Thugs - bl@@dy thugs !

[FinallySailing]

Thought I'll share this with all of you here on the forum, it might be of particular interest for the UK and other European members who might be offered a bargain outboard.

Last Friday I was checking I famous auction site for bargain boat bits in preparation for the new sailing season. Saw (what is most likely) my own outboard advertised there on a 24 hour auction. I went the following morning to the marina to check on "Rockhopper". And yes, my outboard is gone ! The safety cable was cut through and the engine removed including and despite a transom lock. Following this at least another 4 outboard thefts have been identified at the marina. I've actually managed to put the winning bid on fleebay and got part of the details of the vendor (who actually hasn't got in touch with myself). Police despite temporary arrests (the seller is well known to the authorities) have not been able to find any engines. I am the only witness apart from the CCTV that was found later. My insurance will pay but I will be several hundred £ short. Obviously my premium will go up. And then there will be more time needed to run in the engine and do my mods again, my engine lift mechanism, outboard hour counter etc. Will need to fix the rest of the damage of the boat (mainly cut through ropes including rudder up and down haul). So I am pretty angry and frustrated. Reading a lot about boat alarm systems and making plans on how to protect my pride and joy better. I've also got a FB page up now where I've listed my outboard for the public as stolen as there is no such thing on social media so far here. Check out "Stolen Boat Bits" and please like the page to promote it (but don't mention my name please ... I don't want anybody involved in this theft to be able to know my details). Feel free to share the page with as many friends as possible, whether in the UK or not.

Does any of you have any alarm systems on your boats, use engine trackers or anything similar ?

Here is a link to the FB page

https://www.facebook.com/StolenBoatBits

and here is a quick description of my outboard (as I mentioned ... mainly for our UK and European members)

[March]

A notice posted in plain view on the cowling: "Warning! This engine contains a transponder chip that will send a signal to my cell phone the moment it changes location. The penalties for attempted engine theft will be reinforced at their fullest!"

That might deter some interested parties...

Including such a chip "for real" wouldn't be so difficult either. Many cell phones seem to already have it. Wonder why this procedure is not generalized.

Truly sorry for your loss though. It's one of the risks that come with the pleasures.

[133bhp]

I'm east coast UK, I have alpha dot for my motorbikes which I shall be marking up everything on the boat too. Gives some deterent due to fact they can be traced as stolen. Appareently a load of east european scumbags in a van full of outbaords were caught at customs going to france but with no Id to link as stolen, had to let them through. I half fear for my old Md50 but looking at the new twin 200hp and small outboards etc just lying around im the avg marina, I would hope to be down on the list.

sorry to hear

[Boblee]

You can get a micro dot paint, it was issued after I got our etec but by the time I got it on ours the paint had gone off, I still put it on but since then the powerhead has been changed although would still be some spots around the cowling and covers.

[vizwhiz]

Sorry to hear it.
Is one of the concerns i have about leaving my boat in mast-up storage also...
Perhaps getting an engraving pen and making a few special marks in hidden locations on the engine?

[cptron]

You can get a micro dot paint, it was issued after I got our etec but by the time I got it on ours the paint had gone off, I still put it on but since then the powerhead has been changed although would still be some spots around the cowling and covers.

could you elaborate on this "Micro Dot Paint" for me. What is it and how does it deter stealing?

[PEN24]

Sorry to hear about the loss. We had our Yamaha 50hp stolen off the boat when it was on a swinging mooring in Poole Harbour overnight. Quite a feat when you think of the boat rocking around in 3m of water 200m from shore but the police were not surprised. The insurance only paid a fraction of what it was worth and it was never recovered. I was determined that this wasn't going to happen again so...

Our new engine is marked with Selectamark paint, has a heavy duty cable securing it to the boat. I have etched the Selectamark number on the gearcase housing, propeller, transom bracket and inside the hood. I also have "security" labels printed with teh Selectamark number on various difficult to reach parts of the motor. The labels are plastic but fragile so can only be removed by picking off tiny pieces at a time. The bolts securing the motor to the transom are "round headed" and the nuts are inside the boat (so they would have to break into the boat to release it). I also put a hasp and padlock on the hood so they couldn't take this off easily and there is a GPS tracker inside the hood which I can phone up and it will give me the position.

I'm sure it is reasonably secure but still don't like leaving it for extended periods of time.

[GART]

Finally Sailing
Very sorry to hear about your outboards, It might be worth posting on the YBW website (ybw.com) forum for stolen boats & gear, I see on there somebody had 5 outboards stolen from Papermill lock on the river chelmer. On January 19 which is near you.. If the police have the person who advertised your outboard pitty they cannot “discuss” with him its whereabouts in exchange for not accidentally shutting his hands (or other parts) in the cell door.

Pen 24
Poole harbour seems to be a very dodgy area. It is one of the most expensive places to buy property in the UK. Yet I keep hearing of large outboards being stolen there, I met a chap with a motor cruiser that had just had two 90 hp Yamaha’s stolen from his transom. All the police would say was that he was lucky they did not take a chainsaw to his boat and just cut the stern off!

[Ixneigh]

They make mini video recorders, similar to nanny cams, that are weatherproof. I've been thinking about getting one for my boat. I've also removed all the decals from my engine also. There is no way to completely secure it. None.
I've gone so far as to spray paint a brand new dinghy motor with red paint all over it. They still took it, but I bet they used it, and did not try to sell it. Most thieves want to resell it.
I would say explosives rigged to go off when the engine got ten yards away from the boat. Be sure to use enough to kill outright, not just maim...
Ix

Think of the fun warning labels you could put on the engine, like, warning, removing this engine from the yacht WILL kill you!

[FinallySailing]

Thanks for all the kind replies. I like the idea of marking with "Selectamark" and registering the details with them. Like the price as well. The heavy duty cable that I had was simply cut through and then the outboard was removed including the outboard lock. Still not sure how. I am wary of fixing the new engine too permanently, I do worry about the chainsaw approach. I remember hearing of boats simply being hacked into. Need to look into the GPS tracking a bit more, could double to simply track my route on our adventures. Car alarm in the boat ? You can get a reasonable kit for under £50 here including shock sensors (when on the trailer should go off if someone tries to climb onto the boat or tries to move the trailer), proximity sensors for the cabin and sensors for boot/hood (for lazarette and hatches ?). Booby trapping the boat or engine... now there are some really nice fantasies going off in my head right now - but I shall leave it at that level .

[FinallySailing]

... oh yes, posted on YBW as well yesterday. Being my first post there it is still being looked at by their moderators. Also posted on the UK Macgregor Owners Club site and on sailnet ... Maybe, just maybe ...

[Jeff L]

They make mini video recorders, similar to nanny cams, that are weatherproof. I've been thinking about getting one for my boat. I've also removed all the decals from my engine also. There is no way to completely secure it. None.
I've gone so far as to spray paint a brand new dinghy motor with red paint all over it. They still took it, but I bet they used it, and did not try to sell it. Most thieves want to resell it.
I would say explosives rigged to go off when the engine got ten yards away from the boat. Be sure to use enough to kill outright, not just maim...
Ix

Think of the fun warning labels you could put on the engine, like, warning, removing this engine from the yacht WILL kill you!

I do remember the James Bond movie with Roger Moore, don't remember the name of the movie, James Bond was driving a bright yellow Lotus,
I think it was. It had a warning label for an alarm system on the window of the car. The bad thug just grinned and broke the window--the car blew up.
Solved the thug problem...

[FinallySailing]

Ha ! Fwd to 49 seconds. Now I wouldn't like this to happen to "Rockhopper" but the thief ...

http://youtu.be/CvJp1X3qiog

[Jeff L]

Ha ! Fwd to 49 seconds. Now I wouldn't like this to happen to "Rockhopper" but the thief ...

http://youtu.be/CvJp1X3qiog

Thought you might like that one. I have not seen the movie in some time. Got the colors of the car mixed up.

[jhastie]

I'm originally from Chicago. We take a differant approach. You must be sure that the anchor is tightly secured around their legs after you catch them and drop them overboard.