To leave or not to leave a boat in the bahamas

Does your insurance policy cover it if it's still in the water through hurricane season? Or does it require the boat to be on the hard?

When you say 'leave it in the bahamas' are you planning on putting her on the hard?

Several variables play into your question, but I think the insurance would be the first clarification. Ours doesn't. The want the boat "out of the box" or premiums skyrocket.

Where it's registered/taxes also might be a consideration as well as if you'll be keeping it on the move or home ported on one island (transient vs; seasonal rates). Although I'm not that familiar with the Bahamas, I'd vote for So. Fl. where there are 1st rate yards. Also, if weather turns bad for those 3 trips a year you have more options and the Islands are only a few hours off if weather is good.

There are many yacht management companies in Fort lauderdale who will watch over a boat with absentee owners. They will take care of washing and waxing, start engines, manage repairs and maintenance, and prepare a boat for a storm.
Dockage can be arranged for the boat behind a private home a few miles inland for a lower dockage rate, and better protection if a storm hits. However you can not stay on board in a residential neighborhood.
You might consider Fort Lauderdale in hurricane season and the Bahamas other parts of the year, and like the others have written, your insurance will be an important factor.

The bridges are only locked down from a few hours before the arrival of a major hurricane.

You still have a week's warning of the approaching cane.

Any sensible owner/captain will not wait to the last minute to secure the boat anyway..
The safe docks will be taken regardless of the bridges.

Well, yes you won't know where it will make landfall a week in advance, BUT you will know a 'cane is coming your way a week or more in advance.

Okay, so we are talking apples and oranges: I live on a canal up the New River and we have never had evacuations ordered here as long as I have been around: Almost 12 years and lots of hurricanes.
Shorty before landfall the River has been clogged with boats trying to make it to a safe heaven and the bridges has been open for boats.
When the bridges close we tie boats across the canals and block any access as no more boats will be coming in due to closed bridges.

Again, the prudent mariner will not wait to the last minute, but will have reservations at "safe" marinas or empty docks for emergency use paid for in advance.

The bridges locked down at 35mph wind and @ 48hrs. whichever comes first. So you don't wait. Often you'll want to move up or down the coast, but don't guess wrong. Before Andrew a lot of boats headed south. Their remnants were being towed back for months. Back then mine was one of the last boats off A1A and the first back. Going up the New River was like a trip on the LIE @ rushhour, but orderly. Lauderdale was spared, but still a ton of debri was in the water afterwards. While my boat was still upriver a tourist called wanting to go waterskiing. Gotta love 'em.

I wouldn't count on anyone in the Bahamas to take care of your vessel properly. If you made a surprise visit, you'd be in for a big shock in the condition it was in. Also anything I've seen a Bahamian fix, has been island engineered and not proper. Dockage is far more expensive in the Bahamas and it would be cheaper to run it there from Ft. Laud 3 times a year. Also the quality in which your boat will be maintained will be much much better. Not to mention the provisioning savings and quality of food you will have on board. Plus the hurricane issue and the aftermath of getting to the boat, or fixing anything in the Bahamas after a hurricane has hit.

Make sure you insurance covers South Florida in a Hurricane.

I own a Yacht Management Business in South Florida. I manage all aspects of the vessel, as well as am a Yacht Captain and do deliveries and trips. I was managing 9 yachts during Wilma. None of them left Fort Lauderdale. All of them fared perfectly through the Hurricane with no more damage then $500 except for one that had a tin roof pelt the transom and broke a window, that one incurred $10k in damage. Had it not been for the roof on the office building roof coming off, it too would have been fine. The trick is having the proper lines, a dock in good condition, removing anything loose, and keeping the vessel tied up tight so that it doesn't have enough momentum to snap lines and pop fenders and create damage. The inlets aren't wide enough to allow enough water to run in to create a large storm surge to occur in the time it takes for a hurricane to pass here, as opposed to other areas with wide inlets that can allow millions of gallons of water to flow through per minute.

This is exactly what I thought on reading the OP.

I'm not a professional captain but I have spent some time in the Bahamas on a couple of family owned boats and, perhaps, more time on diving trips in friend's airplanes. I wouldn't leave a boat unattended in the Bahamas.

If you decide to leave the boat in the Bahamas for short periods, let us know here on YachtForums, and tell us where the keys are. There are lots of members here who will check on the boat, start the engines, take it out fishing, make sure the blender works well and make sure the Jimmy Buffet CDs are not scratched.

Don't forget to leave a credit card on board for expenses also!

The guy that left his boat in the Bahamas for us (the forum) last year decided to leave cash instead of a credit card. either way works for us! We'll be sure to leave receipts for your accountants!

:snicker:

We have recently looked into this in detail for a similar size boat. You may consider leaving your boat in the Bahamas (in the Abacos there are several places considered safe) for several months but I would NOT leave the boat in the Bahamas through hurricane season. There are several reasonable options in S FL depending on cost. Inland near the Okeechobee or in the Cape Cannaveral area there are marinas that you can leave the boat on the hard, or in the water and have it hauled on short notice. Neither of those solutions have much if any storm surge. The New River is a good spot as well, where we left our Viking last year but cost double the others.

The trip across the gulf stream and into the Abacos or Exumas is a nice day trip. We leave our boat in FL and then fly in a head across. The key is what time of year you want to go to the Bahamas. In the May through July or very early August time frame you can cross the gulf stream almost every day. In our last 12 crossings during these months, we only had to make a change once and that was by a single day. In the Dec or Jan time frame you can easily wait a week or more to cross, so it may make sense to leave your boat in the Bahamas for several months during the winter but have it in FL from April onwards. Where to leave your boat really depends on your itinerary and when you want to travel.

I would not leave any boat unattended in the Bahamas. Boat theft is approaching epidemic levels. Until recently the main target for theives were large twin engine center consoles...not any more. They are taking anything large enough, and with enough range to make a smuggling run to Fl, the DR, or Puerto Rico. I personally know of a 54' Sea Ray that was snatched recently. Not worth it in my opinion. If you do leave it there, invest in a good GPS tracking device!