Electrifying guard rails?

[dancrane]

...I'd love to see how effective electrified guard rails are against a skiff full of pirates armed with assault rifles and a few rocket propelled grenades...

Or just wearing Marigolds.

 

[sailaboutvic]

As bad as that are few though most folks lift the dinghy at night, selling back in the morning almost certainly rubbish - it's the outboards they are after, local fishermen aren't immune. Fellow cruisers doing the pinching not uncommon as well. Bad places like that are well known and in the cruising guides/web sites.
Usual to lift the dinghy at night - lift it or loose it as they say.

@GHA , yes I know we both have very different views on what it's like to cruise in our parts of the world and best to keep that to our self , BUt we have some friend visiting us in a few weeks who cruise of the beaten track now and have been for some years and I sure Roy be very happy discuss his account of having his dinghy sold back to him .
But putting that to one side , I agree with you having it locked or better still on deck can safe it being stolen but no guarantee. As my next posting is going to show.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Last week on Tuesday night a dinghy was stolen off the back of my boat Anchored in Marigot bay St Maarten... The dinghy was securely tied with two painters but no locking mechanism. This boat will probably be shipped and sold on a nearby island... It is very important that if you are in the market for a 25 two-stroke that you do not end up with the stolen engine and caught with it. There is a police report filed so if you come in contact with it call the authorities and they will take care of the rest and/or I am offering a $500 NO QUESTIONS ASKED reward for the return of the dinghy and motor. The engine cowling was labeled as a 15 so the numbers may have been removed or still incorrect. keep a lookout for an unmarked 25 and check your serial numbers when you are purchasing.... dinghy description is a 9 foot white mercury inflatable with a faded dark blue cover. Please share this post If you were located anywhere nearby in the Caribbean and be on the lookout... thank you so much for your time!

Stolen Items: dinghy/outboard, cellphones and laptop
SECURED: Not Locked
DETAILS: Owners were asleep onboard their unlocked catamaran, berthed at Blue Pearl Marina. It was boarded overnight and the dinghy/outboard, cellphones and laptop were taken

EVENT: Attempted theft
HAND: 2
Stolen Items:* Nothing taken
SECURED: Locked
DETAILS: A catamaran anchored in South Glossy Bay overnight. Well aware of prior problems in Canouan, the owners locked up securely. They were awoken when a swimmer tried to pry open a locked deck hatch. The thief, once discovered, ran forward and jumped overboard and swam away. Minor damage, but nothing taken. They departed Canouan early the next morning.

Stolen Items: dinghy and outboard
SECURED: Not Locked
DETAILS: A cruisers dinghy was left unlocked at a local dock overnight, and it was stolen. The dinghy minus the outboard was recovered the next day.

EVENT: Theft
HAND: 2
Stolen Items: dinghy and outboard
SECURED: Locked
DETAILS: dinghy/outboard stolen overnight

Stolen Items: Dinghy and Outboard
SECURED: Locked
DETAILS: A dinghy with outboard was cable locked to a private dock while owner was ashore for dinner. The outboard was locked to the dinghy, and both were stolen between 7-9PM. A police report was made.

Stolen Items: Outboard – Yamaha 5hp 4 stroke
SECURED: Locked
DETAILS: A dinghy was left locked overnight at the St. Anne’s dinghy dock. The next day the owners discovered the outboard (which was locked to the dinghy) had been stolen. A report will be made to the police and on the local VHF net on 3.20.2017


DATE: 2018-06-25 14:00
Country Name: St. Lucia
Location Detail: Vieux Fort
EVENT: Burglary
HAND: 2
Stolen Items: Cash, kayak, other items TBD
SECURED: Locked
DETAILS: A charter company catamaran with 3 charter company employees onboard anchored, then locked the boat and went windsurfing. When they returned several hours later they found the locked sliding door had been compromised and the interior ransacked. Cash had been stolen and given the chaos it was not possible for the 3 charter employees to determine if other items may have been taken. A kayak (not locked) on the forward deck was also stolen. A report was made to the Coast Guard.

HAND: 2
Stolen Items: dinghy and outboard
SECURED: Locked
DETAILS: dinghy/outboard stolen overnight

AND IF YOU THINK THEY ARE ONLY AFTER YOUR DINGHY AND OUTBOARD ! YOU BE VERY MUCH MISTAKEN


EVENT: Theft
HAND: 2
Stolen Items: Bimini frame and mounting plates
SECURED: Not Locked
DETAILS: The bimini frame and mounting plates were stolen in June/July from an unoccupied yacht stored on a mooring near Bobby’s marina in Simpson Bay.

THERE WILL EVEN TAKE YOUR FLIP FLOP


HAND: 1
Stolen Items: Two pairs of flip flops
SECURED: Not Locked
DETAILS: An in-the-water, but chained-to- the-yacht dinghy was visited by thieves overnight in Chatham Bay, Union Island. Unable to remove the well secured engine or fuel tank, the thieves settled on the footwear – 2 pairs of high end flipflops, both loose in the dinghy, but covered by a cloth. It was clear that an unsuccessful attempt was made to take the outboard and the fuel tank, both well secured to the dinghy, which was chained to the yacht. The victims wish to share their lesson learned … clear everything that is not locked from the dinghy.

I can find another few hundred if I had the time

 

[GHA]

I can find another few hundred if I had the time

As said before, dodgy places are well known about.

Bad places like that are well known and in the cruising guides/web sites.

When I got done in a lesser known Cape Verde due to not heeding the warnings it was a local who rowed the dinghy back out to me in the morning, had been on deck.

 

[sailaboutvic]

As said before, dodgy places are well known about.



When I got done in a lesser known Cape Verde due to not heeding the warnings it was a local who rowed the dinghy back out to me in the morning, had been on deck.

Yes I know BUT Flip flops

 

[GHA]

Yes I know BUT Flip flops

High end flipflops though, could be a weeks wages for some people.

Never come across selling kit back but it has happened then. You made it sound a bit like a shop every morning selling stuff back, it's just not like that.

Electric guard rails sound like a non starter, better doing a bit of research and lift the dinghy every night, tens of thousands sail all over the place and crime is present but if anything less of a risk than living in a large city.

It's surprising there is so little in many places considering the poverty and us rocking up with so much huge visible wealth.

 

[sailaboutvic]

High end flipflops though, could be a weeks wages for some people.

Never come across selling kit back but it has happened then. You made it sound a bit like a shop every morning selling stuff back, it's just not like that.

Good morning captain , I have bananas , eggs and fresh caught fish this morning , ar and I also have a outboard freshly picked last night .
No it doesn't happen every day but it doesn't happen ,
our friends had there dinghy still in the water but chained , next morning it was gone , only to be approached by a guy who said he found a dinghy on the beach with there name on it and he bring it to them for a price , they agree once there seen it and it was ok they would sort something out ,
he towed it back out later in the day our friend managed to get another chain around it with the help of another guy then told the guy to wait while they called the police , you can guess the guy didn't wait .
I add the dinghy he tow it out had clearly another boat name removed from it .
it became clear once the word got around the same has happened to a few people over the season ,
My two penny's worth is I don't think you ever stop someone taken or breaking in if they really want to ,
Where GHA and I agree is , make it as hard as you can for them. Other option a GSD with a loud bark and big white teeth .

 

[dancrane]

I'd love to see a nice tempting RIB casually tied alongside a yacht, the RIB's hull discreetly modified with a solid hardwood plate on the centreline, and an unseen 'U' bolt through-bolted underneath, to a few fathoms of very heavy chain and a quarter-ton mooring block.

In fact, the yacht could be moored to the RIB.

 

[GHA]

Good morning captain , I have bananas , eggs and fresh caught fish this morning , ar and I also have a outboard freshly picked last night .
No it doesn't happen every day but it doesn't happen ,.

(take it you mean does)

Never heard of it, bear in mind the locals really don't want any of this to happen either, bad for business. Something like that would be known about straight away.

Word generally was the outboards would be taken to another island to sell, yamaha 15 were said to be the most preferred.

Stories would sometimes be of just one guy or a few guys at it, they'd get caught and things would quieten down for a while. Plus you can't trust every cruiser either.

 

[Daydream believer]

Back to the electrified guard rail
what if a crew member went to pee over the side one night.?
even if there was not bodily contact ( dont even go there) would a stream of urine carry a current back along to the source?

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

Back to the electrified guard rail
what if a crew member went to pee over the side one night.?
even if there was not bodily contact ( dont even go there) would a stream of urine carry a current back along to the source?

Urine is a very good conductor.

 

[dancrane]

The stream would indeed carry the current. :hororr:

 

[rogerthebodger]

The stream would indeed carry the current. :hororr:

As tested by mythbusters when peeing on a electrified railway track

 

[GHA]

Urine is a very good conductor.

I've heard that.

Many years ago getting picked up to go to party when another guy nipped round the corner to have pee - onto an electric fence, heard the scream loud and clear

 

[Daydream believer]

Amazing!!
4 replies and not one crude remark. Clearly a serious subject

 

[JumbleDuck]

Back to the electrified guard rail
what if a crew member went to pee over the side one night.?
even if there was not bodily contact ( dont even go there) would a stream of urine carry a current back along to the source?

Yes, but the source of the urine has to be quite close to the fence because the stream breaks up into droplets, thanks to surface tension. There are a few Youtube videos of experiments in this area. Eye-watering stuff.