Most owners book a fall haul out for one reason. The season is over. There is a second reason, and it is sitting in your insurance policy right now. Many marine policies carry a named storm clause. That clause can decide whether a storm claim gets paid at all.
Almost nobody reads it until the week they need it.
A named storm is any tropical system the National Hurricane Center gives an official name. Once the name is assigned, a different part of your policy takes over.
Two things usually change.
First, the deductible. Marine brokers describe windstorm deductibles as a share of the boat's insured value rather than a flat dollar amount. That share can be much larger than the standard deductible you are used to.
Second, and this is the part that costs people, some policies require action from you. If a hurricane warning is issued for your area, the boat may have to come out of the water. It is written as a condition. It is not written as advice.
Carriers do enforce it. Owners have had storm claims denied for leaving a boat in the water when the policy said to pull it.
Carriers often ask where the boat goes. Some ask for it in writing.
Here is the trap. Naming a yard you have no agreement with is not a plan. Every yard on the East End fills within hours once a storm is forecast. The lift runs all day and the list is already full.
A haul date booked in September is a plan. A phone call placed the morning of a warning is a hope.
If you plan to haul for storms, book the yard first. Then put that yard on the paperwork.
This is where our creek matters, and it is worth being honest about.
We sit on Mill Creek in Noyac. The water is protected and calm, which makes a normal haul easy. The approach is also shallow. We handle boats from 13 to 57 feet with up to a five foot draft.
A storm gives you a short window. The tide gives you a fixed one. Those two windows do not always line up.
If your boat sits near that five foot draft, a last minute haul may not be possible on the tide you have. We would rather tell you that in September than on the phone during a warning. Call us and we will look at your draft and your options before the season turns.
Take ten minutes and ask these.
Does my policy contain a named storm or haul out requirement? What triggers it, a watch or a warning? Is there a separate windstorm deductible, and how is it calculated? Does the policy reimburse any part of a precautionary haul out? Does my carrier want written proof of where the boat will be stored?
Write the answers down. You want them before the forecast, not during it.
Our haul out is $300. That covers the lift, a power wash the same day the boat comes out, blocking on land, and your spring launch and wash next season. Storage on the hard is $75 per measured linear foot.
Shrink wrapping is $35 per foot plus a $30 recycling fee. Winterization is $600 labor plus parts for an outboard, and $990 labor plus parts for an inboard or stern drive.
You can read the full breakdown on our boat haul out page, and the season details on our winter boat storage page.
We are not an insurance agency and we cannot read your policy for you. What we can do is give you a confirmed haul date, so the yard line on your storm plan is a real one.
Call or text 631-500-7777, or email captain@yachthampton.com. Tell us your boat's length and draft. We will give you a haul date and walk you through your total before anything happens.
Yacht Hampton Boating Club and Marina, 51 Pine Neck Ave, Sag Harbor, NY 11963.