Hurricane Prep HELP

I got this message from Geico Marine this morning:

This message is to inform you that an ALERT for Tropical Storm Henri, which is expected to strengthen, has been issued and could affect your local boating area and where you keep your boat.

As a GEICO policyholder in the forecast cone, you should take immediate action to use your HURRICANE HAULOUT COVERAGE* and bring your boat to the safety of land. This covers 50% of the cost of labor, up to $1,000 to have your boat professionally hauled or prepared.

Proper preparation can reduce the amount of damage that your boat may suffer. Remove canvas (Bimini tops, enclosures and covers), sails, exterior cushions and loosely attached items. Do your part to ensure your boat weathers the storm in the best possible manner.

Not sure I am actually going to haul or not. We plan to go out tomorrow so I am just keeping an eye on the forecast.

For reference, my boat survived 90mph winds last summer with the canvas cover snapped on. Not a single snap came undone. However, it dragged its mooring anchor over 100yds. and my boat ended up on the beach.

The safest action is ti have the boat pulled and stored on land where the elevation is higher than the projected surge level. That said, it may be too late to have it pulled due to demand.
If you have a trailer, pull it and do the same as above. Strap the boat to the trailer.
Lower all tall things that can be lowered. Helm covers are probably OK but not drop curtains.
If you are sure the land will not flood, pull the drain plug. If unsure, leave the plug in.

We have GEICO as well for our GW (trailered), but when we had the 97 Sea Ray 330 we definitely took them up on the haul out and placing it on the hard for the duration of the storm. For my marina it cost me $200 plus a couple of days on the stands. In total, for the last hurricane it cost me $300 out of pocket. To me it was well worth it because if I left it in the slip, I would be liable for repairs if it was deemed to be caused by bad line handling.

One other risk leaving it in the slip is damage from other boats that may not have been securely tied up or from slips that fail. The funny or not so funny thing about Sandy was that all my damage was on land from boats floating around and piling up in spots as the 'fleet' hit a tree or a power pole.
In that horrific surge, I left the bilge plug in and my boat with trailer attached floated across the yard with a dozen other boats. Many folks did not strap the hull to their trailer other than the winch strap. Many of those floated off the trailer. One boat I remember well floated off its trailer, detached and ended up on another vacant trailer

Well that was a huge waste of time for me taking it out. Not only that, but the boat in front of me at the ramp had their winch cable snap so it took even longer to get it. Better safe than sorry though.

nuclear said:

Well that was a huge waste of time for me taking it out. Not only that, but the boat in front of me at the ramp had their winch cable snap so it took even longer to get it. Better safe than sorry though.

Click to expand...

I agree, there were many times where the hype was worse than the storm itself, however, had it been the other way around...

Last year a friend of mine up in the Panhandle had the same dilemma, pull it out of the water or leave it in the slip. He was very happy when Sally made landfall as a Cat 2 and hammered the coast from Pensacola to Mobile.