Hurricane Plan Help

[Kintala]

I'm working on a very detailed hurricane plan for insurance. I've found the more detailed you provide, the more likely they are to be happy. I'm modifying our old hurricane plan from our sailboat, and this is our first hurricane season with a trawler so I'd like some input.


1. Would you install the windshield canvas cover to protect the windshield, or remove it to prevent it getting torn off?


2. Would you secure the windshield wipers in any way, and if so how?


3. After removing the upper helm enclosure would you install the canvas cockpit cover or remove it?


Any other suggestions? TIA

 

[BandB]

I'm working on a very detailed hurricane plan for insurance. I've found the more detailed you provide, the more likely they are to be happy. I'm modifying our old hurricane plan from our sailboat, and this is our first hurricane season with a trawler so I'd like some input.


1. Would you install the windshield canvas cover to protect the windshield, or remove it to prevent it getting torn off?


2. Would you secure the windshield wipers in any way, and if so how?


3. After removing the upper helm enclosure would you install the canvas cockpit cover or remove it?


Any other suggestions? TIA

You're going way too far if you're providing such detail to your insurer.

WARNING. Make sure you make it clear this is all possible actions you may take but that you don't guarantee taking any of the actions of your plan. Lives count more than boats and you have no idea the timing.

While it is important for you to answer the questions you've just asked, I would never put those as part of a plan. What if time runs out on you? Do you want to assume the liability for something then? Yes, we'll remove all canvas in ideal conditions, but windshield wipers are the last of our worries.

Our plan is so simple, paraphrased here:

1-If boat is in our local dock, then here is how it's normally tied. We will check and reinforce lines as appropriate. We may add additional fenders. We show the building we normally dock in and it's specifications. If we're not in our home area, we will likely not return there to do anything beyond our normal docking, but that is always in consideration of the possibility of hurricanes.

2-If cruising, we will likely return to a marina, looking for safety for ourselves and the boat, getting as far inland as we feel appropriate and getting a haulout at our full discretion. We provide examples based on where we might be when a hurricane approaches. This means boats at home are as they are.

3-We follow hurricane warnings and tracking and at all times give priority to protecting ourselves, guests, and crew. In doing so, we also feel likely to provide the best reasonable protection for the boat, but we will not take extraordinary steps to protect the boat at possible risk to human life.

I don't advise providing minutiae to the insurer. They may hold you to it.

I don't look to make the insurer happy, just to get the policy. Happy would be for you to assume all liability and you don't want to do that. Happy would be every boat on the East Coast to Jarrett Bay, but last I heard they are incapable of handling hundreds of thousands of boats. We commit to the least possible. We're among hundreds of thousands in SE Florida.

Keep in mind that when a hurricane approaches you have many priorities pulling you in all directions. Your family. Your home. You could have businesses and employees. We do, and our employees are far more important to us than our property.

Do what you'd normally do to protect your boat, not what you feel your insurer would like to see. They might like to see you promise something and then let them off the hook by failing to do it. No promises, please.

 

[MYTraveler]

My policy requires an approved hurricane plan whenever the boat is south of Ensenada (actually, a little further south than that) during hurricane season. My coverage applies only if I follow the plan, so I avoided unessential detail.

If the boat was not to be moored in a recognized "hurricane hole", the plan had to include taking the boat offshore (by either me or an approved captain). I have only ever kept the boat in a hole during the season, as I was not confident that, if a storm was approaching my designated captain would show up. The rest of the plan was very basic, and didn't even include stuff like removing canvas (and given the deductible, I doubt the insurance company cared much about the welfare of the canvas). The marina at which she was to be docked, as well as the manner in which she was tied (number, size and position of lines) was specified, but not much else. I never got away with any qualification on the plan like: "I will do my best to . . ." It was my responsibility to make sure the plan was followed.

 

[Comodave]

Agree. Provide them a minimal plan and if they accept it then fine. If they ask for more details then give them enough to get the insurance and leave it at that.

 

[Kintala]

Good points all. Thanks much for the responses.

 

[BandB]

"I will do my best to . . ." It was my responsibility to make sure the plan was followed.

Our only commitment is to be tied in our normal way in their home slips, if at home.

I think the fact we live in SE Florida plays some role. We pay for hurricane coverage. Of course, our home marina/docks are well set up for hurricanes.

 

[rgano]

Everybody who has had their hurricane plan survive the eye wall of a category five hurricane, raise your hand. Mine's up.

I also have no named storm coverage.

We have prepared for so many hurricanes in the last quarter century here (including four times in one season) that it is second nature beginning with day three ahead oftime as my wife begins evacuating valuables like computer hard drives and family photos and herslf to family 35 miles inland, while I tend to window shutters and boat stuff, but if you are not used to this sort of activity write out a plan. Regardless of what you supply to your insurer, if new to the boat, I think an in-hand written checklist which would cover such things as removing the windshield wiper blades (leaving the arms because of low windage), and removing ALL topside canvas (because it WILL leave) will prevent forgetting something when you are rushed and concerned with many things.

 

[Mermaid]

I think your insurance company is going to be more interested in what plans you have made to haul the boat out and strap it down within 48 hours of the arrival of a named storm, rather than what you do with your canvas and windshield wipers. I know mine is. I have an annual contract with an inland yard (beyond a lock to prevent storm surge) to haul out and strap down starting on Aug. 1 and relaunch Nov. 1. That is what nudges my insurer to be willing to write my policy in South Florida.

 

[Group9]

I think most of them ask for hurricane plans just to alert you to the fact that you need to be thinking about what to do with your boat when a hurricane comes months before, not hours before, it hits you. Our is pretty bland, "We plan to tie up to trees, on a tributary of the XXX river where we have ridden numerous hurricanes out with no damage." That satisfied them.

It's a lot less stressful to look for hurricane holes to tie up in, or boatyards to haul you out in March or April, when there isn't a hurricane in sight, than when one is knocking on your door.

 

[rgano]

I have a very contrarian take on the safety of hauling out a boat in the face of a hurricane threat in part, I admit, because I live with my vessel close at hand. I am acquainted on a personal level with the owner of the major local boatyard just around the corner from me, and a long time back I asked him about his newly initiated deal whereby boat owners could gaurantee a spot in the yard by paying an annual fee (plus the actual haul and block fee when they did activate the deal). His take on it was that I was better off continuing with my well-proven practice of properly securing the boat in the water. Surveying the chaos and wrack and ruin in that same yard after our cat five hurricane as well as viewing video and stills of the ruin in other yards with closely packed boats tunbled over on each other has only served to harden my opinion that hauling the boat is the very LAST precaution I would take. I have paid annual boat insurance premiums since 1986 and have probably saved the cost of an entire new boat by not paying for named storm insurance.

 

[BandB]

We are in South Florida. We do have named storm coverage as do most of the hundreds of thousands of Florida boats.

We dock in a well protected facility as are most Fort Lauderdale marinas. Since we've lived here the only boat damages I've seen on the ICW and canals here has been a bit in Pompano as a likely result of a spike tornado hit generated by a hurricane.

Fort Lauderdale has never been hit directly by a CAT 5. Doesn't mean it won't happen as the intensity of hurricanes is expected to continue to increase significantly due to rising and warmer seas.

I believe in well planned floating marinas designed with maximum surge in mind and able to handle the wind. Also, both wet and dry facilities built to hurricane standards.

Haul out isn't an option for most here. I believe in Haul Out when done by those like Jarrett Bay, but not when done like I saw in Rockport prior to Harvey where it just moved boats to land but without true facilities and so they all fell all over each other.

For those who have holes they head to and tie their boats, fine, but that works for such a small percentage of boats.

So, for here, it's do the best you can, secure the boat well, protect it to the best of your ability and then protect yourself and family.

That brings us to evacuation. We don't, as our home is not in the 100 year flood zone. It once was in a flood zone but upon review was removed as water has never reached these heights. Know your specifics. Also understand evacuation as it is for surge, not winds. Examine historic surge plans.

Don't copy someone else's plans unless your situation is identical. If you live or boat on the coast, any coast, know the specifics of your area. All coasts are at some risk but 40 miles can make a huge difference. People lump South Florida, but huge difference from Miami to Fort Lauderdale and even bigger difference from Key West to Miami. Areas like Jacksonville aren't often hit by the winds but suffer greatly at times from the floods. Every marina is different. What specifications were the docks built to withstand? Winds? Surge? How protected are they? What about buildings?

Don't just have a plan for your boat. Have a plan for you, your family, your home, your vehicles, your boat. Don't just have Plan A, have Plan B and C and maybe more. I have a friend who was in Miami for Andrew. Her husband was on business in Chicago. She was there with her daughter. She had a great plan for her boat, but didn't even go check on it, as she evacuated herself and her daughter early and drove to Atlanta. Her house was destroyed, vehicles other than the one she drove were destroyed. Boat was unscathed.

I remember a few years ago, no damage to boats in West Palm, sitting in floating slips....except....some people decided to anchor and those boats broke free and hit the well protected boats in slips. So your plans may be good, but someone else's might compromise yours. If at a marina make sure it's one where if boats aren't well tied, the marina fixes them and charges the boat owner.

The last few years so much damage in the Panhandle. Over the last decade so much in NC and SC and much of it inland, not at the coast, but from flooding and water flowing both ways. Back a few years and Texas was hit hard. Decades ago the NE with NJ and NY.

Just don't commit to things you may not be able to do or you may decide not to do due to other priorities. Make sure they're properly labeled as plans but not promises. And we do include disclaimers and have never had an issue. Insurers trying to protect themselves, we protect ourselves.

A couple of other aspects of hurricane planning. Most useful communication tool is a satellite phone. Not as expensive today. We have them throughout our business and for personal use. Huge fear is not being able to reach people.

Back to OP's question about a cockpit cover or any type of canvas boat covers. No, generally, as they collect and hold water that might otherwise run off. Covers have been known to sink small boats in storms.

I do like the suggestion someone made of a checklist. That's for you, not your insurer.

 

[OldDan1943]

most of this is common sense.
If you do this 3 or 4 times it will come easier.

move the boat away from concrete structures. In my case, back away from the concrete seawall.
double up all lines
add more fenders as necessary.
fill the water tank(s) We can debate this if you wish. I am in favor of making the boat heavier. disconnect the hose and put it away. Same with shore power cables.
If you can afford it, fill your fuel tank too. same reason, heavy heavy heavy boats require more wind to move the boat.
Secure or tie down or bring inside all loose items such as chairs.
Pump your bilges as dry as possible.

Draw it out and if your insurance wants it send the diagram if requested.

canvas??
A. inside
B. outside, you might lose some. my advice, if you lose some dont bother your insurance company. You have a deductible and the insurance has a long memory. I personally 'eat' the loss.

wipers
canvas outside, tuck the wipers arms between the canvas and the windshield.
canvas inside, hope for the best. I guess you could take off the arms and blades but, that seems like a bother. I have a spare blade and arm.
If you lose the wipers you have more important things to worry about

 

[Piaro]

We are in South Florida. We do have named storm coverage as do most of the hundreds of thousands of Florida boats.

We dock in a well protected facility as are most Fort Lauderdale marinas.


LOTS OF REALLY GOOD INFO DELETED SO MAKE SURE TO READ THE ORIGINAL POST ENTIRELY



That brings us to evacuation. We don't, as our home is not in the 100 year flood zone. It once was in a flood zone but upon review was removed as water has never reached these heights. Know your specifics. Also understand evacuation as it is for surge, not winds. Examine historic surge plans.

Never have experienced a hurricane, but have been through a lot of floods!
Not my pics, but local to me:

One detail that is usually overlooked by most is that a 100 year flood doesn't statistically happen every 100 years, it means there is a 1% of it happening every year. These pics are from the 2019 flood, about 45 miles upriver from St Louis. As mentioned by many, having a plan and breaking it down further with several variations is essential. Many people also forget about weather being a significant factor as stormproofing/floodproofing/evacuating is quite different if it's clear outside as opposed to already raining cats and dogs. Many of the local businesses around me got wiped out during a flood in 1993 when residents were told what the projected height of the flood was going to be and at least one business I know personally had moved all their office equipment and records up in to the attic, then after the water was a few feet higher than flood stage the forecast was raised by several feet but at that time it was too deep to get vehicles or equipment in to move the stuff out.



In regards to insurance, my first suggestion is to recommend you have an agent that you have built a rapport with, now understand that my boats are worth considerably less than most (probably all LOL) others here and I can absorb a total loss for the most part so being careful and prudent can pretty much cover most everything including hull loss when I factor in I've never lost a boat and have been boating for uhh, a long time now. Also note I'm not talking about liability insurance. Anyway, as already mentioned unless your agent is also someone you bowl, fish, or golf with on a regular basis EVERYONE else has their obligation to the stock holders and not you. Any answers should be addressed like you are talking to a prosecuting attorney or an unsupportive faculty member on your Masters Thesis review board. Most really do not care about how diligent you are being in your preparations, they are mainly interested in possible statements that can get them off the hook if you ever make a claim. Anyway, so I'll parrot what others more knowledgeable than I have been saying in that for purposes of an insurance plan, only answer the question asked, and be as brief as possible when doing so while at the same time answering their question. By all means have other plans figured out and written but those are for your personal use only. Also make sure to have at least one option be that you nor anyone else are not home and a total stranger may have to come aboard to make storm preparations.



Apologies to all for being somewhat long winded in my reply!

 

[MOJO]

When my insurance company asked for a hurricane plan I downloaded the BOAT/US hurricane preparation checklist and submitted that. They accepted it as written.

 

[rgano]

When my insurance company asked for a hurricane plan I downloaded the BOAT/US hurricane preparation checklist and submitted that. They accepted it as written.

Nothing wrong with that, but you might have to be prepared to prove you did everything on thst list if they begin questioning your claim.

 

[MOJO]

I didn't tell them that was my plan, I simply sent them the BOAT/US prep list with no comments at all. I didn't even fill it out. They accepted it. It's my theory that nobody really looks at your hurricane plan, they just have to check a box saying you submitted one. Having said that, we always thoroughly prepare the boat when a storm is imminent and document our prep in the log and with pictures. Thankfully even though the boat has been through a number of hurricanes, we've never had a claim, hence never had to argue whether our preparation was adequate or not. Obviously, to date it has been!

 

[tlaw7]

We have kept our boat in various places. One was River Forest out side of Stuart on the OWW. They had concrete beams buried in the ground with iron rings. Boats are strapped down in a named storm. Yard is on the west side of the St Lucie lock. Safe?

Insurance company wanted additional premium. I argued. They said, “Underwriters go by zip code.” Oh, okay. Idiots.

I agree: don’t give them anything more than what gets you approval.

tlaw7