I just heard on the Weather Channel that we could expect at least a 4 to 8 foot storm surge. That means the water level could be up to 8 feet higher (or more) than normal.
A few years back, we had a hurricane here on the Chesapeake with a 7 foot storm surge and there was massive destruction to everything marine. I had a 25 foot Marathon at the time that I left in a marina. I did not have a trailer. I had doubled the lines with a 8 point storm tie down. There were boat owners that stayed at the marina to care for their boats and to loosen the lines when necessary. They said the water level came to waist high above the docks, and of course their boats were floating and bobbing on top of that. The moral to this story is, if you have a trailer, your boat should be on it during this storm. You should stow all your canvas and remove the drain plug in the keel.
Some people had the bright idea to leave their canvas up so they could claim storm damage with their insurance company and get new canvas. Well, the winds can not only tear up the canvas, it can also pull the bimini fixtures out of the hull requiring hull repair.
