Safe Room on board?

[Tim Good]

Hello liveaboards! We're setting off on our circumnavigation in April

I was thinking.... Our aft cabin as a 10 ply double door opening into the saloon. Easily kicked in if we so happened to get some unsavory people boarding us. However I thought that if I fabricated some simple angles and slotted in 4 solid stainless bars across the inside of the door then it would be almost impossible for someone kick the door in and we'd have, in effect, a kind of safe room.

Has anyone else done anything similar or am I just being paranoid?

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Your pirates would likely have guns.

 

[sarabande]

it would be fine if you just had a drunken visitor, but any serious crim will have an axe or a gun, or simply threaten to sink the boat with you in it.

If you believe in the best form of defence being attack, you need big firepower and the knowledge and will to use it.

For a low key approach by a nasty drunk, then a big CO2 fire extinguisher will incapacitate the oncomer, and enable you to shackle him with some long thick cable ties.

 

[john_morris_uk]

it would be fine if you just had a drunken visitor, but any serious crim will have an axe or a gun, or simply threaten to sink the boat with you in it.

If you believe in the best form of defence being attack, you need big firepower and the knowledge and will to use it.

For a low key approach by a nasty drunk, then a big CO2 fire extinguisher will incapacitate the oncomer, and enable you to shackle him with some long thick cable ties.

Do you squirt the CO2 at him or hit him with it?

 

[Poignard]

Paranoid

 

[sarabande]

Fire Extinguisher, villains, for the discomfort of.

point the horn at him, and squeeze the trigger.

CO2 reflex kicks in (breathing goes into spasm), particles of dry ice on eyeball make vision difficult, inhaled CO2 turns to carbonic acid causing quite severe pain in nasal passages/mucous membranes/throat/lungs, and there is a sort of general anaesthetic effect bcs the respiratory process is inhibited.

THEN you hit him with the extinguisher.


It's amazing what you learn at school

 

[sarabande]

Paranoid

No, just concerned to run through nasty scenarios and pre-think possible responses for effectiveness. Same as planing to deal with a torn sail, or sudden appearance of smoke in cabin ? Seems reasoned line of thought to me, even if a bit gloomy.

 

[AndrewB]

Re: Fire Extinguisher, villains, for the discomfort of.

A steel yacht is the answer, if security is that important. With mine I fitted steel bars into the washboards and also behind the hatches, with anti-jemmy bars beside, all fittings welded rather than bolted, to make the whole interior as impregnable as possible. A couple of security locks were fitted in place of a padlock. Without cutting equipment or explosives it would have taken a while to break in. Guns, even automatic weapons, would have been useless, a jemmy little better. We guessed we'd have up to 30 minutes to summon help - or for the would-be attacker to decide it wasn't worth the risk.

The aim originally was to protect against theft rather than piracy, and it certainly paid off one night on the Medway when all the yachts round ours were broken into. However, it also gave a good feeling of security when we anchored alone in remote spots and locked ourselves in for the night. This opened up a number of interesting places to visit around the world where other yachts sometimes fear to go. But we never were attacked.

I did though wonder how we would ever get back in should we lose our keys!

Re: "fire extinguishers", one of ours was actually a large cylinder of bear-spray, bought in Canada. It was almost an exact match to the real extinguishers, and never questioned.

 

[Sandyman]

Re: Fire Extinguisher, villains, for the discomfort of.

The Liveaboard lifestyle is not about living in constant fear or worry about your security.

 

[Tim Good]

Re: Fire Extinguisher, villains, for the discomfort of.

The Liveaboard lifestyle is not about living in constant fear or worry about your security.

No, just concerned to run through nasty scenarios and pre-think possible responses for effectiveness. Same as planing to deal with a torn sail, or sudden appearance of smoke in cabin ? Seems reasoned line of thought to me, even if a bit gloomy.

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: Fire Extinguisher, villains, for the discomfort of.

I cannot see those screws holding anybody leaning heavily on them, never mind hammering determinedly with a big boot. At the very least they would need coachbolts but then you would be concerned that the surrounding bulkhead might give way. In view of the number of yachts that go long-distance cruising without problems I think I would accept that being boarded is a very unlikely event.

 

[AndrewB]

Re: Fire Extinguisher, villains, for the discomfort of.

The Liveaboard lifestyle is not about living in constant fear or worry about your security.

Exactly. But if all you have is inside the boat, you will reduce that worry by making your security good. Like it or not, security is an important matter to most long-distance liveaboarders. But certainly not an overwhelming fear, otherwise we wouldn't do it.

 

[KellysEye]

A said most pirates are armed usually with AK47s and there are usually three to four of them. There is no point in hiding or retaliation, we hid valuables, including passports, in a safe under a forward berth but left $200 on the chart table.

 

[Gerry]

Paranoid! but having said that it is sensible to think about these things... We had a stainless steel grill made up for the cockpit hatch that could be locked in to postition, enabling us to have decent ventilation if we felt the area was too iffy to leave hatches open at night. It would never have detered serious raiders but would make opportunistic entry less likely.
After many years cruising in Central America I am aware that these incidents happen but we never had any problems. A couple of times we were approached by unsavoury charactars but fortunately they probably thought we looked disreputable enough not to chance their arms!

 

[duncan99210]

Does your cabin door open into the cabin? If so, the bars idea could give you some degree of extra time before the attackers could break in. However, most cabin doors that I've come across open into the saloon, so the bars wouldn't do much in terms of creating a safe room. In both cases, if you're really worried and want to create a safe room, then decent bolts on the inside of the door would achieve the same end result, be faster to close and less obtrusive than sliding bars. Reinforce the hinges and I'd say you've got at least as effective a method of securing the door as the bars.

However, I do think that this sort of thinking is a bit off beam. Armed pirate types will not be deterred or stopped by a locked door if they want to either kill or capture you, especially on a grp boat, which will offer no protection against small arms fire. A couple of rounds through the door followed by a demand to open same would I suggest result in an open door... If you're really concerned about security, then a concealed safe for the truly valuable bits plus a couple of surrender-able wallets/purses with a bit of cash and 'dead' credit cards for the evil ones to take away will probably do more good than locked cabin doors.

 

[bigwow]

Here you go:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km4BnXl4CF4

 

[GHA]

Though extremely unlikely you might end up anchored in a place which makes you feel a little nervous 7 would feel bette with a bit of protection. .
Bars over the companionway are the way to go IMHO. It will be too hot to have any doors closed.

 

[Poignard]

OK. So there you are, huddled in your strongroom, nice and safe. But the baddies are thinking their must be something really worth having in there. Next thing there's water lapping round your ankles because they've disconnected a few sea-cocks or maybe there's a smell of burning because they've lit a fire against the door ....

Either way, you're going to come out ; and then.....?

 

[Tim Good]

OK. So there you are, huddled in your strongroom, nice and safe. But the baddies are thinking their must be something really worth having in there. Next thing there's water lapping round your ankles because they've disconnected a few sea-cocks or maybe there's a smell of burning because they've lit a fire against the door ....

Either way, you're going to come out ; and then.....?

Here you go:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km4BnXl4CF4

 

[AndrewB]

A said most pirates are armed usually with AK47s and there are usually three to four of them. There is no point in hiding or retaliation, we hid valuables, including passports, in a safe under a forward berth but left $200 on the chart table.

Why is it, when the word PIRATE is mentioned, people automatically think in terms of teams of Somali professionals in high-speed chase boats armed with AK47's and RPG's?

The bad guys come in all shades, from the opportunistic sneak thief, the young thug waggling a knife, the desperate crew of an unseaworthy migrant boat, a couple of drunken fishermen armed with a hand gun and/or a machete, through to the Somali team. Agreed, at the top end of this spectrum resistance is futile (so too would be hoping they'd be happy with $200 and some expired credit cards). At the lower end though, strategies such as a strong room might well be helpful. Remember, the further along this spectrum you go, the rarer it gets. We've all encountered sneak thieves, and have strategies to deter. Mercifully few get run-ins with the really hard guys.