Hurricane Planning

72 hour todo list 
  • fill  diesel
  • decide whether J should stay or go?
  • decide where the girls will go
  • deflate soft dinghy and stow aboard unless anchoring out
  • get valuables off boat
  • situate boat
    • haul out?
    • secure boat in slip?
      • add lines to better secure adjacent boats?
      • min 8 docklines (all new)
        • 4 heavy nylon twist
        • 4 longer polyester (less stretch, more chafe resistant)
        • no more than 2 lines per cleat and piling
        • chafe protection
      • deploy fenders, fender boards
      • how to secure lines to pier and pilings
      • disconnect power lines?
    • anchor out?
      • get anchors and chain aboard
      • place anchors in an equilateral triangle
      • 10:1 scope
      • heavy duty snubber
      • get to hurricane hole
        • vero mangroves?
        • okeechobee waterway/indiantown?
        • canal?
    • batten and seal all hatches
    • close all seacocks except for cockpit drains
      • close 
      • engine raw water
      • A/C raw water 
      • head inlet
      • head outlet
      • head sink inlet
      • head sink outlet
      • galley sink inlet
      • galley sink outlet
    • open cockpit drains
    • bung exhaust
    • secure boom
    • cover cockpit instruments
    • take as much below decks as possible to reduce windage
      • lifeline netting
      • mainsail
      • mainsail cover
      • jib
      • staysail 
      • cockpit shade
      • forward shade cloth
      • aft shade cloth
      • winch covers
      • windlass cover
      • cockpit seat cushions
      • jib sheets
      • stay sail sheets
      • other loose lines
      • helm cover
      • binnacle cover
      • companionway cover
      • propane tanks (ok to keep aboard?)
      • anchor (unless anchoring out)
      • outboard (unless anchoring out)
      • grill
      • jerry cans (ok to keep aboard?)
    • secure everything below
    • pack up for everyone leaving
      • sternos
      • water filters
      • tent?
      • people food
      • dog food?
      • water
      • batteries
      • valuables
      • gas
      • cash 
      • clothes
      • first aid
      • pap
    • pack up for whoever's staying with boat
      • water filters
      • people food
      • dog food?
      • batteries
      • cash 
      • first aid
    • leavers leave
    links



    research








    • Each year, on average, two hurricanes will come ashore somewhere along the Gulf or Atlantic coasts
    • Florida is struck most often
    • A study by MIT after hurricane Gloria found that boats stored ashore were far more likely to be saved than boats stored in the water.
    • If you plan to anchor, check your charts to see how much water your boat will be anchored in. The best anchoring is usually in sand, followed by clay, hard mud, shells, broken shells, and soft mud. Also, water can sometimes be blown out of the harbor, leaving boats stranded briefly. If this happens, your boat would rather settle onto anything but rocks.
    • If a category one storm is expected, the likely surge (according to the Saffir-Simpson scale) is only 4’ - 5’; a category two surge is 6’ - 8’; a category three surge is 9’ - 12; a category four surge is 13’ 18’; and a category five surge is above 18’.