Thieving scrotes

[tillergirl]

We have about a thousand boats of various descriptions here at West Mersea.

There have been a number if incidents of outboards being stolen from vessels left at the jetty. but in the 15 years I have been here, I have only heard of one episode of boats on a mooring being broken into.

Damage was done to washboards on about half a dozen boats. Strange things were taken ( knives, bottles of rum etc) but as far as I know, no electronic or other valuable gear.

At West Mersea TG was broken into. The padlock had been cut and placed neatly aside. Inside one bunk cushion (starboard, the captain's) was stolen and one small torch. In the cockpit lockers one new mooring warp was stolen. The ensign and staff was neatly laid under the sprayhood. Actually it would have been cheaper to have the electronics stolen. Replacing all the matching bunk and back material and new foam was quite pde!

 

[fisherman]

I know a few outboards went missing a little while ago (maybe a few years now) from the Helford. How big is the F/V? Would it be more worthwhile taking it round the coast and up the beach at Cadgwith or maybe Mullion? might be cheaper in the long run if nothing gets pinched.

I heard Richard Winfrey lost a rib off the end of the HRSC pontoon while he was having a drink inside, not heard if it was ever recovered.
One of the fishermen walked out of a Falmouth second hand emporium with his outboard, missing from a few days earlier, proprietor grumbled a bit "Call the police if you like". The fishermen's punts and outboards are along the beach where you can drive at L/W, so too easy. He tipped a can of paint over it to make it less attractive. No, F/V is for sale, I'm looking to maybe keep a bilge keel yacht on the mud.

 

[clyst]

A few sets of mackerel feathers ...feathers removed , strung around the cabin would probably have a good effect !

 

[Champagne Murphy]

Content deleted.

Wonderful idea and something we can dream about, but 10 yrs for manslaughter doesn’t appeal. A sheep pinger though.........

 

[Blue Sunray]

+1

Mate found his lifejackets stenciled with boat name, stolen from Conwy mooring, on display for sale at Northern Boat Jumble.

Idiots hadn't even tried to take name off, that stupidity ranks alongside a shoplifter/office raider we reported to police one time, had his name Baz tattooed on back of his neck.

Even better the couple of BAOR soldiers who, in Germany about 30 years back, though they'd take some time out from an excise to hold up the local petrol station with their issued weapons. So they couldn't be identified by the CCTV they wore their NBC (Chemical protection) suits and masks. The only minor issue was that as per SOP they had their names, ranks and numbers written on the front of said suits.

 

[Homer J]

Not sure about lacing whisky with poison but a triple strength laxative perhaps?

 

[jeanpaulcopie]

Just shoot with coarse salt filled cardridges! They won(t come back!

 

[Daydream believer]

We have about a thousand boats of various descriptions here at West Mersea.

There have been a number if incidents of outboards being stolen from vessels left at the jetty. but in the 15 years I have been here, I have only heard of one episode of boats on a mooring being broken into.

Damage was done to washboards on about half a dozen boats. Strange things were taken ( knives, bottles of rum etc) but as far as I know, no electronic or other valuable gear.

Come to the other side of the Blackwater & move up towards Osea & you will find loads have had their boats stripped. things such as esbuacher heaters seem to have been taken to order & whole electronics have been taken from boats on moorings. At one point there was a whole spate of it.
In 2017 vandals were seen on a boat opposite Stone SC . The safety boat was launched & the rubber boat the 2 yobs were in was stopped before it could get ashore. The gear was recovered the police were called. The police said they were too busy & We were to let them go. In spite of cameras being used to photo them & their car no action was ever taken. If they had been towed out into the river & the oars taken & left to drift the yobs would have prosecuted the safety boat crew & all hell would have been let loose. Suggestions such as "puncture the dinghy & make them swim" were also a rejected option as the dinghy had been stolen too.
When a 39ft Etap was stripped of everything inc electrical instruments, generator & all the clothing our safety boat crew saw someone aboard & waved thinking it was the owner. The bloke waved back as brazen as you like. He visited the boat twice & it was moored dead opposite the owner,s inlaws house in full view. marconi YC had a number of boats visited a few years ago as did Blackwater SC

 

[Seashoreman]

I looked at this;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Leisure-23-SL-Bilge-Keel-yacht/292400128716?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144

I'm selling my F/V and this would be low investment for a bit of fun. I'm not prepared to go into long term expense for a marina, for instance, there is a place I can leave it on a bit of tidal mud. I can find many boats much cheaper than this one, given my likely use of it. I can take some instruments home in a back pack.....outboards more of a problem

I have had one of these for over 5 years. Very solid little vessel which suits me and the local shallows.
I paid a lot more for mine but hey ho.
Have had boats on swinging moorings for decades, never had anything pinched.
We seem to get sporadic raids on outboards which are presumed to be by organised gangs travelling down the coast.
Being near Felixstowe they can get them out of the country fairly swiftly.

 

[monkfish24]

I heard Richard Winfrey lost a rib off the end of the HRSC pontoon while he was having a drink inside, not heard if it was ever recovered.
One of the fishermen walked out of a Falmouth second hand emporium with his outboard, missing from a few days earlier, proprietor grumbled a bit "Call the police if you like". The fishermen's punts and outboards are along the beach where you can drive at L/W, so too easy. He tipped a can of paint over it to make it less attractive. No, F/V is for sale, I'm looking to maybe keep a bilge keel yacht on the mud.

I never knew about that! I didn't realise the Helford was that bad, still, the idea may be the same,
My apologies, I read through the OP again and realised you meant the yacht and not the F/V!

 

[Jim@sea]

I used a hand held engraving tool to engrave my name on various items of boat equipment.
My boat was broken into on a swinging mooring in North Wales and stuff was taken, A few months later a local house was searched and one item found was identified as being my property as I had engraved it, which resulted in a successful prosecution.
So I started to take my boat stuff home in a bag.
Then one night my house was broken into and my boat bag was stolen. (with other stuff) The thief then (presumably) found that everything was engraved and difficult to sell and kept it, again when the Police searched the house of a known criminal my stuff was found and the thief was convicted.
So for me engraving an item works.

 

[Robin]

Poole police visited local clubs around 2007 and offered a discounted sort of 'smart water' marker to identify the item's owner and presumably allow them to relate any later recovered goods as evidence to a break in Not sure if anything like that still exists

 

[fisherman]

None of this is very optimistic for my plan such as it is. Locally we seem to get little police support, with one victim taking the police to see the stolen hydraulic hauler components and being told prosecution would not succeed, and a reluctance for incidents to be logged. Then another person went to the same location looking for satisfaction and got a screwdriver in the thigh for his trouble. A random stop on the M5 revealed a vanload of outboards so one minor success there. So I can go for 'nothing of value aboard here' and hope for no vandalism, or moor up somewhere more public/.costly

 

[ShinyShoe]

None of this is very optimistic for my plan such as it is. Locally we seem to get little police support, with one victim taking the police to see the stolen hydraulic hauler components and being told prosecution would not succeed, and a reluctance for incidents to be logged. Then another person went to the same location looking for satisfaction and got a screwdriver in the thigh for his trouble. A random stop on the M5 revealed a vanload of outboards so one minor success there. So I can go for 'nothing of value aboard here' and hope for no vandalism, or moor up somewhere more public/.costly

Still not sure...

How are they getting to the boat. If they are bringing their own boat this is not vandalism this is a concerted effort and it probably makes no difference.

Vandals don't wade through mud.

Vandals do steal tenders that aren't secured and have oars / engines in them...

Lift the draw bridge and they wont get it...

 

[fisherman]

Yes, I was relying on the mud. My punt, 14ft or so and really good workboat, I left it in an awful unattractive state, still went, two days before I went to bring it home for the winter. It was on a driveable beach, my own fault.