High winds and surging sea levels are expected to strike a large swath of the U.S. coastline from Southern Florida to North Carolina later this week with the arrival of Tropical Storm Hanna.

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatU.S.) is recommending that boaters take steps now to prepare their vessels, and to help them with this task, has some free online "tools" available at the BoatU.S. "Hurricane Resource Center" at http://www.BoatUS.com/Hurricanes

The Web site offers easily downloadable storm planning materials including a hurricane preparation worksheet, an in-depth Guide to Preparing Boats and Marinas for Hurricanes, and checklists for what to do before and after a hurricane strikes.

Also included at http://www.BoatUS.com/Hurricanes are sample hurricane plans for boat and yacht clubs as well as up-to-the-minute storm tracking tools with live satellite images.