Almost lost my boat today

[trailblazer1229]

After reading this entire thread, it appears to me more needs to be done to protect our investments. Yes, insurance is good, but technical matters may be the answer. I like the wildlife camera idea, but it doesn not give you real time monitoring ability. A small infrared lens camera hooked up to an internet connection through an IP adress is the way to go. Even from your cell phone you can watch the lines and the people around your boat. For less than $400 you can be up and running. What is the average cost of repair? Probably a lot more.

[SeaLifeSailing]

One of the posters was right - most good marine insurance companies will allow you to bind a policy over the phone, without consideration to who the legally registered owner is. I sympathize with having your baby set adrift. When I was 14 years old, my 14 ft runabout went missing, and turned up at a set of locks on the waterway I lived by - several miles away. Turns out according to the Lockmaster, that two older couples had come through in my boat, enjoying a joyride as though the boat were their own. He figured they were my parents, or he'd have called the police. I told him that NOBODY had my permission to use my boat without me, and the next time to call the cops while the boat was in the lock. They'd done some fancy work rewiring the ignition to work off the choke button. I'd have skinned them alive if I'd caught them. They'd burnt a couple of tanks of gas, and apparently even enjoyed some water-skiing.

At a marina where I keep my sailboat in the summer, someone snagged my hard dinghy off the dock last summer. I spent half my winter going to the homes of people posting dinghies for sale without photos, looking for it so could call the cops if I found it. This year, my inflatable with outboard is getting an outboard lock, and some very heavy chain with an armored padlock to lock it to the dock.

Where I keep my boat in the winter, though, security is great, and plenty of the liveaboard residents there are law enforcement professionals. Funny, nothing ever seems to dissappear from that marina.

Everyone, do your boating buddies a favor - if you spot people acting suspiciously, or hanging around the docks who look like they don't belong there, they probably don't. Let the dockmaster / cops know, and they can sort it out.

Safe Boating!

[Shaner82]

Hey I came across this thread and even though its a bit old...

I know exactly where your boat was my Hunter 25.5 is moored in Prieto Marina about 3 minutes from there via the canal. The turnabout there is where the local teens and early 20 somethings hang out at night. Usually the spoiled ones with wealthy parents. These kids have an amazing malicious streak in them, and I have come across one man who was panicking as he watched his sailboat sink in the same place. There was a group of the younger kids there laughing at his plight. When I got there it was too late already 3-4 feet of water in the cabin. It's been a few years and I can't recall what he said had happened. I wouldn't leave my boat in that place unattended for any amount of time even in broad daylight. Nice town, pretty to look at, but the kids are rotting with boredom and mom and dad have usually spoiled them with whatever they want ruining the ability to put value on other peoples belongings.

This dock is across from a small park, and right across from the local yacht club. It is well lit, but not monitored and about 6 feet from where the local youngins hang out late at night. Your lucky they just untied it honestly, and they did not vandalize or flat out sink the boat.

[MarioG]

I've got it made, not only is my Chrysler C-26 docked at a great marina but there only web-cam is pointed at my boat. Sea Harbour Yacht Club | Oriental, NC: Local Links So I can check on it every morning and night. ( around noon the lighting is bad.)

Its to bad I didn't see this thread earlier I just had to fix a broken spreader on my boat due to storm, and I think it cost me less then $20, The 1st mate and I stepped the mast with a gin pole set up, very smooth and not bad for a couple that just got into sailing last summer (me after 25 yrs).

[jpl4nscale]

I know that this has happened in at least one Puget Sound, Washington, location. Most marinas here now have locked gates which helps. Damn shame though. I used to really enjoy just dock walking, admiring other boats.