Preparing Your Boat for Hurricane Irene

(WWLP) - As a boat owner, you know that preparing your boat for a hurricane is just as important as preparing your home. Here's some important safety tips for boat owners as you prepare for an upcoming hurricane.

• Boaters should continually obtain the latest available weather forecast for your boating area.
• Have a plan worked out with your marina operator so there are no questions or confusion when the time comes to tie up or pull your boat from the water.
• Identify hurricane holes and safe harbors in the area in case you are caught at sea.
• Realize that you may not be able to pull your boat out of the water. Precious time is lost if you are searching for gear as a storm approaches.
• Boat owners should assemble emergency equipment and supplies, as well as all of the necessary gear on board to properly tie down their vessel.
• Insure your vessel is as watertight as possible. Use duct tape and plugs to seal hatches, ports, windows, doors and vents.
• Remove all electronics, valuables and non-essential items.
• Have your insurance policies, boat registration, a recent photograph and description of the vessel, gear inventory, marina or storage lease agreement and important telephone numbers (local harbormaster, U.S. Coast Guard, National Weather Service, insurance agent) in a secure place off of the boat.
• When you are through, help your neighbor. It only takes one poorly tied boat in a marina to destroy an entire dock.
• Do not stay on the boat

For more information on how to prepare your boat for a hurricane, please  visit BoatUS hurricane resource center.

Always plan for the worst and hope for the best! 

Mile Marker "O"

The Sky is Not Falling, But Hurricane Season Predicted to be "Active"

Keeping boaters aware of the need to make early preparations for the upcoming hurricane season is a tough job for the nation's boat owners group, BoatUS. That's because we're all human - it only takes of few years after a devastating hurricane before memories start to fade, leading to a little apathy.

With the prediction of an "active" 2011 hurricane season by the renowned Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project just out, BoatUS says the 72% chance that at least one major hurricane will make landfall should give boaters the reason to make one early preparation.

"If your hurricane plan is to have your boat hauled and maybe strapped down, talk to your marina staff now about their plans," said BoatUS Director of Damage Avoidance Bob Adriance. "It's the one simple, easy step that could lead to a big outcome - whether or not you still have a boat when the season ends on November 30. I don't want to tell people the 'sky is falling,' but the longer you wait to have that discussion the worse shape you could be in."

"It doesn't take a major hurricane to damage or sink a boat, especially if you choose to do nothing."

Doug Hillman of Sebastian River Marina and Boatyard in Sebastian, Florida, which was recently battered by hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, says it simply, "I need my customers to start contacting me now, because I may be too busy to help them later."

The Colorado State team also predicts that there is a 48% chance that a major hurricane will make landfall on the US East Coast, including the Florida Peninsula. The University also predicts a 47% chance that a major hurricane will make landfall on the Gulf Coast from Florida Panhandle west to Brownsville, Texas.

Adriance also reminds boaters, "It doesn't take a major hurricane to damage or sink a boat, especially if you choose to do nothing."

To help boaters make preparations, BoatUS has some free online "tools" available at the BoatUS Hurricane Resource Center at www.BoatUS.com/Hurricanes.