Boat & Yacht security systems.

[Seagreen]

I'm looking at on-board boat security. Specifically a break-in & theft plus out-of-position capability alert system. Whats the best, most effective, rationally priced system that runs off a 12v system, and almost more importantly, which is the biggest Turkey of a system you wish you'd never bought?
TIA.

 

[pmagowan]

There would need to be a lot more context. What boat, where, marina or swinging, shore power, local security, wifi etc etc. Then why?

 

[Seagreen]

Best think of being reliant only on on-board 12v power, on a swinging mooring which may not have any other local security. I'm looking at just break-in alert, a bit of motion recording and out of position if possible. Boat is normally located in summer on the Dart but may winter in its own unguarded mud-berth away from 240v power. Boat is a very old wooden classic.
Priorities are:
1. Break-in detection and offence recording
2. Out of position function (this is a long second, but not necessary)

 

[pvb]

Why not just get insurance with a low excess? If the boat gets broken into, the damage is still done.

 

[dune16]

I have a mi-fi hotspot always turned on for Dune and have left a USB powered Motorola Focus 85 connected 24/7 with remote (cloud based) motion alerts setup. Only had it running for the last couple of weeks but so far so good.

 

[pmagowan]

Best think of being reliant only on on-board 12v power, on a swinging mooring which may not have any other local security. I'm looking at just break-in alert, a bit of motion recording and out of position if possible. Boat is normally located in summer on the Dart but may winter in its own unguarded mud-berth away from 240v power. Boat is a very old wooden classic.
Priorities are:
1. Break-in detection and offence recording
2. Out of position function (this is a long second, but not necessary)

This is what you think you want but the question is 'why'? Do you want to catch a criminal or prevent a crime etc

You need to decide if crime is an issue and if it is significant in your area. If someone wants to break into your boat then they will. If there is only opportunistic local crime then you might be able to prevent it. You do this by having nothing of value visible, having a decent lock and perhaps a visible camera/alarm system (dummies are fine). If the crime is more significant then a determined criminal will not kept out if they want in. A good lock just equals more damage forcing entry. A real camera is expensive and gives you a low quality picture of a man in a hood of average build and if no interest to the police whatsoever. To provide real security is not financially viable for a single boat and is unlikely to be effective. Boats don't get stolen and so position monitors are pointless. Being alerted that someone is robbing you is not really useful unless you have some way of intervening.

As advised, get insurance and make reasonable cheap precautions to reduce the likelihood of petty crime.

 

[C08]

You have to believe that some sort of perimeter alarm will help. What I mean is something that detects the start of a break in, sounds an alarm and strobe and most thieves unless in a really remote location would be expected to leg it. Coupled with a SIm notifiation call to enable you to go and make sure the boat is still secure.
The difficulty is the practicalities of a perimeter system- if it is a door entry alarm the door may be left open even though the intruder has gone, PIR's do not work so well externally, too many false alarms and a pressure switch under a mat needs to be weatherproof and I have not yet found one of those.

 

[GHA]

How diy computers & soldering are you?

A raspberry pi mini computer & some bits from ebay coupled to a mobile phone with internet access could do all that and much more for not much cash but if it's not familiar ground it might be a bit of a learning curve .

 

[pmagowan]

Nobody responds to alarms including the criminals. They only need 3 minutes to get what they want and leg it. Once a thief has decided to target you then you are too late. You can put off opportunists and you can make a determined thief look elsewhere other than that it is all expensive and pointless.

 

[Don107]

Hi Seagreen

This is available in Australia http://www.batteriesdirect.com.au/shop/product/25832/trek-transponder---grq14.html but not sure if it would work were you are

Regards Don

 

[agurney]

If it's movable, or can be wrenched off, or doesn't have its own power supply, then forget it. I've only been caught once on the boat; I had a portable PIR alarm, the perpetrator presumably threw the device in the briny before anyone could be alerted.

Maybe a modern car alarm would do, but as false positives probably wouldn't go down too well, a movement based system is out of the question

Maybe the best is to have nothing shiny that's visible, and strong locks that will take too much effort to by-pass (of course, there's always the argument that if something's that well locked up they must have something valuable to protect..)

 

[MikeCC]

Do you want a system that is GSM mobile or satellite based?

 

[LadyInBed]

What ever system you get, put a pressure mat in the cockpit so the alarm goes off before they start applying force.

 

[Prima]

Have a read of this:

http://www.cruisingworld.com/gear/electronics-watchful-eye-afar

 

[pmagowan]

Have a read of this:

http://www.cruisingworld.com/gear/electronics-watchful-eye-afar

Lots of stuff about shiny expensive kit and what it can do but nothing about whether it actually leads to reduced crime. You could have a 4K super camera with acme-detectascrote 100% foolproof system but it doesn't stop you being burgled any more than a cheap dummy box. All it does is provides high definition images of a random guy in a hoodie who is long gone by the time you have done anything about it!

 

[KellysEye]

When I bought our boat it had a tapered varnished wooden box under the sprayhood it had a red light and 'Alarm' under it. It was wired to the bilge pump that was always left on so the light was also always on. It had no alarm but was never broken into.

 

[Prima]

Lots of stuff about shiny expensive kit and what it can do but nothing about whether it actually leads to reduced crime. You could have a 4K super camera with acme-detectascrote 100% foolproof system but it doesn't stop you being burgled any more than a cheap dummy box. All it does is provides high definition images of a random guy in a hoodie who is long gone by the time you have done anything about it!

I think it's a bit naive of you to think that a professional burglar can't recognise a dummy camera and/or system.

Also you seem to have this idea that burglars walk around with striped shirts and SWAG written on their rucksacks

If you have a system that can transmit images of someone on your boat, then you know it is not a false alarm and you can alert the police immediately. If there is CCTV cameras nearby then it may be that they will have caught them arriving by car and their number plate

The better the system, the better chance you have of getting your stuff back and not having to make a claim on your insurance and hiking up your premium

Of course, it's all up to the individual, but I know which system I'd prefer, and it's not a Lidl plastic camera and a flashing LED

 

[pmagowan]

I think it's a bit naive of you to think that a professional burglar can't recognise a dummy camera and/or system.

Also you seem to have this idea that burglars walk around with striped shirts and SWAG written on their rucksacks

If you have a system that can transmit images of someone on your boat, then you know it is not a false alarm and you can alert the police immediately. If there is CCTV cameras nearby then it may be that they will have caught them arriving by car and their number plate

The better the system, the better chance you have of getting your stuff back and not having to make a claim on your insurance and hiking up your premium

Of course, it's all up to the individual, but I know which system I'd prefer, and it's not a Lidl plastic camera and a flashing LED

Nobody can tell the difference between a dummy camera system and a real one as they are identical (100% identical). I have first hand experience with these systems. For number plate recognition you need very good cameras and they need to be placed at appropriate locations. It is very difficult to get proper number plate recognition in low light and still have a wide field for linking that vehicle to the crime, even more so on a boat on a mooring. I have cameras costing upwards of £3K in my security system and all they have ever done is caught pictures of scrotes in hoodies. Now, since I don't have a fetish for pictures of scrotes in hoodies and the police are uninterested they are useless. I also have remote access and SMS and email alerts in my system and the only thing this has done is allow me to discover the burglery early. The police will not get there fast enough to make any difference, the scrotes are gone in less than 3 minutes. If you had an on-site guard ready and waiting you might have a 50:50 chance of catching them but otherwise useless!

You won't get your stuff back! Get good insurance, make reasonable efforts against the opportunists and deter the real scrotes by making them look for an easier/better target. That is the best you can do unless you have a limitless budget.

 

[Medic]

I have been using a low-cost reliable solution for the past few years - www.maxmon.co.uk

No connection with the company other than being a very satisfied customer. The solution allows me to monitor my boat and remotely turn things on and off (like a dehumidifier or the lights). It achieves what you want in terms of break in detection as well as being out of position. If you have an old android phone it becomes a very cost-effective solution.

 

[Prima]

I have been using a low-cost reliable solution for the past few years - www.maxmon.co.uk

That looks quite good actually