Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30 every year, and if you keep a boat in Florida, you do not get to ignore it. The 2024 and 2025 seasons reminded everyone that intense storms can develop fast and hit populated coastlines with little warning. A Category 3 hurricane generates sustained winds over 110 mph and storm surge that can push 10 to 15 feet of water into areas that are normally dry land. Your boat, whether it is a 35-foot center console or a 120-foot motor yacht, needs a plan.

This is not a generic "tie down your stuff" article. This is a working checklist built from conversations with captains, yard managers, and insurance adjusters who have been through multiple major storms in South Florida, the Keys, and the Gulf Coast.

The Timeline: When to Do What

Right Now (Before Season Starts)

If you are reading this in April or May, this is your window. Everything done now is cheaper, easier, and more available than anything done 72 hours before a storm.

January through April: Administrative Prep

Insurance Review

Pull your policy and read the hurricane provisions. Most Florida marine policies have a separate named-storm deductible, typically 2% to 5% of the agreed hull value. On a boat insured for $500,000, that is a $10,000 to $25,000 deductible before coverage kicks in.
Verify your navigational limits. Some policies restrict where the boat can be during hurricane season. If your policy says the boat must be north of a certain latitude by June 1, comply. Claims get denied over this.
Document your boat\'s current condition. Walk through every space and take timestamped photos and video. Open every locker, shoot the engine room, document electronics serial numbers, and photograph the hull above and below the waterline. Store this documentation off the boat (cloud storage, not a USB drive in the nav station). Your insurance provider will need this if you file a claim.
Review your hurricane plan requirements. Many policies require a written hurricane plan on file. Some require specific actions (haul-out, removal from named-storm zone) to maintain coverage. Know what your underwriter expects.

Haul-Out Arrangements

Reserve haul-out space now. Every yard in South Florida fills up fast when a storm threatens. Haul-out and crane services have finite capacity. If your plan is to haul the boat ahead of a storm, get on a yard\'s priority list now. Some yards offer seasonal haul agreements where you prepay and get guaranteed priority hauling when a storm enters the Gulf or Caribbean. Lauderdale Marine Center, Harbour Towne, and River Bend in Fort Lauderdale all offer versions of this. Expect to pay $1,000 to $3,000 for the seasonal priority fee on top of normal haul charges.
Know your haul-out options by vessel size. A 45-footer can be hauled at dozens of yards. A 75-footer has maybe 10 options in Broward County. Over 100 feet, you are looking at LMC, Derecktor, or Bradford, and those fill up weeks before a storm. The bigger the boat, the earlier you need to act.

Supply Staging

Buy hurricane supplies now, not the week before. Extra dock lines (minimum 5/8-inch for boats 30 to 50 feet, 3/4-inch for 50 to 80 feet, 1-inch for 80 feet and up), chafe protection (Chafe-Pro or heavy leather wraps), extra fenders (foam-filled, not inflatable), and storm anchors should be on the boat by May 31.
Stock line and fender inventory: For a 60-foot yacht, I recommend having at minimum: 8 to 10 dock lines of 3/4-inch three-strand nylon (each 40 to 60 feet long), 6 to 8 heavy fenders (minimum 12-inch diameter), 20 feet of chafe gear, and 2 to 3 spare snatch cleats if your dock hardware is marginal.

May: Systems Check and Plan Finalization

Vessel Systems Readiness

Bilge pumps: Test every bilge pump aboard. Replace any pump that is marginal. Add a secondary or emergency pump if you only have one per bilge compartment. Rule 3700 GPH pumps are the standard high-capacity choice. Make sure float switches operate freely and are not blocked by debris.
Batteries: Load test all batteries. A storm can knock out shore power for days or weeks. Your bilge pumps and bilge alarms need to run on battery power alone. Consider adding a dedicated bilge pump battery on a separate circuit that is not connected to anything else on the boat. Have your electrician verify the charging system can handle extended shore power outage.
Through-hulls and seacocks: Exercise every seacock. If any are frozen, get them freed or replaced before storm season. In a storm, you may need to close through-hulls quickly. Frozen seacocks in an emergency are a life-threatening problem.
Deck drains and scuppers: Clear all deck drains. Heavy rain during a storm can flood cockpits and decks if drains are clogged. On aft-deck boats, verify the scuppers can handle the volume.

Hurricane Plan Document

Write your plan down. A good hurricane plan includes:

Decision tree: At what storm category or track do you haul? At what point do you execute the in-water plan?
Contact list: Yard manager, dock master, captain, crew, insurance agent, yacht management company
Haul-out yard name and phone number, with backup options
In-water tie-down diagram showing every line, its size, and where it attaches
Equipment removal list (what comes off the boat and where it gets stored)
Documentation storage location (photos, insurance policy, registration, title)

Storm Approaching: 5 to 7 Days Out

A tropical system has formed and the forecast cone includes your area. This is when most decisions need to be made.

Decision: Haul or Stay In-Water?

Haul-out is almost always the safer option if you can get it done. A boat on the hard, properly supported and tied down, is not going to sink from storm surge, bang against pilings, or have dock lines chafe through. The boat can still sustain wind damage and rain intrusion, but the catastrophic loss scenarios (sinking, breaking free, collision with other vessels) are eliminated.

The case for staying in-water applies when:

Your vessel is too large to haul at available yards
All haul-out capacity is already taken
The storm track makes it likely to miss your area (but this is gambling)
Your marina has a protected hurricane hole with good holding and adequate water depth during storm surge

If hauling: Get on the phone with the yard immediately. Do not wait for the 72-hour forecast to firm up. By 72 hours, yards are already running around the clock and turning boats away. Haul-out costs during storm prep typically run 1.5x to 2x normal rates because of the urgency and extended hours.

In-Water Preparation (5 to 7 Days)

Line Strategy

Double all dock lines. Every cleat should have two lines running from the boat to two different dock attachment points. If one line chafes through, the other holds.
Use nylon three-strand, not braided. Three-strand nylon stretches 15% to 20% under load, which absorbs surge energy. Braided line stretches less and transfers more shock load to cleats and hardware. This stretch is what keeps cleats from ripping out of the deck.
Allow for storm surge. Lines need enough length to accommodate water rising 5 to 15 feet above normal. A 30-foot dock line is useless if the surge lifts the boat 6 feet above the pilings. Use 50 to 60 foot lines rigged with enough slack to handle the expected surge without the boat floating over the pilings or hanging from the lines as water recedes.
Chafe protection on every line. Triple-wrap each line where it contacts any surface: chocks, cleats, gunwales, pilings. Use Chafe-Pro, leather, or heavy canvas. Duct tape is not chafe protection. Fire hose split lengthwise works in a pinch.
Spring lines: Run long spring lines at 45-degree angles from bow and stern to opposing dock points. These control fore-and-aft movement and prevent the boat from riding up over pilings as surge rises.

Fenders and Protection

Hang fenders at multiple heights. Storm surge changes the waterline relative to pilings and docks. Fenders at normal waterline height are useless when the water rises 6 feet. Hang fenders at three different heights or use fender boards that cover the full range.
Remove anything that can become a projectile. Bimini frames, canvas enclosures, outriggers, flag poles, loose deck furniture, dinghies on davits. Everything that catches wind becomes a sail or a weapon. Remove it or lash it down below deck level.
Seal the boat. Close and dog every hatch, port, and door. Tape is not reliable. If your hatches do not seal properly under pressure, they will leak. Consider covering vulnerable windows and ports with plywood secured from the outside.

Storm Approaching: 48 to 72 Hours Out

Equipment Removal

Get the following off the boat and into secure storage:

Electronics: Handheld VHF, portable GPS, laptop, tablets. Fixed electronics (MFD, radar, depth sounder) are harder to remove but should be protected with plastic sheeting and silicone sealant around cable penetrations.
Documents: Ship\'s papers, registration, insurance policy, equipment inventory. Put originals in a waterproof bag and take them with you.
Valuables: Anything you cannot afford to lose goes ashore. Artwork, silver, personal effects.
Sails: On sailboats, remove all sails. A partially unfurled headsail in 100+ mph winds will destroy the rig. Remove sails completely, bag them, and store ashore.
Dinghy: Either haul the dinghy out and store it ashore or deflate it and stow it below. A dinghy on davits is a windcatcher and will cause damage to the mother ship or break free and damage others.

Engine and Mechanical Prep

Top off fuel tanks. Full tanks reduce condensation and provide fuel weight low in the hull. This helps stability. After the storm, you will need the fuel to run generators if shore power is out.
Shut off propane and LPG at the tank. Gas leaks during a storm can cause explosions.
Close all raw water through-hulls except those feeding bilge pumps. If a hose fails during the storm, an open through-hull will flood the boat.
Disconnect shore power. Storm surge can submerge dock pedestals, causing electrical faults. Disconnect the cord and cap the inlet.

Final Walk-Through

Set bilge pump switches to automatic
Verify battery voltage (fully charged)
Close all seacocks except bilge pump intakes
Verify all hatches, ports, and doors are dogged
Remove all loose items from decks and flybridge
Check every dock line and chafe guard one final time
Take final timestamped photos and video of the entire vessel and dock setup
Turn off all AC breakers
Leave a contact number with the dock master

After the Storm

First 24 Hours

Do not rush back. Downed power lines, flooded roads, and debris make post-storm access dangerous. Wait for official clearance from local authorities.
Assess from a distance first. If you can see the marina from shore, use binoculars before boarding. Check for listing, flooding, or obvious structural damage.
Check the bilges first. If the boat is floating and appears intact, the first thing to check is bilge water level. Run pumps if needed.
Do not start engines immediately. Check the engine room for water intrusion, shifted equipment, and exhaust system integrity before cranking anything.

Insurance Claim Process

Document everything before touching anything. Photograph all damage in place before cleaning up or making repairs. Your pre-storm photos establish baseline condition; your post-storm photos establish damage.
Contact your insurance company within 24 hours. Most policies require prompt notification. Have your policy number, pre-storm documentation, and damage photos ready.
Get a professional damage survey before authorizing major repairs. The surveyor\'s report becomes the basis for your insurance claim.
Make emergency repairs only. You are expected to mitigate further damage (pump out water, tarp over holes), but do not start permanent repairs until the adjuster has seen the damage or authorized the work.

Special Considerations by Vessel Type

Sailboats

Remove all sails. Remove the dodger and bimini if they are soft. If you have roller furling, wrap the furled sail with UV cover and seize the furling line to prevent unrolling. The mast acts as a lever arm in high winds; minimize windage aloft. Remove wind instruments from the masthead if accessible. A sailboat\'s deep keel provides good stability but the mast catches wind that powerboats do not deal with. If hauled, the mast makes the boat top-heavy on the hard, so verify jackstand placement with the yard.

Large Motor Yachts (80 feet and up)

These vessels present unique challenges because many cannot be hauled locally. In-water is often the only option. The advantage is mass: a 100-foot motor yacht weighing 120 tons is harder for wind and surge to move than a 40-footer weighing 15 tons. The disadvantage is windage: the flybridge, superstructure, and above-waterline profile catch enormous wind loads. Focus on line strength and chafe prevention. Use 1-inch or larger three-strand nylon lines. Consider hiring professional line handlers to set your storm tie-up. Large-yacht management companies in Fort Lauderdale and Miami have storm prep teams that specialize in this.

Boats on Trailers

Get the boat off the water and inland. A boat on a trailer 10 miles from the coast and tied to a concrete anchor is vastly safer than the same boat at a coastal marina. Deflate trailer tires to lower the center of gravity. Strap the boat to the trailer and the trailer to ground anchors. Remove the drain plug so rainwater does not accumulate and swamp the boat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I ride out the storm on my boat?

No. Every hurricane preparedness authority, the Coast Guard, and every experienced captain will tell you the same thing: leave the boat and protect yourself. No vessel is worth risking your life. There is a persistent macho myth about "staying with the ship." In a hurricane with 100+ mph winds and 10-foot storm surge, you are not protecting the boat by being on it. You are putting rescuers at risk if things go wrong. Evacuate.

Does my marina have any obligation to protect my boat during a hurricane?

Check your slip lease carefully. Most marina agreements include a clause stating that the marina is not responsible for vessel damage during named storms. Some marinas provide storm prep services (extra lines, repositioning) for an additional fee. Others require you to remove your boat entirely before a storm. Know your marina\'s policy before June 1. If your marina actively helps with storm prep, that is a significant value over one that sends a "you are on your own" email when a storm approaches.

How much does professional storm prep cost?

For an in-water storm tie-up on a 50 to 70 foot yacht, professional storm prep runs $500 to $2,000 depending on the scope. This covers extra lines, fender repositioning, equipment removal, through-hull closing, and a final walk-through. Haul-out adds $2,000 to $5,000 on top of normal haul rates for the priority service. Compared to a $200,000+ total loss, this is trivial. Many yacht management and yacht service companies offer storm prep as a scheduled service you can sign up for at the beginning of the season.

What is the biggest mistake boat owners make during hurricane prep?

Waiting too long to act. By the time the storm is 48 hours out and headed your way, yards are full, marine supply stores are out of line and fenders, and you are competing with every other boat owner in the county for limited resources. The owners who come through storms with minimal damage are the ones who had a plan in place by June 1, supplies staged by May, and haul-out arrangements made months in advance. The second biggest mistake is inadequate chafe protection. I have seen boats survive Category 3 winds only to sink because a dock line chafed through against an unprotected chock 8 hours into the storm.

Hurricane Prep for Yacht Owners: Everything You Need to Do Before Storm Season