, and I opened the full back screen, and she was fine. the heavy wind just blew right thru...Yes, cockpit was a bit wet, but hey, it's a boat!!

Depending on the weather reports and Earl's track will determin what action I will take...

Oh, and 'hoping for the best' is always a good one too!!
 
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A few years ago it looked like we might get a direct hurricane hit very similar to Hurricane Hugo which really devastated the Charlotte area and our lake back in the late 80s.

In talking to the GM here at our Marina he recommended removing all canvas to prevent it from being damaged if the hurricane really came thru (which thankfully it didn't). My boat sits in a covered dock and a direct hit by a hurricane would probably cause some damage just from flying debris. There was no option of haul out since there is simply not enough room for all the boats in the Marina to be stored on the hard.

Dave
 
I just came back from the boat. Added another line, another fender and rolled up the overhead canvas. I haven't even installed the camper canvas this year so nothing to really take down. I just put the cockpit cover back on. I think she will be alright. The marina emailed all of us yesterday saying they were pulling boats first come, first serve but I didn't see any boats being taken out of the water.
 
I don't get all these questions about removing canvas. Isn't it a no brainer-remove and don't worry about it? I always removed all the canvas on my boats and never once had an issue. Why risk it, so the canvas can stand up to 45mph winds but not 55? Why take the chance?
 
I am leaving mine up. For some reason mine are very difficult to remove. They are so damn tight that if I take the time to remove them, I am not going to put them back up thus limiting the rest of my seasonal usage. Another factor to consider is that my mooring cover with it's 3 poles is not that tight and flaps in the wind. It was shredded this March down the port side after one month outside! So I will be taking my chances with the camper after talking to my canvas guy (also a good friend) and being reassured of it's sturdiness. Best of luck to all however you prepare!!
Todd
 
i just took down camper top and put on mooring cover
 
Thanks for all the posts! This bastard Earl is certainly affecting a lot of us this week.

I've been watching the Weather Channel for the last 3 hours and also having a couple Cape Codders (vodka and cranberry for you non New Englanders) and this storm is just getting bigger and meaner... reports of a gust to 199 mph in the eyewall just came in. Not what I want to hear... This will be the last calm night for me for a few days. Tomorrow night will be preparing for the storm and Friday night will be getting hit with it.

I'll be going down to the boat tomorrow after work and taking down ALL canvas. Leaving just the bare bows on the boat. I might try to get a tarp over the helm, but the canvas will all be gone for sure. Just not worth it...
 
FWIW- I would just put my mooring cover on. Maybe add some extra adhesive read- duct tape- over each snap. and maybe no poles to support it. Let the wind blow through and the rain fall down. Good luck to you- we're saying a prayer for you all!
 
I'd take it all off. I have all of mine, including the bimini's in the garage.
 
Just got in, the camper top is rolled up and covered, the fore and aft biminis are still in place. Everything else is down, and the cockpit cover is in place. I also took the C80 off and put that below.

Henry
 
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