Protect your boat: Have a plan

The waters off Florida’s coast are littered with reminders of nature’s fury.

Hurricanes have been turning boats into coral reefs since the days of Spanish galleons. But with the advent of satellite-powered weather forecasting, there’s no excuse for boaters to leave their vessels in harm’s way.

Here are a few tips to keep your boat safe:

• Create a detailed plan well before a hurricane strikes. Secure your vessel in a marina or move it to a hurricane refuge, where winds and waves are likely to be diminished by surrounding land masses.

• If you are out of town, arrange for a friend to take care of your boat.

• Check your lease or storage rental agreement and know your responsibilities and liabilities.

• Find a safe place for important boat-related records, such as insurance policies, a recent photo of your vessel, telephone numbers of appropriate authorities and an equipment inventory.

• Make a list ahead of time of items you want to retrieve from your boat before a storm hits and calculate how long it will take you to do so. Lash down everything you can’t move, such as tillers, wheels and booms.

• If your boat can be placed on a trailer, move your boat and trailer to a safe place, lash the two together and place blocks between the frame members and the axle inside each wheel.

• Never leave a boat on a hydro-lift.

• For boats remaining in marinas, double all lines. Rig crossing spring lines fore and aft. To allow for tidal rise, attach lines high on pilings. Use chafe protectors liberally.

• Do not stay aboard the boat during the storm.