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North Sails Loft 57 Podcast

How to prepare a boat for Helene

by BoatUS 25 Sep 18:24 UTC
BoatUS can help Florida Panhandle boaters prepare for Helene with a free hurricane preparation checklist, how-to videos, storm-planning guides and more © Amy Beth Krisanda

With potential Tropical Cyclone Nine expected to reach hurricane strength as Helene before hitting parts of Florida's Gulf Coast later this week, recreational boat owners have all the hurricane preparation information they need at BoatUS.com/Hurricanes.

The website from Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) offers help to every boat owner, whether a boat will have to weather the storm in the slip, stored ashore, on a boat lift, in canals, or at marinas and boat clubs. BoatUS is the nation's largest boating advocacy, services and safety group with more than 725,000 members and with 40 years of experience in hurricane preparedness for recreational boats.

"This storm is expected to intensify," said BoatUS spokesperson Scott Croft. "Now is the time to give your boat the best chances for survival by preparing accordingly, no matter where you plan to keep it."

The storm-planning help, easily downloadable and all available free, includes a BoatUS Magazine Hurricane Preparations Guide and Hurricane Preparation Worksheet you can easily take to the boat to review to ensure you haven't missed anything, and a Guide for Preparing Boats and Marinas for Hurricanes — a helpful resource for marina and boat club staff, community resiliency managers and local government organizations that focus on protecting boating facilities.

A playlist, which includes nine hurricane preparation videos, makes it easy to understand the steps to take and additional articles, such as how to use protected canals or why some lines break before others, are also available.

Visit BoatUS.com/Hurricanes for up-to-the-minute storm tracking tools with live satellite images and checklists for what to do before and after a hurricane strikes.

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