Catching an intruder on your boat

[Nostrodamus]

So there we were having been asleep for a while in the dead of night when there was a banging on deck and the sounds of someone trying to get the companion hatch open. My wife being the lighter sleeper gave me a good kick and started to shout. I jumped up, put some clothes on and went outside grabbing the first thing to hand which happened to be a winch handle. I walked onto the pontoon and found a youth hidden behind a large pole. He was holding a cheap umbrella we had on our deck as it was raining. Without thinking my left hand introduced itself to his neck and I couldn’t understand why he was looking so intently at the winch handle that was held up with my other hand close to his face. He obviously did not understand the finer points of English even though I said them quiet loudly but took my point and I understood pleadings for his continued existence when I heard them. In the end he took my point and I have never seen someone run so fast.
When I was talking about the incident the following day I was told that on occasions drunken students from the University who visit the town will look for an insecure boat to sleep in. Apparently they never take anything or cause damage but just sleep and leave. It was rare but did happen.
Incidentally we are in France where marinas are treated as a place where locals can see boats and so far here I have not found one marina that is secured in any way.
What would you have done and do you always lock the hatch when aboard?
Have you ever caught anyone on your boat?

 

[prv]

What would you have done and do you always lock the hatch when aboard?
Have you ever caught anyone on your boat?

I assume that my reaction would be more or less instinctive rather than considered; I suspect it wouldn't be that different to yours.

I never close the hatch when on board, let alone lock it - place fills up with condensation if I do. There's a canvas curtain to keep the weather out if required.

Never found an intruder on board. I have occasionally seen evidence that someone has been in the cockpit while I've been away, but so far only for benign purposes (returning borrowed tools, leaving a card inviting me to join the RAF Yacht Club, etc)

Pete

 

[blueglass]

Yes, twice on the Thames when moored to riverbank -we had boarders while we were in bed in small hours. Both times they were away on their toes by the time I got up on deck. Since then always lock us in unless at anchor.
In French marinas , which as you rightly say, have no semblance of security with all pontoons open to the public we never had a problem - but a little worrying all the same.

 

[jordanbasset]

We never lock the hatch when on board and when hot leave it out completely. So far, fortunately, have had no problems
You handled the situation well

 

[Robin]

I read a report in the USA of an intruder shot dead breaking into a boat at 3am, problem solved.

Many years ago teenagers were partying in the pricey part of Poole, parents away job. One couple stole a dinghy and used their hands to paddle it out to my boat on it's mooring, I was on board having just launched that day for the season, it was March and ice was on the decks. I caught them climbing over into the cockpit and was very tempted to just shove them off into the water and go back to bed, but thought better of it. In hindsight I should have taken their car keys or wallet and told them to collect them next day from the police station, instead I let them go and spotlit their ride back to see where the party was, I complained next day but the parents denied it had anything to do with them... Next time I will push them in.

We will be living on board our new boat in the USA and as we always leave hatches open it is a concern. I'm thinking of fitting a simple PIR security floodlight coupled to a ding dong alarm to announce someone nearby or getting on board, so that we have enough time to open up the armory. This is a work in progress, not sure what the armory will be but anything from a tasar and pepper spray or a red laser (they understand the meaning of red spots over there..) on upwards. Fortunately our new marina home base is security gated from shore side and has night security patrols so I'm more concerned when out in the boon docks at anchor. Oh and as we are in black bear country intruders are not necessarily humans!

 

[Poignard]

Full marks!

Seems to me you dealt with the incident in a mature and balanced way. Unlike some forumites who would (or so they say) like nothing more than an excuse to beat some poor wretch to death, you used no more than reasonable force. I doubt you'll see him again and he's had a lesson he won't forget.

 

[Conachair]

Was done Anchored in Praia, Cape verdes, slept through it. Woke with a laptop less and some other bits gone, probably best I slept through it. My own fault for letting the guard down a bit, it's known for theft.
Next time cruising I'll have a PIR or pressure pad in the cockpit linked to a LOUD alarm and lights. And maybe some sort of random light turner on/offer for the very few times when you're anchored somewhere a bit dodgy.

 

[Csail]

We had one nick our flag, just a drunk student so let him off. Think his fall may have sobered him up!

 

[Woodlouse]

Never lock hatches at night. And always have the washboards out and the forehatch open on it's chocks. I feel that if it's blatant that someone is on board then most thieves will go else where and most visitors will knock.

 

[mikemacdonald]

I think a simple pressure pad or PIR in the cockpit to a high Db siren will be the answer. Probably be me that sets it off on the way to a midnight p.. over the stern!!!!!!

 

[Nostrodamus]

I like the idea of a pressure pad although if it is rigged to a board that ejects the culprit over the side that would be good. Even to a noose that tightens around the leg and hauls them up the mast upside down. (I will forget the spikes on the mast at the moment). Anyone care for drinks.. just pop round..

 

[Robin]

Seems to me you dealt with the incident in a mature and balanced way. Unlike some forumites who would (or so they say) like nothing more than an excuse to beat some poor wretch to death, you used no more than reasonable force. I doubt you'll see him again and he's had a lesson he won't forget.

The thing is that even if as they said all they were after was a warm nookie spot, that would have involved breaking into my boat and very probably damage. I caught them only half over the guardrails and so they were more vulnerable than I was, if they had been in the cockpit and me just on my way out of the cabin, it would have been different and not me in control of things.

We have been twice burgled since. Once at home 24 years ago whilst we were away in the USA and came back to find the house stripped, even the washer/dryer and TVs. We moved just as soon as we could after that and it was the catalyst that had us move near our boat in Poole. The second was to our last boat just after we had bought her and hadn't yet fitted the alarm system, they left the hatch open in driving rain and stole about £600's worth of non-nautical stuff, the kind you could flog in the pub for a few quid to spend on drugs. In both cases I can assure you I was extremely angry and had I caught either of them in the act then the circumstances would have been entirely different.

Moving now to the USA, I might still be a big SOB but a bit older and more vulnerable one to some scrote high on coke or crystal meths, plus I wouldn't bet against them being armed in some way. So now I have to decide what is best. I will install alarms and rigged so that they can be on whilst we are on board in our cabin. I will also have some means of leveling any age or strength differences and I will not just stand helplessly by and let it happen.

 

[Judders]

I read a report in the USA of an intruder shot dead breaking into a boat at 3am, problem solved.

Good grief man! That is a ridiculous idea. Imagine the mess all that blood would make?

 

[Nostrodamus]

We see what happened in Somalia when nothing is done. If something was done quickly in the first place it may not have got to the stage it has.
On your boat you have a right in law to protect your family, your property and yourself. You no longer have to wait to be puched before you do anything and defence can be throwing the first punch.
I believe it was Joshua Slocum wh put tacks on his deck and he was not slow to test his gun. Ok this is over the top.
I spent 30 years in the Police so I am used to controling emotions in a volotile situation but even so when something like this happens you don't know how many they are, what they are after or if they are armed.
Noise will usually scare them away but you cannot protect your family if you are attacked first.
Electrified guard rail may be good but may burn through a few annodes.

 

[Stemar]

Twice, while asleep alongside the club pontoon.

The first time I heard a noise & poked my head out to see a lad on the pontoon. He mumbled something & exited stage left. Then I noticed my outboard on the pontoon ready to go.

Second time, Mr Scrote was in the cockpit. I was fairly vocal and he left in a hurry, to be seen a few minutes later on an adjacent pier, with Kevin approaching from the seaward end and Plod waiting at the landward end. Kevin's a big bloke and, much to his disappointment, Mr Scrote chose Plod. This was probably just as well for Kevin, as this was before the pendulum swung back towards a sensible definition of reasonable force.

 

[NornaBiron]

Anchored off a beach on Angistri near Aegina last summer, we were kept awake by the party on shore. We decided to join in by having a drink in our centre cockpit. After a while I went back to bed but my husband stayed in the cockpit listening to the music from the shore. His attention was caught by three people out for a midnight dip, one of whom was coming towards our boat. He ducked down in the cockpit so that he couldn't be seen and waited until the Greek youth climbed our stern ladder and popped his head above the deck, shouted at him in Greek (you can imagine the language) and scared the boy s**tless. He soon dived off and swam back to shore.

Glad we weren't asleep though as don't know what our reaction would have been.

 

[catalac08]

I too like the idea of a pressure pad and siren/strobe and I wonder about the use of an aerosol spray with bleach or something like that to deter (violent) intruders into the boat at night. I would think a facefull of bleach (diluted type not neat) would deter all but the nost determined thieves! Or some other sort of spray but not sure of the legality of use of pepper spray, although the law seems to be changing to allow more use of reasonable force to defend yourself without ending up in jail like Tony Martin.

 

[HinewaisMan]

Our companion way hatch lifts rather than slides so we have a little reed switch on it with our alarm system.

When ashore or sleeping on board, we set the alarm – you can’t get down the steps without lifting the hatch.

We wondered for a while where to fit the siren – which is seriously loud. In the end we chose to have it down below – I would challenge anyone to stay below when it goes off – it is physically painful.

We always thought Plod would find it easy to find any scroat that broke on to the boat – just look for the bleeding ears.

Questioning them would be interesting though – “What?”, “eh?”

 

[Robin]

Good grief man! That is a ridiculous idea. Imagine the mess all that blood would make?

But it beats the idea of using one of the boats flares. In the USA we have both 12 gauge and 25mm flare guns, very effective if you don't mind the boat burning down!

 

[iain789]

A few years ago three friends of mine (with their wives) were chartering in St Lucia. While anchored in Marigot Bay they were disturbed at 3am, and woke to find a large local man in the main cabin collecting valuables. Now my friends are big men and they quickly got hold of the guy, and after a struggle tied him to the mast with the main halyard.

What I didn't mention was that as well as being big guys, they were also stark naked, and the intruder was clearly terrified that he was about to get rogered for his pains!

They were unsure about the best thing to do, so after taking his photograph, and threatening him with a winch handle they let him go, and he swam for the shore. The next day they took the photos to the nearest police station, and asked what would be the best course of action in case of a recurrence. They were advised in all seriousness by the policeman to break the intruders legs before throwing him overboard - "after all we have sharks here".