The Reality of Hurricane Protection

Having spent many years in the south and tropics I have been a keen observer of hurricanes and what you can or cannot do to protect your boat. As a former surveyor I have also witnessed first hand the aftermath of the destruction hurricanes cause to boats. I’ve learned a few things and my Lesson Learned #1 is that no boat is worth losing your life over, so I would never stay on board during a hurricane. Lesson #2 is that there is no guaranteed safe place for a boat in a serious hurricane. Lesson #3 is that a boat has a better chance of survival out of the water than in it, but Lesson #2 still applies.

The force of wind is directly proportional to it velocity, but cubed. In others words, if the wind speed increases from 50 MPH to 100 MPH the force increases by a factor of 8. The surface area of the boat is not linear either. If Boat A has twice the surface area of Boat B, the factor is squared and the effect on A will be 4 times greater than on B. Therefore, someone who stayed on their 38’ Express cruiser in a 70 MPH wind and survived doesn’t mean anything for someone with a 42' Trawler in a 140 MPH wind.

At some point during a serious hurricane anyone who stays on board will lose control of his or her ability to survive (it is pure luck after this point). Debris becomes airborne and begins to attack like missiles. I inspected a GB several years ago that had been hit with a flying deck chair that had smashed in a cabin window which in itself would have been repairable, but the damage from the torrential rains that poured into the cabin was beyond imagination. The boat yard estimated $30,000 of damage, but I would have said a minimum of $100,000 and the boat would still never be restored to its original condition. As a follow up to this story, it was reported that the owner of the boat whose deck chair did the damage (he did not know of it at the time) was asked if his boat had suffered any damage and replied, “Oh, I lost a couple of deck chairs – no big deal”. The point of my story is that you can do everything possible to hurricane-proof your boat, but you can’t keep the other boat owners from being negligent. Years ago when Hurricane Hugo blew thru the Caribbean everyone ran to the hurricane holes of Culebra for protection and those who got there first put out multiple anchors and secured their boats to perfection as they hunkered down in the most secure parts of the anchorages only to watch with horror as those last to arrive simply threw out an anchor, jumped in the dinghy and went to shore. These lightly anchored boats of course broke lose and pulled out the anchors of those to leeward until there became a wall of entangled boats marching in a giant line engulfing all in its path. Nine who stayed on board died.

In winds over 100 MPH (still only Category 2) you have to crawl along the deck to get to the bow. The anchor rode will be like a steel bar and the rain will sting your face so hard you cannot open your eyes or face into the wind. Storm surge in a Cat. 3 hurricane is 9 to 12 feet in addition to the tide. Most marina docks will be under water and those that float will probably be off their pilings. Your boat may be well secured, but will all the others? It only takes one loose cannon to cause extensive damage which multiplies as more are broken loose. Marina personnel will typically be home trying to protect their own properly or have fled the area. Many marinas are in a mandatory evacuation zone and no one will be permitted into the area. And don’t forget that some boat owners want to lose their boat in a storm because the insurance is greater than its market value.

In preparation remove every item you can (canvas, Bimini, dinghy, OB Motor, taff rail covers, etc. and lower the mast or remove it). Fenders are needed on all sides and as many as you can find. It helps to tie them in such a way that they cannot roll up the side of the boat by running lines under the bottom of the boat. If you have rigid window covers (aluminum, plywood, Lexan) install them. Marinas will turn off the power to the dock so don’t plan on having shore power for battery charging, air conditioning and refrigeration. Boats that are hauled out and put on jack stands should have the stands chained together athwartship and the hull secured to embedded ground anchors. Boats tied along side docks are at greater risk, but those tied between wood pilings (if they are tall enough) will often fair pretty well due to the flexibility of the pilings. Concrete pilings are terribly un-friendly to boats.