14 Tips To Protect Your Boat During Hurricane Season In 2023

July 30, 2022

What causes the most damage to boats in a hurricane?

Storm surge causes the most damage to boats, not wind. Make sure to slack your lines.

How can you protect your boat best?

Storm surge boats fare better at marinas with floating docks and tall pilings compared to fixed docks, or floats and short pilings.

Here are some more Tips for your boat:

Whether battening down ashore or afloat, reduce windage by lowering antennas and removing canvas.
Make sure your batteries are charged—especially if you don’t have a generator that will run the bilge pumps. Wiring in extras in parallel isn’t a bad idea, since if the power goes out, so does shore power.
Double your dock lines on your boat, leaving the second set a bit slack of the first. This way, if the first chafe through, the doublers will be fresh for the duration.
Storm surge causes the most damage to boats, not wind. Make sure to slack your lines. Hurricane Ike had a 12ft storm surge.
Center your boat in the slip if it is docked in a marina or berth.
Boats stored on land should be lashed to anchors in the ground, not just blocked up or left on a trailer.
Check your insurance policy now: Make sure you have “named storm coverage”—and be sure to ask what happens if a storm rolls through without a name.
Locate your vessel papers and keep them safe.
Photograph your vessel, inside and out, in case of a possible insurance claim.
Act early. Hauling, tying down, moving to a hurricane hole at the last minute ensures some things won't get done.
Be wary of flotsam and debris lurking in the water following a storm.
Hurricane advisories will help save your life...... but you must help & be prepared.
Monitor local and national weather services including NOAA Weather Radio and the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center at www.nhc.noaa.gov.
Do not stay with your boat or try to ride out a storm on board. No matter how valuable your vessel is to you—both financially and sentimentally—it’s not worth your life.

Do you know your Zip Zone Evacuation map?

Remember Hurricane Rita and the evacuation mess? After Hurricane Rita, state and local officials took all the written plans and converted them to easy to understand maps. Now we will have a partial or phased evacuation based on storm surge risk. Check the Zip Zone Evacuation Map to see which zone you are based. And here is a Map to print and have ready in your emergency kit.

Evacuation route maps from the Texas coast, including from Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Houston, Pharr and Yoakum, are available.

Hurricane Preparedness in Seabrook Marina
And check out More Tips how to prepare for a hurricane at the bottom of the page.

USEFUL LINKS

Town of Seabrook Hurricane Preparedness Plan

Hurricane & COVID-19

NOAA Weather Radio

University of Florida IFAS publication "Hurricane Preparedness for Boat Owners" (PDF)

A Boater's Guide to Preparing Boats and Marinas for Hurricanes by BoatUS (PDF)

5 Tips For Storm Coverage For Your Boat

Download your own list - '5 Essential Hurricane Tips'

Takeaway: “Be prepared”
Boy Scouts of America Motto

Get even more storm tips in our Hurricane Preparedness Guide.