Good news for owners on the Hamble ?
- Thread starter Sandyman
- Start date
sailorman
Well-Known Member
why not make it visible & stop it at source to save the grief
Woodlouse
Well-Known Member
Or an April's Fool.
jac
Well-Known Member
Not an April Fool. It is smart water and came with details of how it works. Basically every pot has a different code, register the code with your details then if your outboard turns up at a jumble they know it's yours.
I think the principle about being invisible is great as a deterent. Lets say I buy a new outboard but forget to paint it. If it was visible, the Scrotes would see it and think, ah ha, no smart water on that one, I'm having it. If it's invisible, will they risk it. As it stands, every boat on the hamble has been issued with it. I intend to put some on everything I can and I assume most users will do the same. But even those who don't will get protection, again it's that uncertainty for the Scrotes that makes it safe. (And why does my IPad capitalise Scrotes? )
Woodlouse
Well-Known Member
So does every pot have something slightly different in it? Or is it that once you have one registered pot you are free to pinch anything else that anyone has daubed this smart water with? Or are you supposed to paint this serial number on in the stuff, in which case wouldn't a UV pen do much the same?
LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
I wish that they would distribute it around Poole.
jac
Well-Known Member
From memory, they all have micro dots in them and the micro dots in each pot have the same serial number as each other but one that is unique to that pot. So if you know who the serial number is registered to you know who owns the stolen property.
Cardo
Well-Known Member
The idea is each pot has a distinctive chemical makeup. The bods back at SmartWater can run it through their fancy machine to detect which "batch" the paint has come from.
Bikers have been using it for years as well as cash in transit vans.
Though, this does explain why a big SmartWater sign has appeared on the gate to our pontoon. Had me wondering!
Bikers have been using it for years as well as cash in transit vans.
Though, this does explain why a big SmartWater sign has appeared on the gate to our pontoon. Had me wondering!
boatsRus
Well-Known Member
Definitely not an April Fool! This is a unique initiative intended to keep the level of crime on the Hamble at the relatively low levels currently experienced (a couple of dozen reported thefts per year). The Hamble is the first entire harbour in the country to attempt such a scheme. Both Jac and Cardo are correct about SmartWater - each tube has a unique chemical formula which can be analysed and traced to the original owner, and each contains hundreds of microdots with a unique reference number. The main aim of the scheme is to act as a deterrent to potential thieves - hence the press release and the posters at all the access points to the River. SmartWater makes it very risky to sell stolen goods at boat jumbles etc., and the ability to trace stolen equipment back to its rightful owner is an obvious bonus.
ianat182
Well-Known Member
I'm on the Hamble so will be using it. I wonder what happens when a new owner buys an item marked with the original code; do they remark it again with a further dose of the Smartwater to identify it to them. Perhaps a good reason to have a bill of sale /receipt with an address when buying, for referral. Are the buyers able to check the codes or just the Police?
ianat182
ianat182
boatsRus
Well-Known Member
Ian,
Ideally, if you sell an item of equipment, you should inform SmartWater. Failing that, a Bill of Sale or receipt should be sufficient for the buyer to prove legitimate ownership. Only the Police and the Harbour Authority can check the codes.
Ideally, if you sell an item of equipment, you should inform SmartWater. Failing that, a Bill of Sale or receipt should be sufficient for the buyer to prove legitimate ownership. Only the Police and the Harbour Authority can check the codes.
seanfoster
Well-Known Member
That's a pretty good offer from the local authority, you can buy your own Smartwater kit, and you then have to pay an annual subcription of around £45 per year :https://www.smartwater.tv/Pages/GetAQuote.aspx?cat=personal
boatsRus
Well-Known Member
For the avoidance of doubt, there is no annual subscription payable for the Hamble scheme
ianat182
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that BoatsRus!
ianat182
ianat182
Downsman
Well-Known Member
The insurance company that I insure my motorcycle with sent me a free bottle of this magic potion over a year ago. So it's been about a while and according to them has had some success in tracing stolen/stripped bikes..
