another reason to own a Mac

BK · Post by BK » Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:23 am

I was reading the latest BoatUS flyer and there is a prospect of boats being driven out of marinas when hurricanes approach being considered. The problem is not the boats but poor construction of the marinas. Marinas are built by driving pilings into the mud and there is no lateral strength to the entire dock system. The dock floats away with the boats still attached.
With the Mac, you can just pull it out with a hurricane approaching. Roger should put this in his brocures.

norbert · Post by **norbert** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:49 am

"macgregor boats are hurricane proof"!

Moe · Post by **Moe** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 10:43 am

I'm not sure you can make a hurricane-proof marina. As a kid, I've set and reset many dock pilings after hurricanes or near-misses, and the biggest problem was the wave action on attached decks literally lifting the pilings up out of the bottom. We once found the whole dock almost completely intact, a half-mile from its original location.

As Micheal pointed out with the GLYC example, floating docks aren't immune. While you won't have to reset pilings, hoping to get them back where the existing deck's dimensions will still work, the floating piers can pull their anchors from the bottom and the piers float right off the pilings in a 20'+ storm surge.

It's far better to have a boat out of the water in a hurricane, where it isn't subject to wave forces and other boats, not to mention the dock. Some in the zone have ground anchors at home the boat can be tied down to after bracing the trailer underneath to prevent compression of the springs and tires, and jumping up and down that stresses the tie-downs. Some with small boats put in the drain plug and fill them with water. Water-ballast boats can have the tanks filled.

Of course, the best solution with a trailerable boat is to hook it up and take it with you when you evacuate.

That solves the flying debris, falling trees, and tornado problems that can damage the boat in or out of the water.

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Moe

mtc · Post by **mtc** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 3:24 pm

I see this issue of hurricanes even now far more prominent at least here in Florida, particularly in Pensacola where we have lost most of our slips. The trailerable aspect of the Mac is the #1 motivation for me. The shallow draft is another. The ridiculously low price is the final.

As far as evacuating, we stayed in our brick home in Pensacola for Ivan and will not do that again. As if the 140 150 mph winds werent bad enough, there had to be dozens of tornadoes cork-screwing 3 foot trees out like toothpicks. All the ground gear to hold a Mac trailer to the earth wont help keep it there if a tornado targets it.

My advice to anyone in the path of such a storm, cat 3 or above, is to leave, run away. If I have my Cat 38 by then, I will sail out of the storms reach.

Insanity, just reckless abandonment riding one of these monsters out. Do you feel lucky today, punk?

Run away. . .

Michael

Jeff S · Post by **Jeff S** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 4:22 pm

My problem in a hurricane is that my job requires me to fly a $30 million dollar government asset away from the hurricane and fly back when it is over. That leaves my boat, house, and more importantly my family behind. I get a lot of points at home when..."Honey, a hurricane is coming I have to leave you, fly away to a safe place, drink beer until its over then fly back and see how it all worked out for you and the kids" I feel like I am leaving the Titanic on a lifeboat with my wife and kids aboard- that is what I hate the most about hurricanes.

That is one reason I cancelled my slip and keep the boat on the trailer-less to do when a hurricane is coming, I am glad I don't have a keelboat in my line of work. Some of the keelboats at the marina on base haven't been touched for years and show every bit of it.

Jeff S

Moe · Post by **Moe** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 4:48 pm

When I was stationed at Tyndall AFB during an evacuation, I had to keep the jet engine shop open for parts, etc, until the last birds with problems were gone. Then rode my dirtbike home to base housing barely able to keep it on the two lanes of my side of the highway.

Naturally, when I got to the house, the wife (now ex) was hysterical with the two babies. The pilot next door had flown one out, leaving his wife at home, with a car with an empty fuel tank and no money. So I headed north with two complaining women and two screamin' kids in the car.

I'm sure he was drinkin' beer at the O'Club at Langley AFB.

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Moe

mtc · Post by **mtc** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 4:59 pm

when were you at tyndall? I was there from 78 to 80 on the flightline and FTD.

The winds are remarkable. What's the highest winds anyone has sailed their Mac in?

Moe · Post by **Moe** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 5:11 pm

Tyndall AFB
Spring 1979 - May 1982
CRS
Jet Engine Shop
Avionics
AGS
T-33 AMU
F-101 AMU (still have my VooDoo Medicine Man patch)

Lived in Capehart housing on Bomarc St, just up the hill from the yacht club. Used to ride the dirt bike down to the jetty with R&R & tackle box strapped on it to fish.
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Moe

Jeff S · Post by **Jeff S** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 5:39 pm

Moe wrote: The pilot next door had flown one out, leaving his wife at home, with a car with an empty fuel tank and no money. So I headed north with two complaining women and two screamin' kids in the car. I'm sure he was drinkin' beer at the O'Club at Langley AFB.
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Moe

Ok- I haven't left my wife quite in that predicament- I leave her money and gas and a plan. The toughest part is deciding when/if to leave- wait too long and you end up stuck on the road in traffic. Better to leave early.

Moe- mighty nice of you to help out. I have had neighbors help my wife when on deployment and unexpected things pop up. My neighbor is currently gone and my wife and I would do anything to help his family while he is gone. That is simultaneously the greatest and worst things about the military- the need for such support and then the support that is there- I couldn't do it without the support of my wife and those who help her.

I was in NC in '99 when there were 2 hurricanes back to back and had to evacuate jets during both- wow were the wives upset. I have only evac'd once- Opal in PensaCola in '95. The others weren't strong enough to warrant my wife leaving (or myself if I wasn't flying out). I much prefer earthquakes (being a native Californian)- skip all the weeks of agonizing anticipation and weather that goes along with hurricanes.

This last season was easy on NC. I hope FL gets a break this year.

Jeff

mtc · Post by **mtc** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 6:01 pm

Moe,

I crewed the 106s and if you did any work on them, we'd have been working together. What were they, J75-P17?

Truely a small world, eh friend? Now we're sailing the same boat!

Michael

Moe · Post by **Moe** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 6:16 pm

Wasn't just nice of me, Jeff... it was what any military member, officer or enlisted, would've done for any other member's family, officer or enlisted. I've been retired for over 10 years, and really miss those days and living in base housing. It's hard at times, but in the end, there's nothing that compares to it.

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Moe

Moe · Post by **Moe** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 6:44 pm

Micheal, when you were on the Tyndall 106 flightline, I was probably watching my first J75 doing compressor stalls and jumping around on the portable test cell (and I was diving for cover while the experienced guys laughed). There's a real possibility that if you ever came down to the engine shop (I was only there 6 months, but a geahead who got into them) or Avionics shop to pick up an MA-1 radar part, we met face to face. I was a 28-31 year old prior-enlisted lieutentant during that tour. Also got to do my first and only aircraft accident investigation during that time).

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Moe

Jeff S · Post by **Jeff S** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 6:49 pm

Moe wrote:Wasn't just nice of me, Jeff... it was what any military member, officer or enlisted, would've done for any other member's family, officer or enlisted. I've been retired for over 10 years, and really miss those days and living in base housing. It's hard at times, but in the end, there's nothing that compares to it.

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Moe

Brings to mind when a friend of mine was required to leave early to go to Afghanistan just after 9/11. He was selling his house and had planned to move out in 2 weeks, but had to get ready to leave. I ended up moving all of his stuff out of his house (got another buddy to help me) into a storage facility and cleaned the place up a bit.

You are right - there is nothing that compares to it. (of course my "other" reference is limited to 6 years vice the 11 I have been in) That is one of the things that leans me towards staying in (which I will have to decide next year)- the people/community. What I also appreciate is the support the citizens of this great country have given to the servicemembers during these trying times. My civilian neighbors helped out too while I was gone.

Jeff S

Erik Hardtle · Post by **Erik Hardtle** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 6:54 pm

Hi ya Jeff...

I actually have a worse job than you do during hurricanes.... I work at TV12... so everytime there is a hurricane I actually have to drive a live or satellite truck towards the hurricane! ... and I also have to leave the wife and kids at home.

If you ever need help during a hurricane I have plenty of room at my house in New Bern... and I am sure my wife would love to have the company.

My Hurricane Mac drill (on my trailer next to the house) is to fill the ballast tanks, tape up all the seams on the hatches, bungee/tie the mast down, dig holes in the lawn and plant the anchors, tie it down to the concrete anchors I poured, and pray really hard that a tree doesn't fall on it... oh and check my insurance.

Back on the subject... we have two hotel marinas... one doesn't care and the other one will tow your boat out to the river if you don't get it out of the marina. The one who didn't care had their dock (with boats still attach) break off and smash into the other hotels docks... hehe

I love having a trailer...

Jeff S · Post by **Jeff S** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 3:55 am

Thanks Erik. You are right- that is a worse situation- at least when I leave it is away from the storm-lol. We have a generator wired in to the house here (Carolina Pines) that runs off LP gas and runs everything so if my wife doesn't evac she will stay here- you are also welcome to have your wife stay with mine. I don't have nearly the setup for the boat that you have. I just fill the ballast and double chock the wheels. I will tape the boat next time. There are no trees that can fall on our house. There is one that could hit the boat though that worries me a bit.

The marina on base doesn't make boats leave- it has done well over the last 5 years from what I have seen, but I feel the Mac is much safer in the driveway, plus it has a wind block from the house from one direction.

Erik which marina towed the boats- Sheraton or the other one? The Sheraton marina seems pretty good.

Jeff

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another reason to own a Mac

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