15 Ways to Prepare Your Boat for the Next Hurricane

Being a boater or the owner of a boat, it’s your responsibility to take good care of it and protect it against hurricanes. Experts and their forecasts are there to alert you only if you are paying attention to them. 

Being a boater, you can’t change the outcome of such predictions but take the necessary steps to prepare for the upcoming season. It is always better to plan for the safety of your boat well in advance when a hurricane is about to strike. 

This article provides you with 15 ways to prepare your boat for an upcoming hurricane. Go through them and secure your boat today.

  1. Insurance for Your Boat is a Must
    A hurricane can damage your boat and cost you far more to fix than an insurance policy’s annual cost. So buy insurance for your boat and check for its timely renewal.
  2. Review Existing Marine Insurance Policy
    You must review your marine insurance policy and its hurricane season provisions. If your policy requires you to relocate your vessel out of a hurricane zone, you should do so by the specified date in your policy.
  3. Prepare a Storm Plan
    Most insurance providers need a formal written plan clarifying how and where your boat must be secured during a storm. You have to appoint a responsible person to execute the plan if you are out of town.
  4. Check with Your Marina
    You must find a place to moor your boat safely during the hurricane. You can check at the private dock if there is a place for your boat. If it can stay, make sure you know the procedure for securing your boat and those docked around it.
  5. Choose a Haul-out Provider
    Owners who have to move their boats in the event of a storm need to decide where to have them hauled before the start of hurricane season. Checking with your local Sea Tow operator is a wise option to see what pre-storm haul-out services are available.
  6. Monitor Local and National Weather Services
    You have to keep monitoring weather services such as NOAA Weather Radio. You should also visit sites like the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center to stay updated with recent news.
  7. Make an Inventory
    You must prepare an inventory, a video of all valuable fixed items onboard your boat, such as marine electronics, preferably.
  8. Store All the Important Documents of Your Boat
    It is necessary to store important documents, such as your marine insurance policy, safely off the vessel.
  9. Remove Detachable Items Once a Storm is a Forecast for Your Area
    The items such as canvas, cushions, sails, fishing rigging, and electronics should be removed from the boat. Tie down other things that you cannot remove, such as booms, wheels, tillers, etc.
  10. Deflate Your Dinghy
    Store your dinghy and its outboard motor off the boat by deflating it. If it’s a fiberglass dinghy, better you store it in an indoor facility.
  11. Lash Down Your Boat Securely
    If your boat is on a trailer, lash it down safely. Anchor the trailer to the ground using tie-downs. Weigh down the frame by letting the air out of its tires.
  12. Disconnect Your Boat’s Battery
    Ensure all power is turned off and shore power cords are stowed safely if the boat is in a facility with shore power.
  13. Center Your Boat in Its Slip When It is Docked in a Private Birth or a Marina
    Double-up all dock lines to ensure they are of sufficient length for compensating excessive high water.
  14. Enough Scope Should Be Put Out for Anchored Boats
    Check all anchor rods and chains to choose only good or new gear for use. Set extra anchors as per requirement.
  15. Don’t Stay With Your Boat
    Don’t try to ride out a storm on board, even if your vessel is valuable to you, both financially and sentimentally. Remember, it’s not worth your life.


It is wise to prepare for a hurricane in advance rather than start preparing when it is almost there. Therefore, we highly recommend that you take care of the abovementioned factors now and be ready for the upcoming hurricane. If you are looking for any marine products and accessories, contact us at Raritan Engineering Company Inc. today.

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