How To Moor A Boat Safely During A Storm

Simon Tonks of Marine insure Navigators and General says that January is the worst month for insurance claims of boats. He adds that claims in January are 40 percent higher than an average month. And weather-related claims are most of them in which storms and winter damage are the major cause. Taking few simple measures can help you protect your boat to avoid damaging it from the nasty wind.

Some Rules You Need To Follow

When a serious storm is forecasting, it is not enough to know whether your boat is in the harbour. She is berthed in a marina, swinging to her mooring laid up on the hard, you must know that you should be completely prepared for the onslaught. You should always go down and give a check yourself when you are at home. To help you get ready for the worst storm some experts talk about how to prepare your boat whether she is on a mooring or in a boat marina.

• On Deck: The message that experts gave, again and again, was about removing windage. Whether your boat is in hard, mooring or marina removal of anything which blocks wind is paramount because it reduces the loads on whatever is keeping you safe it can be a prop, cradles, mooring lines or strops.If your boat is under cover or in a canal boat mooring make sure you fit it as tight as it can be, similar to shrink-wrapping. Don’t let covers to lash on anything that supports the boats like cradles, props or crossbraces in case they get wrenched out of position by a gust. If you can unbend the sails and get them below then stow the headsail and the mainsail.To unbend the main or reduce windage is far and away the best option. But if you are on your own and can’t do it then get a long rope and secure it at one end with a gooseneck and gasket the sail as tight as you can and after that lash the boom to the deck.

• Down Below: Take all the valuable kits back to home with you so that if anything worse happens then you will not lose everything. Close and lock all the portholes, hatches and windows. When rains are powered by gale they have remarkable properties and it will almost find its way around the old hatches and through the windows whose seals are worn. Seal them to make sure that they won’t leak. Do not shut the cockpit drain seacock as it must be left open.
• Chafe: If you forget to check the chafe then it will eat through your lines in a very short time. Use old rags or split pipe to protect your lines where they rub while passing through the fairleads or run over a toe rail and after that wrap your lines with old sail bags. It will be a good deal of snatching while working on the berth, wearing lines or testing cleats on pontoons and decks.

Liverpool Marina is completely unique, the tranquil surroundings are something that are very rarely found in the normal hustle and bustle of a major City Centre.