Hurricane Season 2011 Boat Prep??

[Parker]

Ron,

I looked at your pictures and the type of bumper that you need is never going to be found at walmart. I think the ones that are seen in the photos are way to small, IMO.

I park my boat outside my vacation home with some of the worst chop on the Parker Strip. I purchased several years ago, bumper balls that are approx 24" inches in diameter (possibly 30", I am not 100% sure....but they are huge). They cost $150 apeice and are worth every nickel. However, I have seen many people selling the same ones on ebay and/or commercial fishing boat sites.....used, for way cheaper. These are way too big to carry in your boat. These are the same size that they use for the course lay-out for Jet-Ski Racing. They are also very heavy, so they do not "ride-up", exposing your boat to damage. You also see this size on many commercial boats. You live in an area which should makes these easy to find.

If you do decide to get this size, I would recommend spray painting your name on them, to help detract thieves.

Also, they make 1/2 inch spring ropes that have a few inches of elasticity. These help keep you from snapping lines. I snapped (2) half inch ropes before I found how well the spring lines worked!

Good Luck Ron!

Parker

[Ron Burgundy]

Good idea...I forgot about checking E-Bay for that kind of stuff. Here are a couple pics of the tide swings I am dealing with. On average there is about a 4 foot change from low to high.



Low Tide




High Tide