SolveYourProblem Article Series: Hurricanes
Hurricane Facts, Tips and Safety Protocols

Anchor and Moor Your Boat Before a Hurricane

If you are a boat owner, you have one more thing to worry about when preparing for an approaching storm than everyone else - how best to protect your water craft. While you should, of course, never take chances with your own safety to look after your boat, boats are major investments that you want to protect as much as possible. There are a few options you can use to keep your boat as safe from the storm as possible.

If you dock your boat at a marina, or you have access to a dock, you may choose to simply leave your boat moored there. If leave your boat at the marina or dock, you will need plenty of extra mooring lines and spring lines, to help the boat cope with the increased water that will flood the area during the storm surge. Protect these lines from chafing as the boat rises and falls in the stirred up seas with some kind of rubber tubing - a garden hose pipe or radiator hose can do the trick. Secure the windows by taping from the inside. Make sure there are not loose items on the deck - store things like your dinghy, sails, and bimini tops on land, and move smaller items below deck. Remove all your valuables from the boat. Make sure all the gas, water, and electricity lines are shut off, and all hatches and window are locked tight. While this plan may present you with the least amount of hassle, never assume that your marina allows boats to stay during hurricanes. Many marinas insist all boats leave the area. Find out the rules at your marina well in advance of hurricane season.

If your marina doesn’t allow boats during hurricanes, and you don’t have access to a dock, you choose to anchor your boat out in the water. If you do this, you should drop anchor on the bay side of barrier islands at least, and further inland is better. You can seek out a hurricane hole, which is an area of water that is deep enough to anchor your boat, but far enough inland that the storm surge will not cause much damage. Look for areas with plenty of shelter and natural barriers from the wind. Getting as far up the river from the ocean as possible is ideal. If you anchor out, you will need two Danforth or Yachtoman plow anchors. Do not use stem anchors. You will also need an anchor line that is at least six times the depth of the water, and preferably, nine or more times. This will allow the boat to rise and fall with the water as the storm comes through without being unanchored. If done properly, this option is better for boats than mooring at a dock or marina, because there is less of a chance of the boat hitting another boat or banging against the dock in the storm.

Whichever decision you make, it is important to make your plans well in advance of any storm. When a hurricane threatens, you should be able to simply activate your hurricane plan, instead of scrambling to decide what to do. Despite common misconceptions, you should not try to ride out the storm on your boat. Far from being one of the safest places to be, this puts you on the frontlines of very dangerous weather. Before the storm, make sure your maritime insurance is up to date and that your policy and all legal documents related to the boat are in a secure, dry, easy to access place.

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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2007

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