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Aren't boats too easy to steal?

37K views 81 replies 54 participants last post by  casey1999 
#1 ·
Why doesn't it happen more often. I was reading about a 22 year old drug crazed man in seattle stole a boat and started ramming things. So what's to prevent your boat being stripped or stolen? I had some blocks on mine that were $175 a piece and could be removed in about 10 seconds. The outboard? Those are just sitting there waiting to be lifted. The whole boat could be stolen without even having to pick a lock or break a window. do inboards even have keys? i think its like just a button! I can't think of any other hobby where we just leave our stuff sitting around unattended. Is this really safe

People just leave there $10000 dinghy tied anywhere. I wouldn't just set my bicycle on the dock and leave for a night or a week. It would not still be there. So why does this awesome and magical sailing world remain so safe?
 
#2 ·
Partly we rely on the ignorance of landlubbers about how boat things work; some of them are even afraid to walk out on a marina pier... it must be terribly dangerous, see there are no hand rails beyond the gangway.

And, our marina manager is an ex-cop with a concealed carry license and a bit of attitude.

(But don't let this descend into a g - you - know - what thread.)
 
#3 ·
BoatUS insurance had statistics on boat thefts in Florida a while back in one of their pubs. Sailboats thefts were pretty rare.

I think it's because thieves look at power boats and think you can drive them like a car. They look at sail boats and are mystified. Sail boats also don't make very good drug running boats.

When I had a daysailer I ran a cable lock through the outboard. You need a key to start my boat and I have a combination lock on my hatch. The biggest risk is someone taking the electronics from the binnacle.
 
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#4 ·
Well, my outboard has a lock...
Also unlike a lot of you folks, I ONLY have forward gear (boat is bow in)... you'd have to know to spin the outboard around to do reverse.
On top of that, I'm on a lake... you arent' going real far.
Let's assume you steal a sailboat, it has an inboard, and say 30 gallons of fuel.
You'll be able to go far, but not real fast.

It's why thieves if they steal a boat they usually opt for a powerboat. Low speed chases usually don't end well for crooks.
 
#5 ·
Remember the old days with cars? I did a demonstration once, for a legitimate job, and had to be taught to steal a car within 5 minutes and then steal the car within 30 seconds. It took me 17 seconds to steal the car. :) (included the steering lock)

It wasnt too many years after that that insurance companies started to lean on vehicle manufacturers to tighten security.

Right now your cheapest Korean rice-bubble-on-wheels has a better security system than any sailing boat!

But just because its not offered in the showroom doesn't mean you can't beef up security yourself :)

Some dont cost much at all!

I use this when I am onboard at night. The murders on board during the time I have been cruising all occured on boats unsecured... intruders get on board and walk below, or the owner comes out himself.
 
#27 ·
But just because its not offered in the showroom doesn't mean you can't beef up security yourself :)

Some dont cost much at all!

I use this when I am onboard at night.
I looked at similar implementations when I first moved aboard but decided they present a potential fire hazard, and ended up skipping the idea. Though, I have been toying around with the idea of implementing some sort of screen that lets air flow, while keeping out critters (i.e., cats, dogs, squirrels, raccoons, etcetera).

The murders on board during the time I have been cruising all occured on boats unsecured... intruders get on board and walk below, or the owner comes out himself.
What are the statistics of people being murdered by strangers while sleeping on a boat? Just curious.

As for this topic. I have admittedly marveled that theft seems to be fairly low, considering all the expensive hardware around. Like others, the things that seem to get stolen the most around here are dinghies and O.B. motors. But even then, that seems fairly light, as our local LE beefed up their surveillance (i.e., air birds & water patrol) at night.
 
#6 ·
That is a question I consider from time to time. Our Marshall Catboat is moored in a "vulnerable" location. It is not a busy place and there are not lots of eyes around. Perhaps that is a plus?? It is a 15' Sandpiper. 20K for a new one. 2K for the 4 stroke Honda. That would buy some drugs for a low life looking to score. The gas tank is under the deck and it starts on the first pull. The oars live in the dinghy at the dinghy dock.

Maine is a fairly safe place. I have lived here since 1976 and never locked the door to the house or the cars. It has been secure but I admit to thinking about it more these past few years.

Having friends who know our boats helps. The Lobster men are protective of theirs and others property. Both the I-28 and the Marshall are not common boats around here so disposing of them would be a problem. Not so much for the Honda or the electronics.

Perhaps a "slack" chain on the mooring that gets locked to a fitting on the boat so that just dropping a mooring line doesn't free the boat? That could discourage the "opportunistic" thief. A "lowjack" like bit of technology that called me if the boats location changed. If the bilge pump in the catboat can sense water resistance and rest between tests a "lowjack" type device with gps capability could let me know if the boats left their moorings for any reason. It seems like there is a device that does that for a flooding bilge?

Insurance??

Down
 
#8 ·
The answer is - YES boats are easy to steal. Maybe there just isn't a big enough demand for stolen boat stuff to make it a worthwhile market for the thieves.

whisphering now to you thieves - I could use a Sprint Atlantic windlass. You can find them on larger Hunters built around 2000 :D
 
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#9 ·
Here on Lake Champlain I've never heard of a boat theft, although I imagine maybe a few dinghies have gone missing over the years. The key to my inboard on my sailboat has not left the ignition in the cockpit since I bought the boat over a year ago. Wouldn't want to lose the key!
 
#10 ·
The ignition key isn't much security. I believe that almost all Yanmars use the same key. Honestly, I can't think of anyplace but boats where people leave something that can easily cost $100,000 plus secured by nothing more than a rope that can be untied. I guess horses also.
 
#54 ·
Tractors and airplanes use the same 4-5 keys.

I'm thinking of putting an on/off rocker switch on the panel and rigging a key switch somewhere else in the circuit. Kinda like taking the rotor cap off an older car, not that hard but you gotta know to look.
 
#12 ·
My boat is on a mooring behind my house and not only do I leave my key in the ignition but I don't bother with the hatch padlock ....:laugher

I don't get much traffic where I am so anyone coming into the cove is usually watched by a half dozen houses
 
#13 ·
The ultimate security is that its too much work for most people, or they don't know how to sail. Also, with my boat anyway - they would still be in view an hour after the crime!
And tons of people around, not that they would know the thief wasn't the owner.

My dock is at a waterfront bar, 10 steps from the parking lot to my boat, which is in plain view..... No cabin lock. No other security. So far, no problems.

My biggest fear is somone cutting the padlock and stealing the outboard.
 
#14 ·
We have had the occasional bandit break into boats in our marina (not ours, thankfully) and steal 'stuff'... mostly booze... but it's quite rare.. Can't recall a boat actually going missing from our marina, which is fairly well monitored 24/7. We do lock our outboard, and our dinghy itself as these are items easily resold, the battery is switched off which disables the engine panel, and the boat's locked but not 'to the dock'.

I agree that with sailboats, most non boaters can't simply 'drive them away'.. the only significant sailboat theft I can recall locally was a Maple Leaf 40-something stolen from, of all places, the Royal Vancouver YC...
 
#15 ·
I had some blocks on mine that were $175 a piece and could be removed in about 10 seconds.
I never leave anything on deck that can just be removed and taken that easily. Put them in the cabin, or take them home with you.

The outboard? Those are just sitting there waiting to be lifted.
My outboard has a very inexpensive, but easy to use lock. It's not going to stop a determined thief, but it will discourage the casual grab-it-and-go type of miscreant.

The whole boat could be stolen without even having to pick a lock or break a window. do inboards even have keys?
Yes, inboards have keys. Some people leave them in the switch all the time, but that's just dumb, for a variety of reasons (not the least of which is the invitation to corrosion). Lock the companionway, close the hatches, take the key, and your boat is probably as safe as your home when you lock the front door.
 
#16 ·
Don0190 nailed it- if sailboat stuff were easier to sell on craigs list, it would get stolen more. go into a pawn shop. See any block & tackle? I could leave a $50 bike on my boat right next to $300 car and the bike would dissapear imneditely.
 
#18 ·
Easy to steal but hard to sell. Even if you created a marine chop-shop, you'd still have a bunch of hard to sell parts. It works for cars because there so many that the 'used parts' business is quite large.

All the theft I've seen is dinghies, outboards, and electronics.

I worry more someone will break in and steal my stuff; not that the boat itself will be stolen.

Ken
 
#20 ·
Well Im terrible.. I don't even take the keys out of the ignition and most times I don't even lock the lock on the companion way hatch- I just close it so it LOOKS locked!However- much IS in my favor.
!. My boat is old
2. My boat is chalky
3. My boat is near MUCH nicer boats
4. Most criminals do not know how to sail
5. My marina has a gate ringed with barbed wire
6. I live in a very small island town.

***Dinghys with outboards are stolen most often here. Especially during summer months when kids are out of school. I keep my dinghy motor in the store, so unless the kids feel like paddling away- Im not a very good target =)
 
#21 ·
My outboard sits in a well that is locked with a padlock. I then thread a short bike lock through it and around the tiller, effectively binding it to starboard. I simply trust that any would-be boat thief would choose any number of the hundreds of boats that are not secured in any fashion whatsoever. I did recently lose a winch cover, but I don't know if it was stolen or if it simply blew off...
 
#22 ·
I think the real issue for thieves would boil down to, "OK, now what?" So you've stolen a sailboat, a really nice one. Where the hell do you take it? How do you turn it into money? How do you NOT get caught? The damn thing only goes about 5mph. I think it would be a non-starter for most thieves.
 
#25 ·
Down here in Key West we have a lot of people that will break in to boats so pad locks are good, cause yea thieves generally don't know how to sail. Same thing on the dinghy dock, I have a big chain and lock on the dink, though the motor I just put on doesn't have a lock but it looks really old and the number appears to be a 3.9 (the first 9 didn't fair so well) so people generally just laugh at it. Things do go missing out of dinghies though.

Also I sail with a spot so my family can see where I am and I can check in so they are not all worried. They sell a nicer version that has a keypad to deactivate and they monitor it and call as soon as any unauthorized boat movement occurs, in the case of powerboats they can even shut you down remotely, can't douse your sails, but it is pretty sweet. My friend just bought a powerboat with one.

I did have a habit of leaving my keys in the ignition or the padlock next to my companionway, guess we all have our moments
 
#26 ·
About 4 keys will start 90% of the airplanes that even use keys ;)
Like boats, most people don't know how to operate them or what to do with them if they do steal one.

Outboards and inflatables are what get stolen.
Then there is the "drunk late night regatta party" where people take the first dinghy they see and then that dingy's real owner swipes another one and so on and so on. They all get sorted in the morning though.
 
#29 ·
We have turning blocks on tracks on one of our boats, and those go into the padlocked cabin when we're away from the boat. However, it would not be obvious to most non-sailors, and even to some sailors, how to remove these, and we should probably maintain this ignorance.
 
#30 ·
Who needs a key to start an inboard diesel? All you need is a screwdriver to jump the starter, and all boat owners should know how to do this for when the day comes that the key/start button corrodes and doesn't work.

If someone goes to all the trouble to go out onto my boat on its' mooring in the dark I doubt that locking the hatch boards is suddenly going to stop them from getting inside. In the end I still lose the stuff they take plus now I have to repair all the damage when they kick in the companionway.
 
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