HURRICANE ALERT: If You Are Going To Haul Out Your Boat At A Marina. DO IT NOW!

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Make your move now!

As Hurricane Irene starts slamming the coast, Marinas are being over loaded with haul outs, and insurance companies are being bombarded with calls. Guess what.. You may be late for both. Insurance companies in some cases will not write a policy for you until AFTER the hurricane. And the marinas all close 24 hrs BEFORE a hurricane to manage what they have to deal with. Here is a quote from Chris from Hagerty Marine Insurance.

“We have been flooded with calls for insurance…..…Most all Underwriters have suspended all new biz for entire East Coast,,,,however, we are adding the Hurricane haul out endorsement to any existing policies that don’t currently have it in effect ….and hauling the boats ASAP, as all marinas will shut down in next 24 hours for haul-outs…..Take action now…..”

15 replies
    • Woody
      Woody says:

      Put them in the water then take them out.. That way you to can be part of the fun.. Oh.. Wait.. Go by milk and bread and try and find a generator.. This way you will have all the joy of living on the coast.. Plywood up a window just for laughs..

    • Rick
      Rick says:

      I’m on LI also and I’d just as well like to be ignored by this lady. Boats on north and south, so if either coast get slammed I’m scared. If both get hit hard I may need CPR!

  1. Chris / Hagerty
    Chris / Hagerty says:

    We are getting lots of messaging stating to just haul all coastal boats, including bay and inlets. Always remenber the wind will be fierce, but it is the storm surge that will be driving the significant damage. Surge is currently predicted to possibly exceed 18′ on much of the upper East Coast, even if Irene drops to a Cat. 2 It is slow moving and that will drive the surge. Also significant rain amounts over 6″ are predicted for most of the coast.

  2. Kevin
    Kevin says:

    Hey Chris what about those of us who are in central PA that don’t keep our boats in water all the time and have them store at our house either in driveways or whatnot for the summer…what do you suggest we do with our boats in this odd situation…like me I’m in the exact middle of the state odd location and no place to haul out to really

  3. Chris / Hagerty
    Chris / Hagerty says:

    Kevin…Was just talking to Matt, we were looking at your post and joking, Pennsylvania?? Ha! ..What do you do? Go for a boat ride….if it gets to Pa. the boat is the least of your worries……but then I looked at the map…it is only 62 miles from Philly to Atlantic City….the Storm track that far north has a 150 mile cone….and we also have many Clients that don’t have their boats in the water, or would need to be “hauled” …Sometimes even harder to address. Ideally, store inside. If outside and exposed to wind, consider removing cover (it will NOT survive) and all equipment in the boat, life jackets, cushions, anything that could take off….Some say the rig could be strapped to the ground, this works well for larger boats on the hard, just be careful if in an area of rising water. We had a Client this spring, with all the rain and flooding, just tied his anchor line to a tree, it flooded, the boat just floated there until water receeded, and was fine.

  4. Kevin
    Kevin says:

    Well I know it sounds odd but where I am in PA is only about 100 miles from NYC…so the reality of the storm is real here they were talking about 100 mph winds this morning…I own an auto restoration shop…so my main concern was customer cars and I packed my brick warehouse so right now between customer cars my cars and several other boats i have 75 cars and 10 boats in the building…i do have a garage at my house but theres 12 cars there and several out side…so its like what do i do with this stuff…I have two boats at my house I don’t know what to do with…water isn’t an issue as it’s on top of a mountain…but I just wanted to get an opinion when indoor storage isn’t an option

  5. Chris/Hagerty
    Chris/Hagerty says:

    Kevin,
    Sounds like you have your hands full! For risk outside, flying objects become the risk. No great answer here. If the eye stays well to the east of you, you may have directional wind, allowing you to plan better. If it tracks closer, you will have at least two wind directions. Any others out there with experience, let us know your thoughts!

    • Texx
      Texx says:

      Chris – You seem to be very knowledgeable about the weather… Were you once a weatherman in Michigan?

      How about a Hagerty “Live at Five” TV spot where Carla covers the news and you do the weather forecast?

  6. Kevin
    Kevin says:

    To say the least…my parents have a beach house on the outer banks that they just emptied and I’m on my way to long island to empty the house there and get the two boats there…the house on long island is right on the canal so were planning storm surge…I sent my shop crew out with a tractor trailer this morning…they are basically planning on loosing both houses…the past week has been one giant nightmare

  7. Kevin
    Kevin says:

    One of the benefits of my parents owning a large trucking company….you have a lot of rigs at your disposal when you need it

  8. Randy
    Randy says:

    Sounds like it might be a gooooooood idea for a classic boat caravan ‘vacation’ trip to some nice resort lake in Wisconsin or Minnesota for a few days until this ‘blows over’. Been sailing offshore in some real high winds long ago and no matter what the circumstances or preparations (whether ashore or at sea) there is just not much you can do once Mother Nature throws stuff like this at you.

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