Jul 19, 2016

Preparing Your Boat for a Hurricane

Now that storm season is approaching, it is time to have a procedure in place for preparing your boat for potential hurricanes and tropical storms to keep your boat safe. Hurricanes Sandy, Irene, and Katrina, most boats weren’t taken care of properly, causing owners to lose their valuable possessions. Here are some tips to help prevent the loss or damage of your boat in the wake of high winds, storm surges, and heavy rains.

Prepare Early.

Early preparation is the most important factor when getting ready for a storm; you can never be too prepared!  The stress caused by incoming storms leads to panic, so early preparation minimizes the discomforting thoughts of losing your boat. You should have a plan of action at least two days before the storm’s arrival, and already have in mind how you will keep your boat safe.

Decide whether or not to take your boat out of the water.

In most cases, it is a good idea to remove your boat, but it all depends on whether or not you have storage available. Keeping track of how powerful the storm is projected to be will help gauge your decision, however, storms are unpredictable so you can never be too safe. If keeping your boat in the water, we recommend you add extra anchors in case your dock lines break. Also don’t leave boats on lifts! Storm surges will do the most damage to boats, so it is also vital to slack your lines.

Take pictures of everything on your boat for insurance purposes.

It is important to make a note of where everything is on your boat. In addition to how it looks, and take all important documents and valuable items off of your boat.  So, if any damage does occur, you will be able to notify your insurance company.

Stay up to date with the forecast.

Keep track of the weather through your local news stations, NOAA iPhone app, etc.  Storms could be stronger than expected. Be aware of the storm’s direction, strength, and duration in case you need to make any last safety adjustments to the boat.

Remember to keep yourself safe in the event of a storm and your boat second. You never know how powerful a storm is until it actually arrives. It is important to think ahead and create a plan of how to prepare your boat for a hurricane before it hits, which will make you and your boat feel secure.