Hurricane Florence Prep

[Joshua Miller]

For those of us in the direct path of Florence--and there is a lot--what are your plans? I don't have a covered garage to put mine in, and I'm weighing the options of leaving the cover on and watching it get ripped off or cover off and removing the vinyl seats, batteries, etc and just let it get wet. I'll get the hurricane-force winds down here by the coast but you Raleigh folks are going to get more rain..

 

[bronze_10]

Its just gonna suck! This could possibly be the strongest storm to ever hit nc. I am gonna make sure mine isnt under any trees as best i can and let it ride. I could take it and put it in my mothers building in lagrange but thats closer to the coast so more wind. Not sure thats the right move either..

 

[Gym]

For those of us in the direct path of Florence--and there is a lot--what are your plans? I don't have a covered garage to put mine in, and I'm weighing the options of leaving the cover on and watching it get ripped off or cover off and removing the vinyl seats, batteries, etc and just let it get wet. I'll get the hurricane-force winds down here by the coast but you Raleigh folks are going to get more rain..

Do you have a friend/relative inland or in another close by state where you can trailer your boat? Are there any commercial, concrete parking garages above the expected floodplain where you can bring it?

 

[justason]

I have property in Wilmington...Brick ranch outside the flood zone...but we'll see what happens. my tenants evacuated today. I have my boat and vehicles all under roof....lets hope the roofs hold. A lot of trees are coming down in this one !!!

We are heading to "the bunker" about an hour north of Raleigh Wednesday night. I can sit it out till about March there if needed. @bronze_10 remember, case of beer and 2 boxes of ammo gets you in (don't tell @AndyD )

in all seriousness, Be safe friends and locals ! this is going to be a doozie, lives will be sadly lost no doubt. I'd expect weeks of recovery


@Gym, a parking deck is a great idea. We have one on NC state campus where I work....I had considered putting a car in there, but the boat is a solid solution.

 

[Gym]

I have property in Wilmington...Brick ranch outside the flood zone...but we'll see what happens. my tenants evacuated today. I have my boat and vehicles all under roof....lets hope the roofs hold. A lot of trees are coming down in this one !!!

We are heading to "the bunker" about an hour north of Raleigh Wednesday night. I can sit it out till about March there if needed. @bronze_10 remember, case of beer and 2 boxes of ammo gets you in (don't tell @AndyD )

in all seriousness, Be safe friends and locals ! this is going to be a doozie, lives will be sadly lost no doubt. I'd expect weeks of recovery


@Gym, a parking deck is a great idea. We have one on NC state campus where I work....I had considered putting a car in there, but the boat is a solid solution.

Your other option is to head up here to Cape Cod. We have plenty of room for friends and their toys. Be safe brother.

 

[bronze_10]

We have been place on call... 24/7 for the foreseeable future. I hope it turns or weakens but nc is due for a direct hit... this one looks like it has a beeline straight for wilmington!

 

[Julian]

Yeah...the track is not looking good right now....coming right at us....with 2 more hurricanes right behind....(hope they go somewhere else!)

I'm debating leaving my boat on its lift in the slip (away from falling trees/branches). I don't think the wind/waves at the marina would be an issue.....

The only other down side might be if Falls lake floods, the docks might be inaccessible.

 

[Wisefam22]

Offer on the table. If anyone wants to move their boat off the coast I will drive as far as Columbia if needed and fit into our garage for the week or whatever.

 

[bronze_10]

Yeah...the track is not looking good right now....coming right at us....with 2 more hurricanes right behind....(hope they go somewhere else!)

I'm debating leaving my boat on its lift in the slip (away from falling trees/branches). I don't think the wind/waves at the marina would be an issue.....

The only other down side might be if Falls lake floods, the docks might be inaccessible.

Did u say "if" falls lake floods? With 10 to 12 inches of rain coming? And depending on the other front its gonna rin into may stall this thing over us for a few days... i would say its a good betthe lake will flood.. unless it is waaaaaay down from the falls lake meet up

 

[bronze_10]

Offer on the table. If anyone wants to move their boat off the coast I will drive as far as Columbia if needed and fit into our garage for the week or whatever.

Ill offer the same if u want your boat moved to the raleigh area. We will still get hit and there is no garage but i have a driveway it can sit in. The storm will be a lot better here than the coast!

 

[FLBulldogger]

@Joshua Miller we endured both Bertha and Fran in '96 when we lived in New Bern, NC. If Florence stays on track or worse woobles south, Jacksonville and to the north are on the "wrong side" of her. I would be looking at finding a parking/storage solution along with moving the family towards Fayetteville, Lumberton area. A CAT 4 is not to be taken lightly, don't wait this one out and get on the hop ASAP west to high ground. We are just coming up on IRMA a year ago here on the Suncoast of FLA and some places south of here still are up to speed. The quicker you're out of there the easier it is to find lodging and get settled in. What happened down here and we have 2 major interstates 75/95 to get folks out people waited to long and the interstates were jammed and there was no gas to be had! So please if you can get moving do it in the next 24 hrs. Those roads down where you are at are going to be hard pressed to handle the outflow of folks at the last minute. Button up the house, take lots of pictures of the house and possessions for the insurance company, cause there is nothing worth staying and suffering through a CAT 3/4/5 there on the coast and low lying areas down east. Be safe and take care, wishing all you Carolinians GodSpeed!

 

[Julian]

Huh.....Raleigh couldn't be more on the track if we tried!

 

[FLBulldogger]

Huh.....Raleigh couldn't be more on the track if we tried!

View attachment 83035

@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!

 

[RedBarron55]

Make sure your insurance is paid, in force and up to date

 

[FLBulldogger]

Make sure your insurance is paid, in force and up to date

I agree...Better yet just make sure you grab a copy of your policy heading out the door...you are going to have plenty of time to read it again and again...if your policy is not paid up or in force they will not even entertain taking payments or enforcing a lapsed policy now. Insurance should be low on your thoughts right now, getting the family to safety and planning on an extended stay shoud be priority 1. I don't care what your insurance policy says it will all work out "after" the storm, prepare now and leave ASAP. We've spent a week without power when we lived in NC after Fran and it was an eye opening experience and nothing compared to the people down here in and around the Marathon, FL, Ft Meyers areas with Irma that came ashore on this side as a CAT 2. This is a serious life changing storm that is going to do serious damage to Eastern NC and beyond. Don't mean to sound like a siren but take it from those that have lived it and it is serious stuff.

 

[Joshua Miller]

Do you have a friend/relative inland or in another close by state where you can trailer your boat? Are there any commercial, concrete parking garages above the expected floodplain where you can bring it?

You know there is a parking garage where I work. I’ll check the height clearance tomorrow.

 

[seanmclean]

 

[swatski]

This could be a good last minute read, I like the idea of the anchors/ratchets - I believe @CraigAR boat ended up completely unscathed by Irma, worked really well for him. Maybe he has some pics of the setup, I can not seem to find them.
https://jetboaters.net/threads/preparing-your-boat-for-a-hurricane.15285/

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[Neutron]

I already got yelled at by my wife for opening a bag of Doritos

 

[veedubtek]

Looks like we're getting about 17" of rain, but hopefully the wind is dead before it gets here. No trailer for the pontoon, and I doubt my dock can withstand too much. Not to mention the tree out back I've been talking about having taken down for about 6 months now...