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Thieves back again on Broads


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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi,Matt,bad news again,we moor. there and wonder if you know where they were taken from? We had ours and four other boats broken into some time ago by some local lads and mud weights last year so it seems to be a fact of modern life unfortunately .

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Removing it is the best solution.

 

but spending a £200-£300 would also make your boat less appealing.

 

Bolt your Outboard if its two big to remove and add pad locks and chains, or look at having a yard remove and store for you.

Purchase A Norfolk constabulary outboard cover, remove your lid and put the cover on.

Remove your fuel tank if its a portable outboard tank.

Do not leave anything, (mud weights, boat hooks ect) on the decks.

Lock hatches.

Lock doors.

For goodness sake gets those keys out of the gas locker!!!!!!! If you must keep a set of keys on the boat, lock them inside and have the door lock key always in your car, if it needs to stay on board then without key rings and hooks, take this solitary key and either fit a coded key safe for it or lift a board or engine hatch and screw it to the underside of a floor bearer where it cannot be seen, then keep screw driver in the car or again out of sight on the boat.

Diesel tank, if your fuel filler pipe is longer than 10" then fit a ball valve in line and other than when you refuel keep it closed, I like this more than a lockable filler, they can be smashed with a lot of damage, if you thief can open the filler but cannot push a pipe down then they will rapidly move on to an easier target.

Do you have little metal tabs that 'lock' the windows? are they still operational? are they too easy to flip over? can you do something else to lock your window.

Many boats are easier to get into than a lot of garden sheds, you can help protect yourselves here!

 

Stop whining about the broads beat getting a new boat, 'how much was that?' 'what a waste of money!' embrace it, support it, be grateful that steps are being taken to try and combat the problem, the boat yards/marinas are always slow to change but more will start investing in cctv, even if its in the form of more webcams going up for the world to see.

 

Most of all get fully insured

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....For goodness sake gets those keys out of the gas locker!!!!!!! If you must keep a set of keys on the boat, lock them inside and have the door lock key always in your car.....

 

 

Good idea there from Mark  regarding boat keys.

 

The long term test of any security precautions is whether they're easy to keep up, without making life too complicated.

 

Many years ago, I used to keep my boat keys at home and take them to the boat when needed.

 

Big mistake.....   Luckily I only live a few minutes away, but even then it was annoying to get to the boat having forgotten the keys.

 

I say "keys" too, because my set is door/hatch key, ignition key, cockpit locker keys, and fuel cap key.

 

As Mark has suggested, since then, I keep just the door/hatch key on my car key ring.

 

The other "working" ring, (on a floating fob) contains the other keys and is always left in the cabin in the boat.

 

That would indeed be stupid if they could easily be found by anyone breaking in.

 

Most boat cabins have dozens of very good hiding places with a little ingenuity though, given the amount of items normally left in them.  

 

Then, because most boat ignition switches are so easy to circumvent, I always fit a hidden cut out switch as well. :)

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The mind less ones have been at it again.,what satisfaction is there in doing this ,do they go to the pub and say " set some boats adrift tonight ,wicked " at least the boys in "Coot Club "had a good reason !!

Link

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/hunt_for_vandals_after_boats_float_away_at_coltishall_1_3201156#cxrecs_s

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When our Princess was broken into the cover ripped, patio.door was smashed and muddy,oily footprints ruining the carpet.the tv was taken without the remote,a torch without its charger half a bottle of drink,not worth much in resale value , but a lot of work and upset for us and for other moorers who were also broken into.The worst part was the feelings of unease after the event,they were caught and we were all awarded £50 which took two years for them to pay off .

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When our Princess was broken into the cover ripped, patio.door was smashed and muddy,oily footprints ruining the carpet.the tv was taken without the remote,a torch without its charger half a bottle of drink,not worth much in resale value , but a lot of work and upset for us and for other moorers who were also broken into.The worst part was the feelings of unease after the event,they were caught and we were all awarded £50 which took two years for them to pay off .

Roy and Diane, Hi.

 

If it wasn't such a heart-breaking happening the outcome (for the scrotes) would be just a sad joke.

  :cry :cry :cry

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These thefts - now it seems are over a large area of the country wherever there are marinas and boats to be had –  surly are being fuelled by the relative ease of getting to the location – taking the outboard and getting away without too much risk of being caught.

 

All too often CCTV is not a deterrent because the footage is only of any use if you can actually see the people in it, and what it is they are doing.  Many times when you see footage or stills taken of such, what you have is akin to a fuzzy blob with this being the case the criminal is going to take the chance even if are seen on camera they would not be identified or it could be argued such did not show the actual crime taking place.

 

Emotions run high and talk is made of what punishment can be handed out, and that such which are seem to be handed down are so light and the fear of a sentence inside is not going to put people off – no matter how harsh.  Let’s go back to the 60’s and the huge sentences handed down to the Great Train Robbers – it did not stop criminals after they were sent down wanting to take risks and steal large sums of money. 

 

At the end of the day it all comes down to is money. 

 

Be it a gang who wants to sell the outboards overseas and use the money to buy drugs, who then sell those drugs to make more money – greed is what is behind it.  Also, I am sure the thieves regard it as pretty tame – after all, if the person is insured the thief would say they have nothing to worry about if they have insurance and will be getting a shiny new outboard once all the paper work has been completed. The thief will also say he is ok because he can sell on the outboard and someone somewhere in the world down the line will be ok because they will buy an outboard (or spare parts) at a rather attractive price. 

 

The person who is most certainly not ok is the poor owner of the boat which is now without an engine, possible damaged and perhaps in the worse case sunk and who if is insured has to go through an awful lot of stress and problems getting the insurance company to pay out – or hoping they will.

 

So perhaps in a way what the issue is the fact in today’s world no one wants to take responsibility, and respect has long gone.  The Police are duty bound to investigate such but are themselves going to be bound by their own budget and whilst it may cause emotional distress to those affected by a theft, it is property – no one has been hurt physically. 

 

I am sure too the Police will also know only too well that after the event an officer can only really offer some compassion to the victim “Well look at it like this, at least you were insured” knowing that it will likely be the case the victim will get money to pay for a replacement and also knowing how hard it will be to catch the people who stole it originally. It is not a victimless crime by any means but I can’t help but speculate it is seen as of low importance generally. 

 

If it was a case of new hire boats being lifted and stolen from different parts of the country I am sure there would be a more pro-active and motivated effort to catch those doing it – more money would be involved and dealing with large businesses and tourism industries than a group of poorindividuals.  Maybe I am being too sceptical there though.

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.....If it was a case of new hire boats being lifted and stolen from different parts of the country I am sure there would be a more pro-active and motivated effort to catch those doing it – more money would be involved and dealing with large businesses and tourism industries than a group of poor individuals.  Maybe I am being too skeptical there though....

 

No, not skeptical Robin, just forgetting what you'd already written just before that:

 

"The Police are duty bound to investigate such but are themselves going to be bound by their own budget and whilst it may cause emotional distress to those affected by a theft, it is property – no one has been hurt physically."

 

 

Burglary and/or vandalism of private property is undeniably terribly stressful for the victim, and the emotional damage can be irreparable, scarring them for life.

 

Each time incidents like this crop up on boat forums there are cries for medieval methods of punishment, and some of the posters really mean it.

 

The unfortunate reality though is what you've said, the Police and Judicial systems have to give precedence to  criminal acts against people, rather than property. 

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