Hurricane evacuation clause

Definition

Florida bars a marina from making boats leave on a hurricane watch, and says what the yard may do instead.

Why It Matters

A storm is the marina's worst night, and Florida decided whose safety comes first. A marina there may not adopt or enforce a policy requiring vessels to be removed after a hurricane watch or warning, because the statute puts the owners' lives ahead of property. It may still dictate the cleats, lines and fenders a boat must use. Once a tropical storm or hurricane watch is issued, staff may take reasonable steps to secure any vessel and charge a reasonable fee. Moving a boat out of its slip when the owner fails to act needs a contract clause, with a notice in at least ten-point type in the form the statute sets out. The marina is not liable for storm damage to a vessel, though negligence in moving or securing one is not shielded. Inside a deepwater seaport the rule runs the other way: on a hurricane watch, vessels under 500 gross tons may not stay in a marina deemed unsuitable for refuge. Read the slip contract form for the notice, and price the storm-day labor it commits the yard to.