Protecting a New Boat from Theft

[traderfjp]

I found a marina that just remodeled and they have a tour company right by the slips (closed on off season) and security cameras every ten feet. I still want to make sure I have done everything possible to make it as hard as possible to mess with my boat. I read about gps trackers, kill switches and using metal cable to tie the boat to the slip. Has anyone taken measures to make your boat hard to steal.? What are some good measures. Thanks

 

[jocolo21]

Full co

I found a marina that just remodeled and they have a tour company right by the slips (closed on off season) and security cameras every ten feet. I still want to make sure I have done everything possible to make it as hard as possible to mess with my boat. I read about gps trackers, kill switches and using metal cable to tie the boat to the slip. Has anyone taken measures to make your boat hard to steal.? What are some good measures. Thanks

Full coverage insurance, its all you need, short of tjat take it home. If anyone wants to steal it they will.

 

[adrianp89]

Just take your lanyard home with you. It’s a kill switch. Of course best measure it to just keep it at home lol

 

[zipper]

You could install an additional keyed lockable battery switch and hide it somewhere around the battery or engine compartment. You could use a s.s. cable and padlock it to the cleats on the boat and dock, but the marina may not want you to do that. I have not yet felt the need to add theft deterrents here in Vermont waters, although I have considered it. We have added a WiFi outdoor security camera to our Beneteau so we can observe the weather conditions at our slip. I installed it last Summer after a big storm blew thru. The winds had partially released our furled genoa and it started flogging. A transient sailor that had taken cover at the marina saw the issue as it unfurled. He boarded our boat and hauled in the sail in the middle of the storm, saving a brand new $3k genoa sail. Never got to thank him for his actions. Anyway, I installed the camera a couple of days later and all I ever saw was our marina neighbors checking the lines on our boat occasionally, as well as the current weather conditions. By all means...Make sure you have a good insurance policy.

 

[Elliott]

You could install a system from Siren Marine. You will able to monitor your systems and boat; they have a variety of sensors that you can install. If I were wet slipped, I would want to be able to monitor shore power, bilge and batteries regardless of theft issues. My boat's first line of defense is that it is in a rack more than 10 feet off the ground, and its second protector (more important) is that it's surrounded by much more expensive boats.

Siren Marine

Monitor, track, control & secure your boat with Siren Marine's smart boat technology. Our remote monitoring & security system, featuring the new Siren 3 Pro, allows you to stay connected to your boat anywhere, anytime. Peace of mind for boaters - Welcome to the Connected Boat®.

sirenmarine.com

 

[seanmclean]

Full coverage insurance is the best thing you can do, as mentioned. I added a GPS tracker to mine as well when I had it slipped, mostly out of fear that it would somehow break free and start drifting upriver. It'll text you if it leaves its Geofence.

 

[rkluck]

When I had my boat in the Marina I wasn't too worried. The they guards walk the docks every hour and cameras. When I moved the boat to the lake house I was more worried. Besides the obvious things to do I got a plastic covered SS cable and ran it through the handles and cleats on the back of the boat and wrapped it around the dock posts. I also locked the lift and had a light over the area of the dock. You could put a key pad on the lift as well if you wanted. Yes if they want it they will get it just like anything else but as the saying goes lock keep an honest man honest.

 

[Tobes]

Just take your lanyard home with you. It’s a kill switch. Of course best measure it to just keep it at home lol

So easy to bypass, and takes no time at all.

 

[traderfjp]

I was reading how one boat thief hot wired the boat. I want to make sure that can't happen.

 

[Tobes]

I was reading how one boat thief hot wired the boat. I want to make sure that can't happen.

Anything can be stolen. As others have stated, full coverage insurance that covers your loan.

 

[traderfjp]

No loan but I do have great insurance.

 

[anmut]

Anything can be stolen. As others have stated, full coverage insurance that covers your loan.

This. You can guard against "ease of being stolen" and add devices that could help in the recovery of something stolen - but if it exists, it can be stolen. Insurance, add a few "this boat is harder to steal than someone else's" pieces, and don't worry about it.

 

[adrianp89]

So easy to bypass, and takes no time at all.

then do another starter kill that’s hidden, but like you said if they want they will get it. A blinking blue light will do more to protect something than any other theft deterrent. All you need to do is make your boat look more difficult to steal than the next. This applies for homes, cars, etc.

 

[traderfjp]

True

 

[212s]

I keep the boat at home and trailer to various launches. At home I have a locking coupler pin which I use when it's on the hitch too, a coupler ball lock that prevents someone connecting their hitch, and cables through the wheels and frame so my wheels don't "roll away". A determined criminal will be prepared and able to defeat those anti-theft measures and we have insurance for that, but it keeps the casual thief away. I use the cables in the wheels when we launch at the ramps too so someone can't easily run off with my nice aluminum rims. Only takes a few minutes when parking the trailer. I even have padlocks on my mooring cover inside the rachet pockets so someone can't just unlatch and remove. I have 4 keyed-alike padlocks - only 1 key to unlock the wheels and cover.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

I found a marina that just remodeled and they have a tour company right by the slips (closed on off season) and security cameras every ten feet. I still want to make sure I have done everything possible to make it as hard as possible to mess with my boat. I read about gps trackers, kill switches and using metal cable to tie the boat to the slip. Has anyone taken measures to make your boat hard to steal.? What are some good measures. Thanks

@traderfjp ..... I use a hidden kill switch and a 3/8 inch SS cable with a very robust lock - remember your boat just has to be better secured than the ones beside it and yes, I have replacement cost insurance. Of the three I think the cable is the best insurance as a thief would have to hover too long and make too much noise. Geez I hope I haven't jinxed myself! Even with replacement cost where the h3ll would I get another Yamaha jet boat in these times?

 

[Ronnie]

Having had my boat, trailer, tow vehicle and all the gear in each stolen in front of my house about 12 years ago. I have purchased and installed all of the anti theft devices available for my current boat down to all the locking latches I could, even for the cleanout hatch (if some steals your clean out plugs which cost $400 each last time I checked, you instantly have a really good looking but very expensive raft on your hands and your dealer may not have the plugs in stock). All this to make my boat less attractive to would be thieves.

I still maintain full coverage and include “anglers/fisherman’s“ coverage Which means that more than the standard $1,500 in personal possessions are covered. I lost a lot more than $1,500 in just the life vests and tubes I had onboard. With the foregoing in mind, I love my marine insurance but the claim and settlement process took and still takes a minimum of six weeks which can be an entire season for some people and unlike auto insurance companies, marine insurance companies do not loan you a boat to use in the interim, at least the insurance companies i checked with didn‘t.

 

[traderfjp]

Having had my boat, trailer, tow vehicle and all the gear in each stolen in front of my house about 12 years ago. I have purchased and installed all of the anti theft devices available for my current boat down to all the locking latches I could, even for the cleanout hatch (if some steals your clean out plugs which cost $400 each last time I checked, you instantly have a really good looking but very expensive raft on your hands and your dealer may not have the plugs in stock). All this to make my boat less attractive to would be thieves.

I still maintain full coverage and include “anglers/fisherman’s“ coverage Which means that more than the standard $1,500 in personal possessions are covered. I lost a lot more than $1,500 in just the life vests and tubes I had onboard. With the foregoing in mind, I love my marine insurance but the claim and settlement process took and still takes a minimum of six weeks which can be an entire season for some people and unlike auto insurance companies, marine insurance companies do not loan you a boat to use in the interim, at least the insurance companies i checked with didn‘t.

I'm sorry to hear your boat was taken from your house. That is horrible. There are a lot of sickies out there who steal. There is a special place in hell for these people. Thanks for sharing your story.

 

[zipper]

Here is another recent thread of their new boat, a Yamaha 275, being stolen by some butt biscuit and trashed. https://jetboaters.net/threads/stolen-boat-now-found.28251/

 

[2kwik4u]

Even with replacement cost where the h3ll would I get another Yamaha jet boat in these times?

This right here is the biggest issue. Even if you get your cash back from insurance, the ability to find another boat is a daunting task.