🏴‍☠️ Boat Security On A Swinging Mooring 🏴‍☠️

[Rum_Pirate]

I like the story - warms the cockles of my heart - of the chaps that had a number of their vessels broken into over a period of weeks.
They staked the marina area out and caught the two scrotes.
Took them out to a place where they knew that there were sharks and started chumming the water with blood and fish guts.
Soon had a frenzy of sharks - large and small - thrashing around.
Then told the scrotes that any more breaking/thefts they would bring them back, chum the water and throw them overboard.

 

[westernman]

Seriously, how many boats get nicked from moorings?
Sure, many might get broken into and rand-sacked looking for booze etc, but nicking a whole boat?

In the hope that any scrotes won't wreck the interior of your boat, I would leave out on the chart table a mobile phone, a canceled credit card, a bit of cash, and the keys to the lease mercedes you handed back a couple of years ago. And a bottle of vodka on the saloon table.

With a bit of luck they will take that lot without doing any damage and spend the night searching for that mercedes.

 

[Rum_Pirate]

Seriously, how many boats get nicked from moorings?
Sure, many might get broken into and rand-sacked looking for booze etc, but nicking a whole boat?

In the hope that any scrotes won't wreck the interior of your boat, I would leave out on the chart table a mobile phone, a canceled credit card, a bit of cash, and the keys to the lease mercedes you handed back a couple of years ago. And a bottle of vodka on the saloon table.

With a bit of luck they will take that lot without doing any damage and spend the night searching for that mercedes.

Still have the damage that they made trying to get in to repair, even if you left it unlocked.

See my new thread 'Boarding' for a question I was going to ask here.

 

[William_H]

As said location matters. I have had only one break in, in 40 years on my swing mooring. The plywood wash boards were kicked in. Replaced with 5mm aluminium and no more trouble. Yet within sight of my boat but about 50m from a swimming jetty one big mobo particularly is constantly boarded by kids who swim out to it. In one case actually while we were watching from race control tower at club kids boarded froma RIB and could be seen unloading gear including solar panel. Water police were called and met the people with loot. Good spectator sport. I still worry a little every time I go to boat wondering if we have had visitors. ol'will

 

[PlankWalker]

Been on a swinger for 50 years never had a problem

 

[Stemar]

I had some scrotes try to steal my OB while I was asleep on the club pontoon, but the only problem (touch wood), on my drying mooring. was getting aboard one evening, lifting the cockpit cover and having a squirrel jump out - scared the proverbial out of me for a moment!

I'm a firm believer in 1) Not leaving anything of value on board, 2) Making breaking in just hard enough to deter the casual thief and satisfy the insurers, but not so hard as to do real damage to the boat. and 3) Sail an MAB that doesn't look as though there's anything worth nicking aboard

 

[William_H]

I had some scrotes try to steal my OB while I was asleep on the club pontoon, but the only problem (touch wood), on my drying mooring. was getting aboard one evening, lifting the cockpit cover and having a squirrel jump out - scared the proverbial out of me for a moment!

I'm a firm believer in 1) Not leaving anything of value on board, 2) Making breaking in just hard enough to deter the casual thief and satisfy the insurers, but not so hard as to do real damage to the boat. and 3) Sail an MAB that doesn't look as though there's anything worth nicking aboard

One of the problems of sailing an MAB is that kids especially will see a neglected boat as one nobody cares about so is fair game for curiosity. They see it as scavenging. It is like junk yards get broken into often compared to a bank or proper looking business. ol'will

 

[Fantasie 19]

Seriously, how many boats get nicked from moorings?
Sure, many might get broken into and rand-sacked looking for booze etc, but nicking a whole boat?

Round my way we have had a couple of instances over the years of scrotes getting on board a boat to ransack, wreck, steal contents, and then cast the boat loose for "laughs"... so yeah - I lock my boat to the mooring..

 

[Rhylsailer99]

The best security available in such situations is to ensure that the surrounding boats are more glamorous than yours.

Has always worked for me. (Sigh!)

Haha I will remember that idea when my topsides need re painting.

 

[westernman]

Round my way we have had a couple of instances over the years of scrotes getting on board a boat to ransack, wreck, steal contents, and then cast the boat loose for "laughs"... so yeah - I lock my boat to the mooring..

Yes - but did they leave the keys for the Mercedes on the chart table?

That does two things.

1) It says that the boat owner is nearby. May be watching from the nearby pub.

2) Why waste time trying to nick a boat? It is dead easy to spot, and easy to catch up with and arrest people from. Instead, lets nick the Merc. A much easier get away, easier to turn into cash as well. And frankly more fun smashing that up rather than a boat.

Then the boat does not get ransacked, or cast adrift.
And the scrotes spend the night trying to open every Mercedes in sight with your old key fob.

 

[Refueler]

Haha I will remember that idea when my topsides need re painting.

Tell that to my mate who had two outboards chainsawed off back of his mobo .... the second he fitted after repairs was all scruffed up and hand painted cowl etc ...

 

[Graham376]

There were quite a few thefts from moored boats when we were based in Conwy. I fitted an alarm key switch, on the instrument pod with a 12v flashing red led and stuck an "Alarm" sticker on the washboard. In 15 years, we weren't touched but some others close by were.

 

[Fantasie 19]

Yes - but did they leave the keys for the Mercedes on the chart table?

That does two things.

1) It says that the boat owner is nearby. May be watching from the nearby pub.

2) Why waste time trying to nick a boat? It is dead easy to spot, and easy to catch up with and arrest people from. Instead, lets nick the Merc. A much easier get away, easier to turn into cash as well. And frankly more fun smashing that up rather than a boat.

Then the boat does not get ransacked, or cast adrift.
And the scrotes spend the night trying to open every Mercedes in sight with your old key fob.

1/. It's club swing moorings - ie. permanent - next to a busy road and in front of a pub full of punters, and on one instance they still did it, swam ashore and legged it as the police arrived.. the other time it was the middle of the night...

2/. No indication at all they wanted to nick the boat in either case - just bored kids trashing stuff.. they would still do it AND take any key you want to leave lying round..

So yeah... I'll continue to lock my boat to the mooring...

We have security cameras in the club and in one instance finger prints and DNA were obtained and we were still advised by the police that there was insufficient evidence to ensure any prosecution, never mind conviction..

There's good advice above.. lock the washboards (but not too securely so they don't trash the boat getting in), lock the outboard for sure but take the cowl home with you (PITA to get a new one so therefore a deterrent), use trackers if the boat/engine is worth it (as camera evidence very rarely seems to be of any use to the police), and lock the boat to the mooring... basically.. secure it from casual pilferers and bored teenagers..

 

[clyst]

Have a word with your insurance co. Tell them your mooring location ,even send them piccys of your security arrangements if you like and ask them if you are fully covered . It what you have insurance for .