Going North during hurricane season

Need some help thinking through this one. My insurance company says I can save a lot on insurance if we move the boat from the panhandle up north and out of the coast and well inland. In the order of $2500 to $3000. We have family in the Midwest so we are considering moving the boat up to Kentucky Lake or Lake Barkly area. We would need to be gone to the north from next June first till I think October 31st. The savings would come close to paying for the round trip without dockage.

So my questions are:
1. Any that are doing this? Is this a good approach?
2. If we do this should we plan on using one marina as our home port and pay by the month, and make short trips from this marina? Or do a different marina each month?
3. Any thing we need to be aware of if we plan to go this route?

Thanks for your ideas....

That's a huge savings. Have you talked to other insurance companies though. Some have have a different risk tolance or more experience in differnt geographic areas.

I do that, but not for that reason. My insurance has me out of FL June 1st till November 1st. Save half or more on the cost of insurance. Work off of MD in the summer running a charter boat, so keep the trawler in Chesapeake Bay.

You will probably get a better rate using one marina for the summer.

Shop marina prices. My 50' slip on Chesapeake Bay is $2,700 per year. 70 miles away it's $3,600 for 6 months.

Some states have stupid duration laws. Stay to long and they think your boat should be registered in their state. So usually the fine is equivalent to the sales tax to register your boat. So, do your homework before moving the boat.

Remember, if your going from saltwater in FL to totally fresh water, you will want to change your zincs and anodes to maybe aluminum.

Ted

Yes, it is a big savings. We are kind of looking at it as another cruising adventure instead of insurance savings making us move. I shopped insurance several years ago but did not explore the what if we moved the boat. The rates in the panhandle are very high because of the hurricanes.

Fl. For winter then LittleRiver, SC for summer.

Interestingly, I just learned the same thing myself. We are planning to spend most of next year cruising the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. I mentioned it to my insurance broker yesterday and he said to call him as soon as we were 100 miles inland. Our premium would cut in half and we'd get a nice refund.

Should pay for a couple of months of fuel.

Any suggestions for marinas that we should start looking into? It would be nice being close to a major interstate but most important would be a good marina with reasonable rates.

We met folks up on the coast of Maine a few years back. They kept their Monk 38 in Fl, hauled it on May 15th and went to Maine, relaunched after Thanksgiving, same reasoning.

Any Kentucky Lake or Lake Barkley boaters have marina suggestions for a trip like this?

River Forrest , in Ortona FL simply sticks the boat in a hurricane rated building that is climate controlled.

About as cheap as insurance and does not require a few weeks of travel.

Insurance on last boat, geography and timing had significant impact on damage associated with a named storm. Jun through Oct, if the boat was below a certain Latitude and it was a named storm the deductible increased 3 times.


Mark

FF, if we were down in that area that may be an option. Unfortunately in our neck of the woods nothing even close. Marinas here are pretty much in the ice ages. The other issue is we just don't want to give up boating for that long. So that is what got us thinking this direction. Actually I am surprised that others are not doing this. Seems like a good opportunity/excuse to explore another territory....

Barkley Lake, two popular marina's: Green Turtle and Buzzard Rock. Check slip rental, lot of marinas up there want a one year contract. Alternative would be to stop at Demopolis on the Tenn-Tom, about 200 miles north of Mobile, close enough to commute to from Niceville.

We moved our boat this year from Orange Beach, Al up the Tenn-Tom to eastern Tn. No savings per say on insurance but it did save us something.

First our Insurance company (Foremost) requires us to have an approved hurricane plan yearly. This means we have to submit it for their approval. So far the only plan they have approved is a certified haul out plan from a marina or boat yard. In the past we paid for a plan to assure us that we would have space in their yard during a named storm.

This always put us in a position that Summer's were limited to a two day cruise from the named marina in our plan. Three summers ago this plan was $1200. Last summer they went to $1750 for their plan. This year when we received our new contract which was going to be $2250 we just said no!

We headed north for the season which did two things for us. First it extended our cruising season. Secondly the money saved was about the same cost as our fuel up river plus the marina slip cost. We also have had a wonderful time exploring new places and meeting new friends. We will most likely do the same next year. There is so much to see and do up that way for several years to come.

There are certainly issues with doing what we did this year. Plan accordingly. However we believe the benefits far outweigh the results of giving the boat yard the $$$$'s for a place 6' asl and then hope for the best!