How to Prepare Your Boat for a Hurricane or Tropical Storm

Read your slip or storage contract: some marinas require boats to leave, require a written plan, or hold owners liable if a boat isn't secured properly. Ask what the marina itself will do. Write down where the boat will go, who will move it, which lines and gear you need, and a backup person if you are away. Share contact info with neighboring boat owners. Store the plan in your BoatMend boat profile.

Many yards run a "hurricane club" or haul list: you sign up and often pay a deposit before the season, and they haul you first when a storm threatens. Waiting until a watch is posted usually means no slot. If your boat is trailerable, make sure the trailer is roadworthy (tires, bearings, lights) so it can actually go inland.

Call your insurer before the season. Ask whether your boat is in the covered area, what the named-storm deductible is, whether the policy requires haul-out or a specific plan, and whether it helps pay for hauling or professional prep. BoatUS Marine Insurance, for example, says on its claims page that all its policies pay half the cost (up to $1,000, per event) of a professional pre-storm haul-out, move or professionally executed hurricane plan when a NOAA-named storm threatens your area; you file it as a "Hurricane Haul out" claim. BoatUS has also written that it lowers the named-storm deductible for owners who can show they prepped. Coverage can't be bought or changed once a storm is threatening.

Take photos and video of the boat, its equipment and its condition before the storm, and again after your prep work is done. Keep the registration, insurance policy and ship's papers with you, not aboard.

Remove the bimini, dodger, enclosures, covers, cushions, outriggers, antennas, dinghy, kayaks, grills, solar panels and anything loose. On sailboats, take off all sails, especially roller-furling headsails (they almost always unfurl and flog). BoatUS strongly recommends unstepping the mast if practical. Lash down anything that can't come off. Take electronics and valuables home: they get soaked or stolen after storms.

Use extra-long nylon lines, doubled, led to pilings or distant cleats so the boat can rise with the surge without slamming into anything. BoatUS's advice:

• Chafe gear on every line where it touches a chock, piling or the dock edge. Nylon stretches under load, rubs, and can melt inside. Garden hose alone can trap heat; polyester sleeves or a polyester line from the cleat through the chock joined to nylon outboard combine chafe resistance with stretch.
• No more than two lines per cleat, and only on cleats backed with solid plates. Lines pulling sideways can rip a cleat out.
• Plan for surge height. Measure your pilings: a floating dock can be lifted off pilings that are too short. On a fixed dock, short lines snap; lines tied long to far-away pilings let the boat rise without too much slack.
• Tie off line tails with half hitches so they can't shake loose underwater.

Rainfall of 6 to 12 inches in a day is normal in a hurricane, and a cockpit full of rain can sink a boat that survives the wind. Clear cockpit drains and scuppers. Tape hatches, ports, lockers and gauges; remove cowl vents and seal the openings. BoatUS suggests closing all seacocks except the cockpit drains and plugging the engine exhaust outlets so water can't back up into the engine if the boat sits lower. Write "REMOVE EXHAUST PLUGS" on the helm so nobody starts the engine with them in.

Make sure batteries are fully charged and the automatic bilge pumps work, but don't count on them: BoatUS notes owners usually overestimate how long a pump and battery can keep up with storm rain. Disconnect shore power before you leave the dock and stow the cord.

Move the boat inland, away from storm surge and trees, if you can. BoatUS suggests putting the boat (not the car) in the garage if it fits, since a boat is lighter and more easily blown around. Outside:

• Strip all gear and covers, then lash the boat to the trailer.
• Let some air out of the trailer tires and chock the wheels.
• Tie the trailer down to trees or to ground anchors or augers.
• Light outboard boats: BoatUS suggests leaving the drain plug in and adding some water to add weight, with wood blocks between the trailer frame and springs to carry the load. Inboard and sterndrive boats: pull the drain plug so a flooded hull doesn't damage the engine.

BoatUS's Catastrophe Team says a lift is one of the worst places to be in a hurricane: boats get blown off cradles or crushed by rainwater. Store the boat ashore if at all possible. If it must stay on the lift, remove the drain plug so rain drains out and strap the boat firmly to the lift structure.

Once your prep is done, go inland. Do not return during the storm. After it passes, wait until authorities allow travel, and only go out on docks when they are safe. Leave kids and pets at home.

• Hazards first: leaking fuel, downed or live wires (make sure dock power is off), missing dock boards, sewage, and displaced snakes. If you smell fuel or see a sheen, stay off the boat and call the marina, the fire department or 911.
• If the boat is afloat: check for chafed lines, broken hatches or ports, and water in the bilge. Watch the bilge level over the next days for hidden underwater damage. Check that fuel systems are intact and the bilge pump works.
• If it sank, is aground or was carried ashore: call your insurance company first and let them arrange salvage. BoatUS warns that salvage contracts are tricky, and an inexperienced salvor can cause more damage.
• Protect it from further damage: pump out, cover openings, rinse salt and mud out, and dry the interior. An engine that went underwater must be "pickled" by a pro right away. Your policy usually covers reasonable costs to prevent further damage; keep every receipt.

Photograph all damage before you clean up, report it to your insurer right away, and log what happened in BoatMend. Remove the exhaust plugs and inspect everything before starting the engine.