The Marion and Mattapoisett harbormasters are keeping an eye on the potential for high winds and heavy rain early next week, as a tropical storm makes its way up the East Coast.

Hurricane Hermine made landfall in Florida on Friday morning and weakened into a tropical storm as it began heading toward Georgia and the Carolinas.

“At this stage of the game we’re going to keep an eye on things and see what happens,” Mattapoisett Harbormater Jill Simmons said. “That’s what the Coast Guard is doing and what we’re doing.”

Simmons also said the Coast Guard has put out a warning that they could be 72 hours out from a possible major storm, so commercial vessels have 24 hours to get out or remain in port. If they decide to stay in, then they have to file a plan on how to prepare.

When a major storm is imminent and people want to get their boats out of the water, Simmons said the police department often steps in to help make it easier for trailers to get to the water.

“They make traffic one way on Main Street and Water Street so trucks can get in and out,” she said.

Marion Harbormaster Isaac Perry also said that his office will be monitoring the weather, and is working on getting things out of the water that they normally take out at this time of year anyway.

During major storms in Marion, Perry said sometimes the Harbormaster Department will move its boats to the north end of the dock to help protect them from intense waves.

Generally, the department doesn’t make people take their boats out of the water for a storm, but Perry does advise that recreational boaters make sure everything on their boats is secure.

And while the South Coast may not be hit with hurricane force winds this time, long periods of wind can take a toll on boats.

“A lot of problems with prolonged winds are with sailboats,” he said. “A little bit of looseness on sails can start them flapping back and forth. It doesn’t take much for a sailboat to rip itself to shreds.”