How To Keep Your Boat Safe During A Hurricane | Smartplug System

By Author: Tony Barber
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If you’re a boat owner, it’s important to take the necessary precautions to keep your boat safe during a hurricane. Hurricanes can cause extensive damage, and if your boat isn’t properly secured, it could be swept away or damaged by the storm. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some tips on keeping your boat safe during a hurricane.

A hurricane has been named and is headed right for you. And though you have days to over a week before it makes landfall, it’s always best to be prepared for the worst.

How to keep your boat safe during a hurricane? We map out the steps to take below.

If you have the option to take your boat out of the water, do it. Smaller open boats and high-performance powerboats with low freeboard will typically be overcome by waves, spray, and rain, so it’s best to take them out of the water and have them stored on the trailer. Many marinas and yacht clubs will haul boats out of the water as a hurricane approaches, leaving only the bigger vessels to weather the storm.

If left in the water, a boat lift where they will be above the anticipated storm surge is your safest bet, ...
... but not everyone has that option. If you can store your boat on a lift, strap it down to the lift with ratchet straps for the ultimate protection.

Properly securing your boat is one of the most important things you can do to protect it against hurricane-force winds, rain, and storm surge. You should make sure that your boat is anchored securely and that all of the lines are in good condition. Cover all lines to prevent chafing and wrap all lines where lines feed through chocks with tape, rags, and rubber hoses or leather. Install fenders, fender boards, or tires to protect it from rubbing against the seawall, pilings, or other boats. If available to you, store your boat and trailer in a garage. If a garage is not an option, secure them to strong trees. Or, use concrete deadman anchors if trees are not an option. There are plenty of instructional videos available should you require more information on how to secure your boat.

Charge batteries and double-check they can run automatic bilge pumps throughout the storm. As any boat owner knows, the boat’s batteries are essential for operating the boat. Without them, it will not be able to start or run any of its electrical systems. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that your boat’s batteries are fully charged and have a backup battery before a hurricane hits. During a hurricane, the high winds and heavy rains can lead to problems with the boat’s electrical system, including short circuits and power outages. If the boat’s batteries are not fully charged, they may not be able to handle the extra load and could become damaged. Having a backup battery will ensure that you still have power even if the primary battery fails.

Remove and safely store loose items and anything that can blow off the deck of the boat such as life jackets, fishing gear, cushions, and chairs for example. Some items, such as chair pedestals, can be left in place, but you want to cover the open flange with two plastic zipper bags and secure them to the pedestal with electrical tape. Electrical tape stretches, sticks to itself, and will stay put in a moderate storm. As long as you stretch the tape tight on the bag and not the pedestal itself, you should be all set.

Determine a course of action for the drain plugs. For all outboard motor boats, all drain plugs can be removed so that the boat doesn’t fill up with water. Or, you may opt to increase its weight by filling it with fresh water and leaving the plugs in place. It’s really a personal preference and what you feel is best to make it the most sturdy. However, do NOT do this with an inboard motor boat, as it will ruin the engine – opt to remove the drain plugs instead.

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Smart Plug Systems is a privately held manufacturing firm specializing in power delivery systems. It was founded in 2007 and is located in Seattle, WA. Its flagship product, the SmartPlug, is a patented device positioned to replace the current power delivery system for RV’s, Boats, and a variety of specialty vehicles and miscellaneous industrial applications.