depends what type of storm ...
Seems every storm is different.
Say a prayer and make sure your Insurance is up to date
Good luck
I have been through a few storms over the years, here's what I experienced:
Went thru a strong tropical storm and another cat 1 hurricane at a marina with floating docks. on the North side of Lake Pontchartrain. Tied up tight to finger pier many fenders. Didn't have a scratch on the boat in either storm Meanwhile on the South shore of the lake, 30 miles away, there were many boats that were sunk in their fixed docks and many had substantial damage. Could be that the floating docks made big difference or the South side of the lake had more severe surge and conditions than the North side.
Went thru hurricane Katrina in the same marina with floating docks. 120+mph winds and approximately 15 foot surge
My slip was at the outer extent of the floating dock, (about 100' from main dock shoreside). Lost the boat due to extreme damage from the concrete finger piers that broke apart AFTER the concrete pilings that held the finder pier in place snapped off or over topped. Seems that the pilings held OK at the finger piers that were close to the main dock close to shore. All of the piling that toward the end of the dock sheared off likely due to excessive forces from wind exerted on the boats that were tied to finger piers as well as more exposure to waves at the end of the docks. Surprisingly, there were many boats that faired well, that were on finger piers closer to shore, many had no damage or minimal damage. Those of us toward the end of the dock had vessels that were sunk or severely damaged.
Three years ago when I had my "new to me" boat delivered to a boatyard in New Orleans that was surrounded by 20 flood walls, my boat faired well on stands; however, the mast was unstepped at the time. There were many boats that were fully rigged that toppled off the stands; however, they did not remove their roller furling jibs and the 70mph winds opened the jibs enough to cause excessive windage. So, I you decide to haul the boat out, make sure to remove all sails, biminis, & dodgers to reduce windage. If it is stronger than a cat 1 storm, you really need to have some means of tying and anchoring the boat laterally to prevent topping over. Better yet, have a pit in which the boat can be placed as found in hurricane marinas in the Caribbean. Not likely to find this in the U.S.
My present boat is docked in the same marina in which I had my older boat for Katrina. Unfortunately, there are no floating docks, just 40' fixed docks. If Hermine would have headed our way, I would have likely taken the boat a few miles away to a new marina that has floating docks. Between work and possibly having to evacuate the family, I really don't have time to take the boat to a remote river anchorage to tie up and anchor. There is no guarantee that I could have the boat hauled without paying to be on a hurricane haul out list.
The best that I can do is take all the necessary precautions, tie up to a floating dock with all lines doubled, reduce windage and hope for the best. If all else fails, that's why I have insurance.
Hope everyone on the East coast fairs out well. I know that many of you have gone through this with Hurricane Sandy and suffered huge losses also. Lets hope that this storm isn't as bad.
