Me and my
boat have gone through several, including Rita, and Ike. I bought a set of "hurricane lines". 16 * 90 ft lines for a 36'
boat. These are heavy duty 1" nylon lines with chaff protectors.
I also found a good
hurricane hole where the boat would be in moderately deep protected
water, with nearby stout pilings to tie off to, a bonus was several tall buildings that break the
wind.
When landfall is imenent I strip the boat, all
canvas, everything of value, anything I don't want to dive for, and anything not permanently fastened to the boat. Lash all loose items that can wiggle, or flap.
I tie a "spiderweb" of lines, all lines are doubled. 8 spring lines, 8 bow lines, 8 crossed stern lines. Each point is tied to a different piling in case of piling failure. I get the projected storm surge from the
weather reports,...add a couple of feet, and measure the slack in the lines so they will not be taut at storm peak, (use trig:IE 8 ft from piling during a 15ft surge= 8^2 + 15^2 SQRT/2 = 11 ft line from cleat to piling. Insure the boat cannot impact piling with the amount of calculated slack, and tie line up piling 1/2 projected surge IE 8ft for 15 ft surge.
Double check
cleats for wear before hurricane season, also check condition of lines. After I finish prepping boat I insure all hatches are sealed,
batteries are charged,
bilge pumps are working, and wave good bye, as I
motor to shore in
dinghy, (that is taken to a
storage unit far from the coast).
After storm is over I drive by to see if it is still there, but do not move it until debris is cleared from waterways back to marina. After Ike; the marina I stay at was completely gone. It took several weeks to find a new marina that survived and had openings.
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