CEMA

See that your vessel is in sound condition. Check out the hull, deck hardware, rigging, ground tackle, machinery and electronics; be sure batteries are charged, bilge pumps are operable and all equipment is secured. Absentee owners should arrange for a haul out or supervised inspection. Inspect primary cleats, chocks, winches, bitts and bollards. Be sure they have substantial backplates and adequate-size stainless steel bolts. Acquire any needed emergency gear such as extra mooring lines, fenders, fender boards, chafing gear and anchors. Identify hurricane holes and safe harbors in the area, assemble emergency equipment and supplies, come up with a refuge plan - and then practice it to see how much time and work are involved and what aspects need to be revised. Make sure your insurance coverage is current; read the policy thoroughly for information relative to the coverage, exclusions and your responsibilities as the vessel owner. Assemble your insurance policies, boat registration, a recent photograph of the vessel, gear inventory, marina or storage lease agreement and important telephone numbers -- the local harbor master, Coast Guard, National Weather Service, insurance agent - and put them in a secure place off the boat. Know your responsibilities and liabilities as well as those of the marina or storage facility, if you keep your boat tied up or in storage. Keep in mind that most marinas restrict the launching and/or recovery of boats according to wind speed. Some marinas may have policies which prevent them from handling boats once winds reach a certain speed. This can vary from marina to marina. Check with your marina to determine their policy and to assist in the planning process. Inventory items to be removed from the boat and items to leave aboard; keep copies on board and ashore. Mark valuable items for identification.

How to Prepare your Boat for a Storm
A secure marina may not be the most hospitable location during a hurricane. There are several important considerations. Does the dockmaster have an established hurricane plan in place? If not, will you be required to evacuate? The physical characteristics of the marina, its surroundings as well as the layout, construction and design of piers and slips all play an important role in the safety of your boat. Despite your best planning efforts, your neighbor may not have been so diligent in his. Loose boats in a marina wreak havoc.

Your Docking Plan
If your boat is to remain at a dock, you will need to devise a docking plan radically different from your normal arrangement. For most boats, consider pointing the bow toward open water if possible. If not, try to point the bow toward the least protected direction. Unlike boats at anchor or on a mooring, a boat lashed down in a marina cannot turn to face oncoming wind and waves, which may come from totally opposite directions during the course of the storm, radically redirecting the forces on a vessel.

The key to your docking plan should be long lines -- the longer the better -- to accommodate the predicted storm surge. A good rule of thumb: Storm lines should be at least as long as the boat itself. The BOAT/U.S. Catastrophe Team estimated that as many as 50 percent of the thousands of boats damaged during Hurricane Andrew could have been saved by using better dock lines and docking arrangements.

Your efforts should prevent your boat from moving laterally and at the same time allow it to rise and fall during storm surge. Storm surge may raise your boat completely above adjacent pilings. If your boat isn't held securely in place, it may be impaled when the surge recedes. Make sure the dock lines cannot slip off the tops of the pilings.

Should I Stay with my Boat?
Never stay with your boat. Your boat should be stripped of anything that can become loose during the storm. This would include unstepping the mast in sailboats. Boat documents, radios and other valuables should be removed from the vessel prior to the storm, since you never know how long it will take for you to get back to your boat once the storm passes. Again, don't stay on your boat! Fifty percent of all hurricane-related deaths occur from boat owners trying to secure their boats in deteriorating conditions. Develop a well-thought-out hurricane plan, be prepared to implement it in the shortest possible time and, when completed leave the boat to its own survival. There is absolutely nothing you can do when hurricane force winds are screaming across the deck.

If your Boat must Stay in the Water:
If you planning to move your boat prior to a hurricane take the boat there on a trial run, noting how long it takes as well as any problems you might encounter under actual emergency conditions. Are there any bridges? Many communities require drawbridges to be locked down when a hurricane watch is issued. During Hurricane Andrew, many boat owners were prevented from moving their boats to more protected locations because bridges were locked down. If your boat must stay in the water, you have several options to choose from.

Berth at a Dock
Berth at a dock which has sturdy pilings and offers reasonable shelter from open water and storm surge. Double up all mooring lines but provide enough slack so your boat can rise with the higher tides. Cover all lines with chafe protectors (double neoprene garden hose cut along the side) at points where the line is likely to wear and put out extra fenders and fenderboards (the more the better).

Anchor in a Protected Harbor
Anchor your boat in a protected harbor where the bottom can allow a good anchor hold. An advantage to anchoring is that the boat can more easily respond to wind and water changes without striking docks or other boats than when moored. Another advantage is that historically, boats sustain less damage when they are at anchor as opposed to moored to a dock (even if they are moored securely). Heavy and extra anchors are needed for this option and enough line should be on hand to allow a scope of at least 10:1 for each anchor.

Anchor in a Hurricane Hole
Hurricane Holes are ideal locations to moor your boat during a hurricane. These are deep, narrow coves or inlets that are surrounded by a number of sturdy trees which block the wind and provide a tie-off for anchor lines. The best location for a hurricane hole is one far enough inland to avoid the most severe winds and tides, yet close enough to reach under short notice. Hurricane holes also offer an alternative to crowded marinas. In an ideal hurricane hole sturdy, tall trees and root lattices tend to protect the boat from high winds, in addition to providing excellent terminal points for dock lines and anchors. You may want to scout out a satisfactory hurricane hole ahead of time!

Sturdy Moorings in Protected Harbors
Sturdy moorings in protected harbors are also a good alternative to crowded marinas or canals. A boat on a mooring can swing freely to face the wind, reducing windage, and it can't be slammed into a dock unless the anchor(s) or mooring drags. Several questions arise: What constitutes a sturdy mooring, and will it hold in a hurricane? Other considerations in a harbor are the depth of water and the type of bottom. The proximity of other boats is also a concern. During your test run, make a diagram of how your mooring/docking lines will be arranged. Note any additional equipment you'll need to secure your boat and add it to the list.

Anchor Design
Considerable testing of the holding power of anchors in all types of bottoms has been conducted by West Marine, BOAT/U.S., numerous anchor manufacturers and Cruising World (April '96). Most effective were the fluke-type anchors such as Bruce, CQR and Danforth, which bury themselves under load. Mushroom and dead-weight anchors drag with relatively little effort. A mushroom anchor that isn't sufficiently buried has almost no holding power. During the "Storm of the Century" in March 1993, which pushed 90-knot winds through anchorage in Key Largo, Florida, a 40-foot yawl dragged a l0' x l0' x 12" -thick slab of concrete 75 yards.

One particularly effective arrangement is to use three burying-type storm anchors with chain rodes, deployed 120 degrees apart and connected together using a heavy swivel. This mooring arrangement was one of the few that held during Hurricane Bob's onslaught. In all mooring and anchoring arrangements, remember to increase scope to allow for storm surge -- 10:1 if possible. Remember that additional scope requires additional swinging room.

Depth and Bottom Type
Depth and bottom type must also be considered. Normal depths may be altered radically during the approach or departure of a storm. Allow enough scope for surge. Conversely, if depths are minimal, your boat may go aground if the wind blows the water out of the harbor. Are there rocks? Your boat may survive the storm only to be torn apart as the storm recedes.

Test the holding ground. Anchor pull test show that the best holding grounds are hard sand, soft sand, clay, mud, shells and soft mud, roughly in that order. Note that burying-type anchors in an ideal bottom may be impossible to retrieve after a storm.

Storing Your Boat Ashore
There is one additional alternative, storing your boat ashore. A study by MIT after Hurricane Gloria found that boats stored ashore were far less likely to sustain damage than those anchored in the water. For many boat owners, hauling their boat is the foundation of their hurricane plan.

Boats stored ashore should be well above the anticipated storm surge levels, which is sometimes difficult because most marinas and yards are at or near existing water levels. The same study, however, stated that boats tipped off their jack stands during a storm surge still suffered less damage than their waterborne counterparts.

Hauling Your Boat
If you haul your boat, make sure the boat has extra jack stands. Add a layer of plywood between the jack stand pad and the hull to distribute the weight. Chain the stands together. Some smaller sailboats can be laid on their sides to eliminate the risk of being blown or floated off their stands. If you plan on moving a trailerable boat out of the hurricane area, get out early. Make sure you inspect your trailer for defects and fix them prior to the start of Hurricane Season.

Wind Speed Considerations
No matter where you've decided to keep your boat -- in a marina, at a dock, in a canal, hurricane hole or on a mooring, there are several additional points to consider: chafe, cleats and chocks, and windage. Hurricane -force winds exert tremendous strains on boat's hardware.

Wind force, and the damage it causes, increases exponentially. A doubling of wind speed increases the force on your boat four times. For example, a 20-knot wind exerts a force of 1.3 pounds per square foot; doubling the speed of 40 knots quadruples the pressure to 5.2 pounds per square foot.

Reduce windage! Remove everything to reduce wind resistance: Biminis, antennas, deck-stowed anchors, sails, running rigging, booms, life rings, dinghies and so on. Besides reducing windage, you eliminate the probability of these items being damaged or blown away.

Remove furling headsails. Even when furled, they offer a sizable amount of wind resistance and additional load on the headstay. And despite your best attempts to secure properly the furling line, the ravages of hurricane force winds most likely will unravel your efforts, allowing the sail to unfurl during the storm with disastrous consequences.

Arrange your halyards to reduce flogging and damage, both to the fittings on the halyard and to the objects in their path. One method to eliminate halyard slapping and windage is to tie all halyards off to a common messenger line and run the halyards to the top of the mast, reducing the number of lines exposed to the wind from as many as three or four to only one. Tie the messenger off on a rail.

Chafe Protectors
Chafe protectors are essential on all lines, wherever you keep your boat. Unprotected lines will chafe and sever within minutes under the rigorous conditions of a hurricane. Boats on a mooring are particularly vulnerable because the boat is usually held in place using only two pennants; the enormous forces generated are concentrated on only two lines.

Wave Surge and Water Damage
Depending on your boat, wave surge may increase loading by 1.5 times the values shown. These same forces are transmitted to the mooring; make sure all eye splices have thimbles to reduce wear at the attachment point on the mooring.

Prevent water damage. Rain during a hurricane flies in every direction including up. Remove all cowl ventilators and replace with closure plates or tape off the vents using duct tape. Make sure Dorade box and cockpit drains are clear of debris. Close all seacocks except those used for drainage. Put bung plugs in unused thru-hulls and one in the exhaust to prevent water from flooding your engine. Deck drains and pump discharges located near the waterlines can back flow when wind and waves put drains underwater.

Use duct tape and precut plywood panels to cover exposed instruments. Examine all hatches, ports, coaming compartments and sea lockers for leaks. Use duct tape to seal them off. Make sure that all papers (magazines, books, catalogs) are high enough in the boat to prevent them from getting wet if the cabin is flooded. Wet paper can turn into a pulpy mush, clogging bilge pumps. Prepare two lists: one listing all items to be removed from the boat prior to moving it to where it will ride out the hurricane and another listing all equipment needed to prepare your boat for the storm.

Electronics are particularly susceptible to water damage; if they can be removed from the boat quickly, add them to the list, along with clothing and other personal effects. Other items that should be removed include: outboard engines, portable fuel tanks, propane tanks, important ship's papers and personal papers, as well as any other essential personal effects.

Mooring Lines
Lines should also be larger in diameter to resist chafe and excessive stretching. Generally you should use 5/8 inch line on boats up to 25 feet, 3/4 to one-inch line for boats 25 to 34 feet and two-inch line for larger boats. Double up on critical lines. Use chafe gear wherever the line comes in contact with anything such as chocks, pulpits, pilings or trees.

Longer, larger and more numerous lines will require larger cleats and chocks. In addition, the extra forces exerted during a hurricane will require stronger attachments of the cleats to the deck. Determine the size of lines you'll be using and, if necessary, add bigger cleats to accommodate them.

Docking Cleats
Beef up your dock cleats by adding backing plates if your boat doesn't already have them -- unbacked cleats may pull out of the deck under heavy loads. Use stainless steel plates. Make sure you use the largest size screws that will fit through the mounting holes in the cleats. Use cleats with four mounting holes for added strength. Don't overload a single cleat -- two lines per cleat should be the maximum. If your docking plan calls for more lines than there are cleats available, install additional cleats. Check windlass mounting points as well. The windlass should be mounted solidly with appropriately sized hardware and backing plates.

Boats with keel-stepped mast can also use the mast as a line termination point. Don't run a line attached to your mast through a deck chock -- the extra line length between the mast base and the chock will allow excessive stretch between the two points, increasing chafe at the chock.

When Should I Begin to Implement my Plan?
Many of the above items will require a substantial amount of time to complete, considerably more that can be accomplished when a hurricane threatens your area. Chandleries will run out of gear quickly when a hurricane looms. After developing your survival plan, purchase and assemble the gear you need to implement it.

Finally, leave early! Waiting to take action until a storm's imminent arrival is inviting disaster. A hurricane warning is issued when sustained winds exceeding 64-knots are expected within 24 hours. Hurricane-proofing your house or evacuating the area will take precedence over boat safety. Winds may rise quickly. Securing a boat in 35-knot winds is extremely difficult; impossible in 45-knot winds.

Start moving as soon as you feel a hurricane watch is probable. Don't rely on emergency services for assistance. Many harbor and marine patrols remove their vessels from the water or sequester them prior to the onset of storm and hurricane force winds.

After you've secured your boat, double-check everything. Turn off all electrical power except the bilge pumps. Test bilge pump switches and pump intakes for debris.

When a Hurricane Watch is Issued

Monitor marine radio weather reports continuously. Identify the safest reachable haven and move your boat there at least 48 hours before a hurricane is expected to strike your area. Have written copies of your hurricane plan aboard and with associates on shore; be sure family members and crew read and understand it. See that fuel tanks are full, fuel filters are clean, batteries are charged, bilges are clean, cockpit drains are clear, firefighting equipment works and lifesaving equipment is in good condition and readily accessible. Make anchoring or mooring provisions. Check the condition of mooring hardware and lines. Ensure water tightness above and below the waterline by sealing hatches, windows and doors with duct tape if necessary, shutting seacocks and capping off unvalved through-hull fittings. Remove all equipment off deck that you can, including roller furling sails. Lash down everything you cannot move, such as tillers, wheels and booms. Double all lines. The second set of lines should be a size larger than the regular ones. Rig crossing spring lines fore and aft. At a marina with strong pilings, attach lines high on them to allow for surge and install preventers so they cannot slip off the top. To prevent chafing, use double neoprene hose, or wrap lines at rough points with tape, rags or other protective material. Put out fenders and fender boards to protect from rubbing against pilings, pier and other vessels. Recheck the attachment of primary cleats, winches and chocks. See that your batteries are fully charged to operate automatic bilge pumps for the duration of the storm. Consider backup batteries. Disconnect all devices that use electricity except bilge pumps.

When a Hurricane Warning is Issued

Monitor marine radio reports continuously. Prepare to have all aboard leave the vessel. Boat owners unwilling to do this must weigh the desire to stay aboard carefully. Of eight confirmed deaths in Hurricane Marilyn, at lease seven were individuals who remained aboard boats.

After the Hurricane

Check the condition and security of the vessel as soon as it is safe to do so. If it has been damaged, take immediate action to save the vessel and/or equipment and prevent further loss or damage -- this is a requirement of all marine insurance. Notify your insurance agent as soon as you can. Pickle the engine immediately and purge the boat of marine life and saltwater. Report any theft, vandalism or damage to law-enforcement authorities promptly; obtain a copy of the incident report or at least the report number. If salvage removal of the vessel is necessary and you must make arrangements yourself, read the salvage contract, find out where your vessel is being taken, and if security is to be provided.

Source of Information
This information was developed using data from Cruising World, Sept '96, Ed Eisenberger; Surviving the Storm, FEMA '98; Safe Harbor, David Pascoe; the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Chatham Emergency Management Agency.