Comprehensive Hurricane Prep for Boaters is an in-depth, self-paced online course that walks any boat owner in a hurricane-prone area through a complete plan to protect their boat, whether it rides out the season in a marina, on a mooring, at anchor, hauled out on the hard, or actively cruising. It covers the full arc of hurricane preparation: the pre-season decisions and planning, weather watching, the step-by-step storm prep itself, and staying safe through the aftermath. What sets it apart is that it is a complete decision-making system, not another short list of tips.

Most hurricane advice arrives as a scattered collection of "ten tips" articles and last-minute checklists, which leaves boat owners guessing about the decisions that matter most. This course pulls the whole picture together in one place so you can build a plan tailored to your boat and your situation, well before a storm is ever on the forecast. The biggest factor in whether a boat survives is rarely a single action: it is the sum of many good decisions made early. It is natural to wonder whether any of it makes a difference once a hurricane is headed your way. It does: the right preparation meaningfully improves your boat's odds, even though nothing about a storm is ever guaranteed.

Who this course is for

This course is for you if:

• You keep a boat in a hurricane-prone area and want to protect it as well as possible, whether it sits in a marina, on a mooring, at anchor, on the hard, or moves with you as you cruise.
• You feel overwhelmed by conflicting hurricane-prep advice and want clear, organized guidance you can act on.
• You cruise during hurricane season and need strategies to stay flexible and safe.
• You have prepped for storms before and want to be sure you are not missing anything.

Where will your boat be when the storm comes?

The single hardest hurricane decision is where to put your boat, and it is the one this course spends the most time on. Instead of naming one "safe" answer, it walks through the real tradeoffs of every option so you can choose the best one for your boat, your location, and how much time you have:

• Marinas: what makes a slip safer or more dangerous, and what to confirm with the marina ahead of time.
• Anchorages and mooring fields: how to judge protection and holding, and what leaves you at the mercy of other boats.
• Hauling out and storing on the hard: how to evaluate a boatyard for hurricane storage.
• Tying into mangroves: when this hurricane-hole strategy works and how to do it.
• Running from the storm: when leaving the area is the right call, and the planning it takes.

Throughout, the course explains why some boats come through a hurricane while others nearby are destroyed, so the reasoning behind each choice is clear and you can apply it to your own situation.

The hurricane plan your insurer requires, and how to build one that gets approved

Many boat owners do not realize that a hurricane plan is not optional. Virtually every insurance company requires one: you create it, file it with them, and are expected to follow it. A solid plan can affect whether you get hull coverage and at what price, and if a storm hits and you did not follow the plan you filed, your insurer can deny the claim. Building one also forces you to do the pre-season thinking that most determines how your boat fares.

The course walks you through writing a plan detailed enough to be approved without locking you into a choice that could be unsafe when conditions change on the water: what to include about your boat, your location, and your experience, plus how you will monitor the weather, where you will put the boat, and how you will prepare it. To make it practical, it includes downloadable, editable tools you can tailor and reuse every season:

• Editable hurricane checklists for different situations, from riding it out at anchor or on a mooring to evacuating.
• A real sample hurricane plan to model your own on.
• A hurricane options worksheet for weighing where to put your boat.
• A Certificate of Completion you fill out and print to document your training in the experience section of the plan you file with your insurer.

Preparing your boat, step by step

When it is time to act, the course gives you a clear order of operations so you can prioritize if time is short. It covers:

• Decreasing windage by removing sails, canvas, and anything that catches the wind.
• Securing the dinghy and stripping and protecting deck gear and equipment.
• Storm lines, line sizing, and chafe protection that holds up under a storm's loads.
• Hurricane anchoring for boats riding it out in the water.
• Gathering the right supplies ahead of time so there is no last-minute scramble.

Reading the weather and timing your actions

Knowing when to shift from watching the forecast to actively preparing is its own skill. The course shows you how to watch the weather like a seasoned cruiser: which forecasts and tools to rely on, how to read warnings early, and how to recognize the moment to start putting your plan into motion.

Cruising during hurricane season

If you do not spend the season tied up in one place, you face a different set of choices, and it is a topic most hurricane-prep resources barely touch. The course covers how to keep cruising through hurricane season while managing your risk: how to watch the weather, plan your routes, and stay mobile and flexible so you can keep exploring without feeling overexposed.

Stay aboard or evacuate, and staying safe afterward

The course helps you think through whether to stay on the boat or leave, and what you need to know if you do stay. It also covers the aftermath: how to stay safe during the cleanup, when hazards like downed power lines and floating debris are at their worst.

When a storm is already bearing down

If you are reading this with a storm already on its way, the course includes a quick-start path that skips straight to securing your boat with whatever time and equipment you have. The full course is built for the calmer months before the season, but it is designed to help in a hurry too.

Why a structured course instead of piecing it together

You can find plenty of free hurricane-prep articles, videos, and forum threads, but they tend to come in fragments: a tip here, a checklist there, often presented as universal when it is really specific to one location or one kind of boat. The value of this course is having the whole picture in one organized place, in the right order, from someone who has lived through it, so you understand not just what to do but why, and can adapt it to your own boat.

That experience runs through the material, including a detailed case study of how one catamaran came through a direct Category 4 hit from Hurricane Irma with minimal damage, broken down decision by decision so you can see how the pieces add up.

Your instructor: Carolyn Shearlock

Carolyn Shearlock is the founder of The Boat Galley and has spent 17 years living aboard and cruising, with experience in the US, the Bahamas, Mexico, and beyond. Her boats have taken two direct hurricane hits, including a Category 4 strike from Irma, plus ten other close calls, with total storm damage over the years of less than $1,000, most of it a single dinghy outboard. She has spent years studying what makes some boats survive while others nearby are totaled, and this course is an expanded version of the hurricane-prep class she teaches at Cruisers University, distilling that experience into clear, proven strategies.

Format and what's included

This is a written, self-paced online course of 23 topics across 8 modules, illustrated with photos and charts along with a couple of short video clips. The written format is deliberate: hurricane prep is something you come back to year after year, and text is easy to skim, search, and reference while you work through your own plan. You can go through it on a phone, tablet, or computer, on your own schedule, with no set times or deadlines.

Access is lifetime and includes all future updates at no extra cost, so the material stays current as Carolyn learns more from each season. The checklists, sample plan, worksheet, and certificate are downloadable, so you can save and reuse them.

Details

• Format: self-paced online course, written lessons with photos, charts, and a few short video clips.
• Length: 23 topics across 8 modules.
• Covers: pre-season planning; creating the hurricane plan your insurer requires; where to keep your boat (marina, mooring, anchorage, hauling out, mangroves, or relocating); reducing windage and securing the boat; storm lines and chafe protection; hurricane anchoring; weather watching; cruising during hurricane season; staying aboard versus evacuating; and post-storm safety.
• Downloadable tools: editable hurricane checklists, a sample hurricane plan, a hurricane options worksheet, and a Certificate of Completion for your insurer.
• Best for: boat owners, liveaboards, and cruisers in hurricane-prone areas.
• Instructor: Carolyn Shearlock, founder of The Boat Galley.
• Access: lifetime, including all future updates.
• Works on: phone, tablet, or computer.
• Updated: last reviewed and updated April 29, 2026.