Hurricane Preparedness Plan for Boats. Safety first is our mantra. Anyone near coastal water needs to know how to prepare a boat for a hurricane or major storm for a number of reasons.
The 2 biggest reasons are
- to protect your boat from damage
- to avoid your boat from damaging other boats and property
Boat owners need to understand how to track and assess a major storm as well as choosing the appropriate path to hurricane/storm preparedness of their vessel.
Carefree Boat Club has a written Hurricane Preparedness Plan for Boats. Carefree Boat Club owners and staff monitor the weather forecasts and reports. The club will close 3 days (more if necessary) before a major storm hits and 3 days after the major storm is over for the safety of our members and the boats.
3 days prior: The staff needs to prepare the docks, secure the boats, and possibly move the fleet to higher ground. Remove all rigging, canvases, and any loose items such as cushions, dock poles, etc… Cover all gauges and instrumentation. Install any slipstream covers. Secure boats to floating docks with docks lines; springline the bow, X tie the backs. Secure dock area. And much more…
3 days after: The staff will be preparing the boats for the members: assessing, any repairs, cleaning, etc… Management will be assessing the water ways to ensure boating is safe again. For example, making sure storm debris is not floating in the water or just below the surface…
This is just an overview… Carefree Boat Club secures and monitors the boats. This is one less thing you as a member has to worry about when a major storm is approaching the area.