Poor man seeks south coast berth

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chriscorr

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I am lucky enough to have a berth in Portsmouth which isn't costing much by the going rate but I've had enough of the theft, particularly as last time they took everything (including the frying pan!). I can't afford £3000+ for most of the marinas and I've done some research but I keep drawing blanks...

Does anyone know of a boat yard / marina / club which might squeeze in a 7m yacht (fin keel, sadly) at a nice price? Anywhere about 60 miles East or West of Southampton would be fine. About £1400 annually is the max otherwise I'll just go to Wales instead... A nice friendly club with moorings would be ideal.

Feel free to PM me if you know of somewhere I can try...

Thanks in advance.
 
Couldn't you just increase the security on your boat?

If you've got a good deal it would be a shame to loose it....Granted if a thief really wants something they will have it, but they are also lazy and won't want to do more work then they have to.

It sound like you've been broken into a number of times, what have you done to stop it happening each time? Have you informed Hampshire police? Are all the boats in that area being broken into or is it just yours?

Make it harder to get in, remove/hide anything of value, lock her to the mooring etc.

Get bigger locks, take the time to lock the hatches if they can be opened from the outside.

Think of it this way...How much the contents of your boat are worth? And how much did you spend on padlocks? and how many padlocks could you buy for the increase in berthing price?? :)

Just looking at the problem from a different angle ;)
 
Even with mortice locks on all the external doors and locks on the windows, it takes an experienced felon less that a couple of minutes to break into your house. Boats are even easier and without expensive and unsightly thief-proofing, most boats are child's play to a determined burglar. On a mooring, a long way from shore, in the dark and armed with a large screw-driver or wrecking bar he'd be in in a jiffy. Be a good one for a YM test- get a bunch of boats and see how long it would actually take to break in- bit expensive on repairs though!
 
First look for the gas bottle to see if the keys or spare keys are in there. Second look for the bucket in the locker ;)

What??? You thought you were the only one???? :D :D

Feature idea noted....Sadly it wouldn't be expensive

Most boats can be broken into without causing any damage to the boat....Most of the big deck hatches can be opened from outside, if they aren't locked from the inside, a twist of your foot and you're in.....washboards can be lifted up to wiggle them out of their slots, or plate in front unscrewed, cockpit lockers aren't locked, not to mention outboard motors - a £400 motor with a £2 padlock, at least they have locked it, which is more than most

And all that holds a boat to it's berth or mooring is a bit of rope that you don't even have to cut, or chain you can unhook.

I have better security on my bicycle!
 
Don't know where you are in Portsmouth, but we have very few problems.
I suspect the main part of the Harbour is better than up towards Fareham where its quiet and easily accessed?
Maybe try Gosport Boat Yard?
 
I'm poor too and made a similiar post a couple of years ago on these forums. I was advised to try Cracknore Sailing Club who have professionally laid trot moorings at the top (and I mean top) end of Southampton Water. It takes a fair while (good hour - more if tide or weather are unfavourable) to get out into the Solent but surprisingly it's usually quite a pleasant and interesting sail. I pay £25 annual membership and £300 for my Vancouver 27. I think they can accomodate up to 32'.

The website address is http://www.cracknore-hard-sailing-club.co.uk/ but I'm not sure if they'll have any free spaces though it looks like there are some.

Cheers, Brian.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I've moved, for the winter anyway, to a Premier marina. Last night I sailed home in the dark, left my boat in 15 minutes without putting my back out removing the outboard, had a hot shower and drove home, bliss.

Where was I - about 2/3 of the way up the channel to Fareham on a mid stream mooring. I had the entire contents of my boat removed back in April and I've since discovered that my front hatch appears to have been sawn off also. We have had burglary attempts at least 3 times and I am told the last time some 16 boats were broken into on one night.

How long does it take to get in? - well my locker locks were seized so I took them off this week with a hacksaw. I used a junior hacksaw from B&Q (about £2 i think) and cut off my locks in 15 seconds each. Yes you can secure your boat but they'll get in if they want to and in my case it has lost me the whole summer sailing season.

Snooks - 2 padlocks, an alarm, a security tracker. I've seen at least one boat in the fareham channel with big bars and 4 padlocks over the hatch. It's too easy for someone to be out 'fishing' and help themselves. It's also easy to say 'remove everything' but then most of the day is spent carting items to and from the shore and packing/unpacking the car. The police are doing their best, the marine unit really are a helful and enthusiastic crew, but they don't stand a chance.

I will never leave my boat on an insecure swinging or detached pontoon again. It's a really sad fact that there are evil b******s out there who will thieve from boats but as it is the case, and it is increasing, it just isn't worth the risk on such an investment and supposedly my place of relaxation!
 
chriscorr said:
Thank you all for your replies. I've moved, for the winter anyway, to a Premier marina. Last night I sailed home in the dark, left my boat in 15 minutes without putting my back out removing the outboard, had a hot shower and drove home, bliss.
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My sympathies on the previous problems. I guess that the way things are, the lowlifes will just become even more prolific. Glad you enjoy the comforts for now though.
I have scaled back the cost of my sailing as far as I can without a substantial downsizing but the marina costs are what could finally kill it for me. I have toyed with the idea of a swinging mooring but stories such as yours persuade me against it.

Hope you get some decent Autumn/Winter sailing.
 
chriscorr said:
Does anyone know of a boat yard / marina / club which might squeeze in a 7m yacht (fin keel, sadly) at a nice price? Anywhere about 60 miles East or West of Southampton would be fine. .
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Your Bio doesn't indicate where you live but since your choices are Portsmouth or Wales I guess I have no solution BUT if I could tempt you towards the East Coast (in spite of a negative on here) you would get a much better deal and I think more pleasure thereby- the lowlife is not that numerous
 
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