Boat security system / set up

[Bradders]

Hi All
I have secured a swinging mooring on the Orwell, is there any security system / set up you would recommend?
Many thanks

 

[Fr J Hackett]

A Rotwieller

 

[MattS]

It probably depends whether you’re looking for full on security (alarms etc) or more remote monitoring.

There are quite a few remote boat monitoring systems out there, that all do largely similar things with some differences.

I have Vircru, which has door proximity sensors and PIR motion sensors to alert you of movement and proximity sensors being opened, as well as monitoring more normal functions like batteries, bilge pump, water level, temp, location etc. it does do cameras or sirens etc - it’s monitoring not alarms.

I know there are other out of the box monitoring systems that can do similar

Alternatively if you are feeling a bit more techy and can guarantee power, you could install a 4G router and your own sensors / cameras etc. etc.

Or install a smart alarm system like Simplisafe maybe, if you wanted full on security system.

 

[PaulRainbow]

If you install the cleverest, most expensive system there is, by the time someone gets to your boat to investigate, your gear will have been sold at a boat jumble.

 

[SaltIre]

I once fitted a simple alarm that set off a klaxon if somebody stepped on a pressure pad on the companionway step. It proved 100% effective - my boat didn't get broken into.

 

[MattS]

If you install the cleverest, most expensive system there is, by the time someone gets to your boat to investigate, your gear will have been sold at a boat jumble.

I fully agree with that - people barely take notice of alarm sirens at the best of times, let alone when it's a bit choppy and windy and it can easily be put down to 'it's probably just been set off by the weather'.

That's why I think important to know what you're trying to achieve before considering options - i.e. remote monitoring, or security / intruder prevention etc.

 

[johnalison]

We kept a boat on a mooring for many years and took no particular steps to avoid theft. Our policy was:
Lock the boat securely but not so much so that it would be damaged by a determined thief
Don‘t leave valuable gear
Have a decent insurance
Stop worrying about it
A rattlesnake is the minimum deterrent and doesn’t need much maintenance or leave much mess.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

If you install the cleverest, most expensive system there is, by the time someone gets to your boat to investigate, your gear will have been sold at a boat jumble.

I think that's a very important point. The Police don't have the resources or capacity to follow up an alarm, so any response to an alarm will have to come from the owner or a local agent of the owner. If, like me, you live several hours away from the boat, and even if you can drop everything at a moment's notice, you aren't going to arrive before any criminal is well gone. The manager of the moorings MAY be able to respond - but they have to man a workboat and get to your mooring. That takes time, is visible and by the time they get there, the malefactors will be gone.

The realistic bottom line is that if you want some degree of security, a marina is the answer, with staff on-site. On a mooring, no one can respond quickly enough to avoid damage or theft.

Also, criminals don't care how much damage they do. If they perceive saleable items to be secured, they will simply take a chain saw or whatever to the structure it is secured to, thereby doing damage that they are indifferent to but which may far exceed the value of the stolen goods. Excessive security can be counter-productive.

 

[GrandadPig]

I fitted a very loud alarm in the saloon. It had IR sensor and was painfully loud. No idea if it was effective as never got broken into . At the time it made me feel better but not sure I would bother when new boat goes on her mooring.

 

[alandalus11]

If you install the cleverest, most expensive system there is, by the time someone gets to your boat to investigate, your gear will have been sold at a boat jumble.

Totally agree. If thieves are going to target your boat they will be long gone before someone investigates. The answer may well be a deterrent of some kind such as a piercing alarm that hopefully would do enough to scare them off. If that doesn't work then some kind of camera system fitted which could at least catch a photo that may be used to identify the thieves.

 

[MikeBz]

If you install the cleverest, most expensive system there is, by the time someone gets to your boat to investigate, your gear will have been sold at a boat jumble.

And a whole lot of damage will have been done on the break-in. I know someone who keeps his 6-figure value boat in a marina and doesn’t lock it on the basis that if someone wants to get in they will, so better to just minimise the damage. Personally I would lock it up but not try to make it into a fortress.

 

[oilybilge]

If a 'boat alarm' went off on a nearby mooring I wouldn't go and investigate. I'd just think the owner a tosser for fitting one.

 

[ChromeDome]

I still believe the police tende to "have no resources" then the item in question is insured.

Good quality cameras will give you evidence that someone was there but it certainly won't catch the culprit. If recordings are handed over to the authorities chances that they know the person(s) are slim - if they take interest at all.

The idea of making your boat less attractive by having warning signs and maybe siren/lights coming on when someone approaches the boat is as far as I'd take it.

Been boating for 54 years and personally never had an incident. Think our marina is a pretty safe place, ever only heard of a few thefts (electronics, sterndrive, small outboard), where owners just made it too easy for the thieves.

 

[RivalRedwing]

Is thieving from Orwell moorings a known problem? Maybe for outboards but beyond that....

 

[johnalison]

Is thieving from Orwell moorings a known problem? Maybe for outboards but beyond that....

I was talking to someone the other day who had had a theft from his moored boat at Harwich two or three years ago, so I suppose that nowhere is immune. If anything, there would be safety in numbers, in that if you are one of a hundred boats the thieves may not get round to yours.

 

[Bradders]

Thank you all for your replies and thoughts … I was going to get Paul to install the security system but prefer the rotweiller suggestion !!
See you on the Orwell
Stewart

 

[xyachtdave]

I think rather than theft being hit by someone else is your biggest problem on a mooring.

I'm not anti dinghy racing in the slightest but have several times been hit and the last time and I was on board the culprit couldn't even manage a 'sorry!'

Some of our local keel boats push their luck with spinnakers etc through the moorings in a bit of breeze, I often wonder if they're one gust or jammed sheet away from totalling someones boat.

As mentioned above, an outboard on display is asking for trouble, I used to take my handheld VHF, plotter etc home but came to conclusion they are more at risk in the dinghy than being left onboard.

I think I've done about 15 years on moorings now, I've had one attempted break in and a few unexplained gel coat scuffs.

 

[johnalison]

I think rather than theft being hit by someone else is your biggest problem on a mooring.

I'm not anti dinghy racing in the slightest but have several times been hit and the last time and I was on board the culprit couldn't even manage a 'sorry!'

Some of our local keel boats push their luck with spinnakers etc through the moorings in a bit of breeze, I often wonder if they're one gust or jammed sheet away from totalling someones boat.

As mentioned above, an outboard on display is asking for trouble, I used to take my handheld VHF, plotter etc home but came to conclusion they are more at risk in the dinghy than being left onboard.

I think I've done about 15 years on moorings now, I've had one attempted break in and a few unexplained gel coat scuffs.

We got down to our then boat in Maylandsea Creek on a Friday evening and found the tiller missing and a letter left in 5e cockpit. The writer told us that he was racing his Squib when our boat “swung into his path” when he hit our exposed rudder, on a Sadler 29. This broke the tiller, which had been tied centrally, so he had taken it away to make another one. The following week a nice new tiller had been delivered on board which if anything was better than the old one. Getting hit is a bigger risk, though fortunately usually minor. But on the other hand, those ships that come down from Ipswich …

 

[RivalRedwing]

there was that dredger incident on the Medway..

Yachts smashed in dredger collision - Yachting Monthly

 

[xyachtdave]

there was that dredger incident on the Medway..

Yachts smashed in dredger collision - Yachting Monthly

My photos in that article lifted from here…!