Reinforce security at companionway or not?

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I reckon the average 4 year old could break in through our "locked" companionway hatch never mind a committed light finger Charlie. But I can't decide whether to upgrade the arrangements to make it a whole lot more difficult to break in. If I do and committed light finger Charlie turns up he'll just do more damage breaking in than if he could have easily pushed the door in......what do you reckon?
 
I gave this a lot of thought when I sailed to Brazil where robbery, attack and machete wielding is considered by some to be local sport.

In the end I stuck with the old-fashioned padlock, but the best idea I came across was a trip wire (fishing line) across the hatch which fired a rape alarm if disturbed. Quite easy to rig.

It would frighten off your average pilferer.
 
I think with a typical AWB it is not possible to secure your boat beyond the most casual of thieves. At most two minutes with a prybar and and you are in, probably costing you more in damage than items stolen.

It is possible to secure a steel boat against the prybar but it means living with bars on your hatches.

The fishing line trip works well and I am working on 12 volt proximity alarm for my own boat but as I have a hyperactive young cat fine tuning the alert area is proving difficult.
 
Send me £5 and I'll record five minutes of a mad Scots Berserker (namely me) screaming profanities at an intruder onto a dictaphone and you can wire it up to an infrared detector. Guaranteed to scare off any intruder south of the Watford Gap.
 
Sailfree said:
Maplin PIR battery operated keypad with 120dB siren.

Alarm warning sign at companionway entrance.

Not perfect but possibly a mild deterent
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I've got an alarm that sounds similar,I think it originally came from Lidl that a neighbour gave me.Two alarm units & a keypad activated by movement.It's a nice little device & you can see it by peering through a perspex wash board so hopefully will act as a deterrent.I leave the hatch completely unlocked because I think they'd do more harm to the hatchway if somebody decided to break in than from stealing stuff on board but I don't have a warning sign & would like one.Anyone know where you can get a good waterproof one from?
 
Nicholas123 said:
but I don't have a warning sign & would like one.Anyone know where you can get a good waterproof one from?
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We were in Guernsey and didn't have time to get one saying "Beware Boat Alarm" but I found in a locksmiths ready made adhesive signs saying "Fire Alarm".

I bought sign IIRC about £3 and cut the "Alarm" word out (in bold red letters) and stuck it on the companionway doors. Firstly it reminds us to turn off alarm immediately on entry and if it stops others from breaking in - it may be the best £3 I have spent on the boat. The Maplin alarm is painfully loud as you approach it if you fail to enter keypad number within the delay time you set.
 
Sailfree said:
We were in Guernsey and didn't have time to get one saying "Beware Boat Alarm" but I found in a locksmiths ready made adhesive signs saying "Fire Alarm".

I bought sign IIRC about £3 and cut the "Alarm" word out (in bold red letters) and stuck it on the companionway doors. Firstly it reminds us to turn off alarm immediately on entry and if it stops others from breaking in - it may be the best £3 I have spent on the boat. The Maplin alarm is painfully loud as you approach it if you fail to enter keypad number within the delay time you set.
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Something in Red that says 'ALARMED' with like lightening flashes coming from it would be nice but that's a good idea,thanks.
Mine sounds similar. I have a second alarm unit that is activated 30 seconds or so after the main unit & is hidden in a cockpit locker so even if you smashed the main unit it carries on.I can't really think of a way of improving on it unless you could administer something like a tazer like shock to the thief :encouragement:

As my boat is overlooked by residential properties a hundred or so feet away I reckon they'll pretty quickly try to get the hell out of it.
 
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I would say yes give as much robust protection at the main hatch as is convenient for you. Might be just enough to deter the not so professional thief. olewill
 
simonfraser said:
personally in the UK i have a v small lock, i'd rather lose a few bits than repair my boat
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Agreed. If someone really wants to get into your boat, they'll get in. The only variable is the amount of damage done in the process. For a similar reason, I always leave my Triumph Herald convertible unlocked ... I would rather Mr Badguy opened the door than slashed the hood. He'll have to carry a spare Delco rotor arm to start it, anyway.
 
JumbleDuck said:
I always leave my Triumph Herald convertible unlocked ... I would rather Mr Badguy opened the door than slashed the hood.
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What would your insurers make of that if it was nicked? Which also makes me wonder what my boat insurers would say if the companionway wasn't secured and there was an unforced entry resulting in theft. Hmmmmm.
 
Nicholas123 said:
I don't have a warning sign & would like one. Anyone know where you can get a good waterproof one from?
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Graphics program (or Word at a push), printer, and a cheap laminating machine?

Alternatively, after using them for a couple of electrics panels, I now get various boat signs and labels made by these guys: http://www.aa.net.uk/printing-engraving.html . They use Lasermax plastic which is a two-colour sandwich, the laser removes the top layer to let the inner one show through - like the old Traffolite used for mechanical engraving. You can send them any design you like and the result should last almost indefinitely.

Pete
 
I have an alarm, but as I learnt to my cost it only went off after damage has been done. I've decided that a pressure mat in the cockpit is required to set the alarm off before they go to work on the door.
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th_PICT0789.jpg

PS They didnt get in but the cost of repair was about the same as the excess :(
 
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Robih said:
What would your insurers make of that if it was nicked? Which also makes me wonder what my boat insurers would say if the companionway wasn't secured and there was an unforced entry resulting in theft. Hmmmmm.
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They insist that that hood is left up, but not that the car is locked.
 
LadyInBed said:
I have an alarm, but as I learnt to my cost it only went off after damage has been done. I've decided that a pressure mat in the cockpit is required to set the alarm off before they go to work on the door.
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:(

My thoughts are similar - scare them onto the next boat before they're committed to ours. I don't want to have to faff about laying mats in the cockpit each time we leave (if we still had a grating like the old boat I'd put a switch under that) but I did find some microwave proximity alarm modules which looked interesting. They can work through GRP and have a range of a few feet, so I thought of mounting one or two above the headlining either side of the hatch, "looking" upwards and slightly aft into the area under the sprayhood. What they "see" when they're turned on is stored, and any substantial change from that (like a person getting near the hatch or trying to extract the instruments mounted nearby) triggers the alarm.

An additional bonus is that someone stepping onto the boat for a legitimate purpose (to secure a loose halyard, or to get a line past us to warp off the next pontoon, say) won't set it off - but nobody has legitimate business under our sprayhood.

Pete
 
prv said:
They can work through GRP and have a range of a few feet, so I thought of mounting one or two above the headlining either side of the hatch, "looking" upwards and slightly aft into the area under the sprayhood. What they "see" when they're turned on is stored, and any substantial change from that (like a person getting near the hatch or trying to extract the instruments mounted nearby) triggers the alarm.
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I wonder if they'd see a seagull?
 
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