Rising water hull damage

[Alan S. Glos]

A word of caution to people who leave their boats on the beach in inland lakes. In the past year, I have seen seen two Sunfish in my area "totaled" in microburst storms where lake levels rose a foot overnight. One hull floated off a sand beach and pounded itself to death on a nearby cement seawall. The other one floated off a hoist and came to grief on a nearby rocky beach. It makes sense to move a beached boat well above the high water line and then tie it securely to a fixed object. If you keep your hull on a hoist, crank it higher than you think you need to and then lash the hull securely to the hoist. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.

Happy Holidays.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY

 

[L&VW]

Yup. I wrote here of a microburst 10 years ago, when I was standing knee-deep in the lake gripping my "ex-racer"Sunfish as it hit:

Stitching My Torn Racing Sail

After last July's microburst—and broken mast—this recreational sailor is about to restitch the three feet of shredded sail along the rear-most part of both spars. (Head- and clew- ends—or foot- and luff- surfaces, where the sail clip grommets are): 1) The sail had already appeared "bloused" in...

sailingforums.com

 

[Alan S. Glos]

Add to these dangers: If you live in northern climes where ice can build up on roofs in the winter, don't store your Sunfish under the eaves of a roof. Falling ice can do severe damage. Better to store a hull out in the middle of the yard rather than near a building or under tree limbs that can also fall in winter storms. I know that I have posted this photo before but it is a chilling reminder of where not to store a hull for the winter.

Happy Holidays!

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY

 

[Chas III]

I had one of my boats on a rack at my marina. It was chain locked through the bow handle.

We had a microburst & the wind l ripped the boat off the bow handle and fortunately for me, placed the boat gently among some reeds nearby for a soft landing

The chain, lock, & bow handle were still attached to the rack.

Next year I’ll use two straps as well.

 

[Eddie_E]

We had 70 mph winds yesterday and it shredded my over-sized cover on my Sunfish. It was my first storm since moving to Florida. On the bright side, I had a bunch of nice ripe star fruit show up on my lawn, even though we don't have any star fruit trees.