In South Florida, you either own a boat or have a friend with a boat and given the amount of perfect days to be out on the water. But there is still a catch when living in paradise. “It is still so worth it to have a boat. It’s the most fun that we have and there’s a lot of frustrations that come with it. But it’s a labor of love,” said Nick Shultz, boat owner. Shultz has been a Floridian now for almost a decade, the same amount of time he has owned his boat.“We haven’t had any terrible hurricanes at least on this side of Florida. So it hasn’t been awful. However its still stressful when you don’t know what’s coming,” said Shultz. If you are watching the news, there’s is an advance notice whether a tropical storm or hurricane could potentially impact Florida’s East Coast giving boat owners enough time to prepare. Having a plan and reviewing the insurance policy are the first steps. “Every boat insurance requires you to have a hurricane evacuation strategy,” said Shultz. Some owners prefer keeping their boats on dry land to protect it against rough waves- winds and storm surge. Storing it at a marina on a boat slip is also an option but costly. “I pay annually for the ability to store my boat,” said Shultz. “It covers a couple of days of what you pay upfront and then you have access to pay for more days for a named storm. So for a named storm I get it racked so it’s completely out of harm’s way as long as nothing happens to the building.”Preparing your emergency kit for hurricane seasonHurricane Preparedness Week: Understanding forecast informationThe latest: Weather coverage from WPBF 25 News Weather | Radar | Hurricanes | Traffic | uLocal | Facebook | X | InstagramIf you plan to leave your vessel in the water, like the intracoastal inspect all dock lines and remove all personal belongings from the boat. It is also recommended to take photos of everything for future insurance claims. Before taking trips throughout the hurricane season which runs from June 1st through November 30th make sure to store your boat somewhere safe and make these preparations beforehand.Interactive radar: South Florida weather coverage from WPBF 25 NewsGet the latest weather updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
In South Florida, you either own a boat or have a friend with a boat and given the amount of perfect days to be out on the water. But there is still a catch when living in paradise.
“It is still so worth it to have a boat. It’s the most fun that we have and there’s a lot of frustrations that come with it. But it’s a labor of love,” said Nick Shultz, boat owner.
Shultz has been a Floridian now for almost a decade, the same amount of time he has owned his boat.
“We haven’t had any terrible hurricanes at least on this side of Florida. So it hasn’t been awful. However its still stressful when you don’t know what’s coming,” said Shultz.
If you are watching the news, there’s is an advance notice whether a tropical storm or hurricane could potentially impact Florida’s East Coast giving boat owners enough time to prepare. Having a plan and reviewing the insurance policy are the first steps.
“Every boat insurance requires you to have a hurricane evacuation strategy,” said Shultz.
Some owners prefer keeping their boats on dry land to protect it against rough waves- winds and storm surge. Storing it at a marina on a boat slip is also an option but costly.
“I pay annually for the ability to store my boat,” said Shultz. “It covers a couple of days of what you pay upfront and then you have access to pay for more days for a named storm. So for a named storm I get it racked so it’s completely out of harm’s way as long as nothing happens to the building.”
Preparing your emergency kit for hurricane season
Hurricane Preparedness Week: Understanding forecast information
The latest: Weather coverage from WPBF 25 News
Weather | Radar | Hurricanes | Traffic | uLocal | Facebook | X | Instagram
If you plan to leave your vessel in the water, like the intracoastal inspect all dock lines and remove all personal belongings from the boat. It is also recommended to take photos of everything for future insurance claims.
Before taking trips throughout the hurricane season which runs from June 1st through November 30th make sure to store your boat somewhere safe and make these preparations beforehand.
Interactive radar: South Florida weather coverage from WPBF 25 News
Get the latest weather updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
Clinton Mora is a reporter for Trending Insurance News. He has previously worked for the Forbes. As a contributor to Trending Insurance News, Clinton covers emerging a wide range of property and casualty insurance related stories.