Cars and Boats

Your Car

"Comprehensive" auto coverage should protect your car from damage caused by a hurricane, including flood damage.  Ask your agent to make sure you are adequately covered. Raising the deductible may save you money.  Check your insurance policy. Also check to see if you are covered for wind damage and water? Will the policy replace personal items in your car?  Keep important papers safe.

Keep copies of your registration papers in your car. Keep the originals in a safe place, with your other important papers.

Here are some supplies you should always carry in your car:

• Spare tire, properly inflated

• Sturdy jack, in working order

• Bottled water -- for drinking or overheated radiator

• Booster cables

• Basic tools, including screwdrivers, wrenches and a hammer   

• Folding shovel, to dig you out of holes if you get stuck

• Flashlight and extra batteries

• Rain gear and extra clothes

• Emergency flares

• First-aid kit

If you plan to drive out of the area when a hurricane threatens, you need to make early preparations. Plan to take with you many of the same supplies you would use to stock your home, plus these items:

• Traveler's checks: Banks and automatic tellers may be closed, out of order or out of cash. Traveler's checks are safer to carry than cash.

• Identification: If you are going to a shelter, you will need proof of residence.

• Copies of important papers such as records of insurance, health and birth certificates, deeds and titles.

• Quiet games or toys for children.

• Medications.

• Blankets or sleeping bags.

• Canned food, can opener.

• Battery-powered radio.

• Matches and candles in a plastic bag.

If you're not going to be driving your car, here's how to get your car ready to weather the storm:

• Fill the tank with gasoline. Check oil and water levels.

• Store your car in a garage or carport.

• If you're in a flood-prone area, move your car to higher ground.

• If you must leave your car outdoors, park as close to a building as possible, away from trees or poles that may topple onto it.

• Make sure the car has an emergency first-aid kit and a tool kit.

• Stay out of your car during a hurricane.

Your Boat

There are lots of ways to protect your boat from a hurricane. Advice varies greatly, depending on the size of your vessel, availability of dock space, marina rules and state law. That makes planning now for a hurricane all the more essential.

Two cardinal rules

• Whatever preparations you are going to make, make them early. Get started now. Make a trial run.

• Do not attempt, under any circumstances, to ride out a storm in a boat. No boat is worth your life. Hurricane winds, whether inland or near the beach, can lift a boat out of the water or sink it -- even if it is secured in a marina.

General tips

• Read your insurance policy carefully to determine whether your boat is sufficiently protected from hurricane damage.

• Find someone to take care of your boat if you cannot.

• Keep a list of boat registration numbers.

• Obtain in advance the rope and other materials needed to secure your boat.

• Make sure fire extinguishers and lifesaving equipment are working and in good shape.

• Remember that when a storm threatens, you will want to remove or secure all deck gear, radio antennas, outriggers, Bimini tops, side canvases, side curtains, rafts, sails, booms, dinghies and all other objects that could blow away or cause damage.

Dry docking/marinas

Shop around and arrange for dry-dock space early. If you plan to keep your boat at a marina, know the marina's rules by checking your dockage lease or consulting the dockmaster. Many marinas must be evacuated during a hurricane alert. Under state law, marinas cannot force you to remove your vessel after a hurricane watch is posted. The law allows the marina to dictate ways to secure your boat.

Move inland, by water

Arrange now for dock space. You must have the permission of the property owner in advance. Make a trial run to ensure the water is deep enough and overhead clearances are high enough. Take into account the higher water levels that can precede a storm. Keep in mind that cars will take priority, so drawbridges may be locked down for long periods of time.

Move inland, by trailer

Make a trial run. Know how long it will take to get from the water to your destination.

Leaving the area

Consider the time required to go to the new destination and whether your route will cross the storm's path. Be prepared to deal with the difficulties of driving with a trailer in a stiff wind, particularly on causeways.

Garages, tying down

If your boat is small enough, consider keeping it in your garage. If you must, tie down your boat and trailer outside.

Start moving during a hurricane watch

When the "hurricane watch" flags are flying, it's time to employ the plan for your boat that you worked out before the storm.  The rush starts when actual hurricane warnings are issued. That's when flotilla plans, designed to move the largest number of boats in the shortest period of time, are invoked to coordinate the opening and closing of drawbridges with boat traffic.

Securing your boat at a marina or dock

If you're keeping your boat at the marina or docking it inland, tie down the vessel properly. Do not impede boat traffic by anchoring in the middle of the creek or river. Here are some tips for securing your boat in the water:

• Disconnect shore power.

• Tie high on pilings to allow for rising water and double every tie.

• Cover all tie lines at contact points with rubber to prevent chafing.

• Install fenders to protect the boat from rubbing against the dock.

• Put duct tape on window and hatches.

• Be sure batteries are sufficient to run bilge pumps throughout the storm.

• Insert plugs in engine ports.

• Close fuel valves and cockpit seacocks.

• Remove all canvas and other features that could catch the wind.

• Remove radio and other easily salvageable items.

Securing your boat at home

If you have chosen to remove your boat from the water and take it home by trailer, do it now to save time. Waiting will mean lines at boat ramps.  By moving it now, you can get the boat home early to store it in the garage or anchor it next to the house. Acting ahead also means not having to deal with car traffic or driving in stiff winds that make towing a trailer dangerous.

Here are some tips if you're securing your boat at home:

• Lash it down with chains or heavy ropes, away from objects that could fall on it.

• Let some air out of the trailer's tires to prevent rolling.

• Support the trailer's axle with blocks between each wheel.

• Remove outboard motors.

• Add weight by filling the boat up to halfway with water. Filling it all the way could damage the trailer.

• Remove all canvas and other features that could catch the wind.

• Remove the radio and other easily salvageable items.