Hurricanes are dangerous events, and as boat owners, we have some special
considerations. Hi folks. I'm Lenny Rudow for BoatUS Magazine, and I'd like to
welcome you to our hurricane preparation series. Today we're going to go over
exactly what you need to do to prepare your boat in case the hurricane is
headed in your direction. And folks, if you end up with any questions, please
leave them in the comment box below this video. We will answer. Meet Mike McCook.
Hey Mike! Lenny, nice to see you. Mike has been with
the BoatUS Catastrophe Team since 1983? 1983. The very first one. Nice! Well, Mike,
tell us a little bit about yourself. Well, I'm a certified marine surveyor by the
National Association of Marine Surveyors, and I've been out running the
CAT Team since 1983. That was our very first storm, and it was a very
significant in my life because it taught me a lot of how to deal with people, not
just storms. And as I understand it, after a hurricane, BoatUS sends this CAT Team
there straight off, right? We're usually there within 48 hours assuming we can
get in. Whatever government officials or agencies may bar us
at first, but eventually we're allowed in as soon as possible. We either drive, fly,
helicopter … whatever it takes to get there, we get there. And the whole idea is
to get our salvage operations and the members and insureds taken care of as
quickly as possible. So Mike, tell me, in case of a hurricane what is the first
thing boat owners should do? Well, first of all, it's all about preparation.
Three Ps: preparation, preparation, and preparation. You start that preparation
months before storms are predicted, when you first get the boat, when you first
come to a marina. And you try to put together a plan as to how to protect
your boat and what you're going to do. Because day before the storm, it's just
too late. Those preparations should include hauling the boat if possible,
removing items that will decrease windage. If you can't haul the boat, securing the
boat more appropriately in its given slip with more lines or chafing gear,
whatever. There's a lot of things you can do, but the key, the whole key to the
whole thing, is be prepared. Have a plan and make sure that you
follow that plan. Is there anywhere our viewers can go to get more information?
There is, and one of the best places is the BoatUS Magazine, which is coming out
with and has in the past, published preparedness ideas and suggestions. They
don't answer every question necessarily, but they give you a good guideline as to
where you should go. Here's a really important thing, too, is
the marine insurance program that is through BoatUS has coverages that
will compensate you to certain levels for hauling your boat out to prepare the
boat for a storm. I think that's a very important feature because the best way
to protect your boat, if at all possible, is to haul it out. So what are some of
the things that a boat owner needs to do when there's an impending hurricane? I
mean, it's coming right at you. Let's go back to the plan and make sure you
follow your plan. And part of the plan should be to remove any canvases or
sails or anything that create more windage, which obviously can create more of a
problem. Properly tie the boat or, if it's ashore, secure it. Hopefully the marina
has tie-down points. If not, that the jack stands are chained together and it's
blocked in accordance with normal procedure for a storm by a marina. If you
have electronics that are easily removable, take them off the boat. We'd want to do
that anyway because you're gonna remove all your isinglass or any
enclosures on the flybridge or around the cockpit or
anything along those lines. You also want to make sure that the marina knows where
you are and how to get a hold of you just in
case something happens and you need to be notified. I can do all that stuff at
the last minute right? Lenny! Haven't you been listening to me? Preparation,
preparation, preparation! You don't wait till the last minute. That'll be a real
sad day when you do that. So, Mike, a lot of what I've heard you talking about
really is things that you need to do to minimize wind damage, but every storm is
different. Isn't surge often a big problem, too?
Surge is a big problem, and it oftentime is the biggest cause of damage for us, as
the CAT Team, and makes it difficult because the boat gets
washed up 200 yards up the beach or something. It makes it more of a challenge.
So it's important that you choose a marina that is protected as best
possible from what you would anticipate a surge tide would be.
So if you're in a fixed marina, fixed docks, you have to make sure you have
enough scope on your lines so the boat can float up above it. If you're in a
floating marina, which seems to be the trend today, which is one of the better
places to be if you can't haul out, you have to make sure the pilings are tall
enough to accommodate that surge tide. How tall is that? Really hard to predict,
but I think as a rule of thumb, if you are 8 to 10 feet above the normal
high tide, you probably have a better chance of surviving than if it were lower than that.
Have you ever seen it where a dock has actually come up over the pilings?
Absolutely, more than once. Not every storm, but almost every storm, that the
whole floating dock will come off the pilings and go up on
the shore or get hung up. Or worse, your boat gets sucked up on top of the
pilings. So, yes, it's not that uncommon for that to happen. So, Mike, it sounds to
me like ideally you really want to get your boat out of the water entirely
if possible? That's correct. Hauling the boat out is important, and
again, remember that insurance provision on the BoatUS/
GEICO Marine Insurance policy has provisions to compensate you for
some of that cost, if not all of it. Now, Mike, let's say I got my boat on a lift.
Then I don't have to worry about this at all, right? No, cause most lifts aren't
really set up to lift high enough to take care of a surge.
Plus, you know, you generally leave the drain plug in on the boat on the
lift. And if you do, you have rainwater. It can sink on the lift. No, you have a
lot to worry about, and it should be taken off the lift, put on its trailer,
or, again, taken to a facility that can put it ashore. What about if my boat's out on a mooring?
Well, moorings are not the best place to have a boat. Obviously
they're very exposed. If you have to leave it on a mooring, make sure the
mooring has been recently inspected — that means from the anchor to the buoy, from
the buoy to the boat. And that would sometimes require a diver. Some people
that rent moorings do those sort of inspections on an annual basis.
But if you don't know, find out and make sure the condition is top-notch. Mike
I've got two questions bugging me here. The first is, is it safe to just take my
boat out and anchor it? And the second is, why can't I just stay on my boat to help
protect it? Well, I've been doing this for a long time,
since 1983, and I don't think I've ever met anybody who opted to stay on their
boat that would ever do it again. EVER do it again. As far as being on an
anchor, very high probability of dragging. Very high probability of striking
another boat. Very high probability of winding up on the beach someplace. You
know, if you have to do it, make sure you put out enough scope, make sure you
have a kettle, make sure you do everything you can to keep the boat
where it is, and try to be in a very protected area. But absolutely last
choice. Now let's say there's a hurricane barreling up the coast. I'm looking at
the TV, and I think, oh my gosh I've got a call my marina and have the boat hauled. How
quickly can I expect them to do it? Really, the most important thing is to
call them as early as possible, as soon as there's a named storm that's going to
come in your area, or you think it's going to come into your area, or might come
into your area, call the marina get on the list.
A lot of marinas now have what they call "hurricane clubs," and they automatically
put you in a queue to get your boat out. But if that not the case, then make sure
you call as soon as possible because, this
marina we're in today has hundreds of boats, and they haul a lot of them. How soon
can you haul 200 boats? So use your head, get to them as soon as possible, and get
into the queue. Now let's say, for whatever reason, I get caught in a bind
and I've got to leave my boat in a slip. What about fenders, lines? Well you want
to do the best you can to get the boat centered in the slip. You want to make
sure you have enough scope on your secondary line so kind of what we talked
about -- the surge tide. Fenders are always a good idea within reason. You don't want
to overfender the boat because they're just going to get in the way and foul
lines. You want to try to the best possible to make sure your lines are in
good condition. They're not lines from three
years ago that you happen to have as spares. No, you need good, new, fresh lines,
full strength. You have to also check your cleats, if possible, to make sure
they're properly secured to the boat. I know it sounds a little late to do that,
but remember we went back to preparation? Well in preparation, maybe you ought to
check your cleats and see they really are attached to the boat properly.
Now, folks, I know we're talking about a lot of different things here, but go through
our YouTube channel. The BoatUS YouTube channel has a ton of videos on
how to do all these different things like fendering your boat, tying up your
boat. Mike is there anything else? Prepare, prepare, and prepare.