Security on board, especially when overnighting

[Québec 1]

there are plenty of losers about who will try and go for the easy cash. Round here thankfully it is still pretty rare and I probly ought to pay more attention to putting things away before I get stung.
Anyways, if aboard and there are well unwellcome guests clambering about it'd only take seconds to point my handy fresh-fish-device in a manner that ought to cause some serious intention reconsiderations



Seriously, the only beings that need to be wary are any plump bass that happen to be loitering around...

What the hull is that thing under your friying pan, I want one ...where can I get one. Looks dangerous but will go well with my flare gun on the other side of my pillow next time I'm at the South Dade Marina...which is never:D
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[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

In 17 years of cruising I've never had a problem. The only boarders we've ever had were raccoons.

I do take what are I feel are just common sense precautions. We don't leave things like binoculars, radios or phones in the cockpit un-attended. I have a canvas helm cover that at least puts my chartplotter out of view. I don't remove it. Depending on the place and how long we will be gone I always at least zip the side canvas closed on the enclosure and most of the time close the bow hatch and put in the hatchboards with a lock when we leave. It's a small combo one but at least someone would have to go to some trouble to break in. I have a padlock that locks the arms on the two screw mounts for the dinghy outboard together making it hard to unscrew from the transom bracket or dinghy transom.

We've never felt worried about our family sleeping overnight on board anywhere up here in the Northwest. In general I find boaters stick together and watch out for each other. Our small dogs also make a pretty good alarm at night.

[Bransher]

My personal opinion is “Better Safe than Sorry.”

At home, if you are awakened at night by a strange noise outside, you can pick up the phone and dial 911.

At anchor at night, there is no 911 as most police cars I have seen do not float. Bottom line is it is your responsibility to protect yourself and your loved ones from personal danger. The odds of something bad happening are probably very small, but you just never know. Pick up the newspaper or watch the TV news and there is never a shortage of crimes to report.

I purchased a handgun, and view it as an expenditure for which I hope I never have a need. Learn how to use it, practice at a shooting range occasionally, and obtain a concealed carry permit. It is a crazy world we live in, and getting crazier every day. As a Boy Scout, I was taught to “Be Prepared”, and I carry that advice over into adult hood.

My personal choice was a stainless steel Taurus Judge .45 caliber Magnum revolver that also shoots 3 inch .410 shotgun shells, and I equipped it with a Crimson Trace red laser grip. I hope I never need it, but I sleep better knowing that I have it.

[restless]

Queb, it's a cressi-sub pneumatic stub speargun. The visibility in these waters is often too rubbish to have anything bigger, a longer gun by the time it's at arms reach you're reaching the end of vis range! this little baby works just fine. Sometimes I'll even harpoon the odd fish from the boat without even diving!
In the uk you can get arrested and locked up for 6months just for having a knife on you... a firearm and you're straight into terrorist interogation...

[vizwhiz]

I want to thank everyone for their responses! I appreciate hearing the good info...
I am armed and carry and have my permit, train, and know what decisions to make. I don't go anywhere without it, so I plan to have it aboard as well...will take local gun laws into account if I ever take the boat outside my home state, just as I would if I am travelling outside the state. (But seriously, why would I ever want to leave a state with over 500 miles of coastline???) Having it isn't the biggest issue...

My personal choice was a stainless steel Taurus Judge .45 caliber Magnum revolver

Bansher - you got the big one...wow... That's a little bigger than I'm thinking for on-board! But I suppose a flare gun is just a light-up version of that Judge, isn't it!

As for the loose items on deck, your responses help. I grew up in Miami, and have lived in several places - many of which you couldn't leave ANYTHING out that wasn't tied down - on a boat people would steal your fenders, they would take ropes, hoses, and anything else that could be lifted. Same went for your car. I guess I just have to lighten up a bit.

As for the sleeping aboard - I haven't looked - are there modern "pirate" or boarding issues (the equivalent of home invasions) in the news for small boats? I don't put anything past a desparate person or someone who thinks you may be isolated - people will do crazy stuff for a handful of cash. Wifey and I would like to pitch our "floating tent" in the middle of the bay, or on some remote backwater somewhere so we can lay on the deck and fall asleep watching for the falling stars. It sounds like I shouldn't have to worry about this...but being in a group of other boats is not something we will probably do often. (The whole point for us is to get AWAY from people!) The only thoughts bugging me about this are the idea of isolation.

Along these lines - do you have deck lights? Lights to light up the "outside" area of the boat (along the sides of the boat) at night? Carry a spotlight?

I don't want to sound paranoid - just some issues I'd rather have thought through ahead-of-time rather than later...thanks for reading!

[Sumner]

Go out and anchor out and enjoy it. Leave the gun at home unless you have a carry permit and I don't know how the coast guard views those. If you don't have that and they board you, and they can, and you have a gun you will be the guy in jail, not the bad guy.

How many bad guys are going to get a boat to go out and find someone in another boat on anchor and then try and rob them when they probably don't have much of anything with them. They will be back breaking into your home when you are on the boat since that is where the stuff they want is located.

On the lights have some portable lights so you can see if you have a problem at night, not the bad guys, but a boat problem. Other than that why attract attention to yourself and how are you going to see all of those shooting stars and enjoy the isolation with deck lights on.

We anchor out every night and love it and when we get to Florida, hopefully soon, we will do the same thing. The only thing I was warned about down there from someone who use to sail there is to lock your dinghy to your boat if you are around populated areas.

Have fun,

Sum

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[vizwhiz]

BTW restless - is the frying pan for the admiral to use on you, or is it really for cooking?

[jschrade]

The chances of having someone attempt to board your boat is rather remote - so is a fire at my house but I have fire insurance.

There are certainly pirates in Florida but the Macgregor is not really high on their list nor I suspect worth the risk of boarding. Yet another good reason to have a Macgregor 26X/M! But they will gladly take the low risk unsecured stuff while parked or tied up in a marina.

I love the shooting the drunk guy that wandered onto your boat - that hilarious! I do suspect an invader is likely on drugs, has been drinking or both. The only problem with that is he may wobble a bit making it harder to hit him!


Jim

[Catigale]

There arent pirate issues in NA that are worth the trouble of carrying heavy weaponry imho.

If you feel more comfortable having a firearm on board, whatever floats your boat. I would rather buy more real boat stuff. I suspect keeping ammo and weaponry in good condition in the marine environment is an issue - and, of course, if you arent training and re-training yourself on your weapon then dont do this. The movie depiction of citizens repelling the bad guys is not reality.

The idea that thieves would cruise around in boats looking for boats on anchor for stuff to steal is pretty far-fetched too, if you think it through.

Live life in fear and the bad guys win, even if they never choose you as a target.

[Retcoastie]

Jim,

Having fire insurance does nothing to stop intruders, it merely replaces losses. Most of us have boat loss insurance through a boat policy or homeowners. Actively trying to stop a fire is like actively trying to stop an intruder. Have you installed sprinklers throughout your home?

I read years ago, and carry on our boat and in my van, the thing to use is Flying Insect (Wasp) killer spray. It is legal everywhere, does not require a license or training, comes in a big can, shoots a long way, hits an area larger than the diameter of a bullet, and is non-lethal. I would use it like pepper spray but it has the advantage of not having to be as close. There is enough in the can to make several intruders scatter. If I miss and hit the boat or something else, there is no repair and less explaining to do. “Officer, I was scared and just grabbed the first thing I could get my hands on to protect myself.”

The only thing is, I don't know if it will work. I have never tried spraying another human. They may just laugh at me. But, I'm not sure I would be more effective with a weapon in the heat of the moment. And, not knowing, it makes me feel safer so I go my happy way. I anchor wherever in complete bliss. Maybe the ignorant type.

Ken

[Craig LaForce]

Had my helm mounted VHF stolen at the slip once, which had a locked gate at the head of the dock, but that is all in 12 years.
This was at Lake Oolagah in Oklahoma. Some of the other boats at the dock fared far worse. At least I didn't have my windows or hatch broken.
I would strongly disagree that firearms are useless for defense. there are news articles by the thousands that beg to differ.

There are some dicey areas in the US. If you are cruising into unfamiliar areas, there is always a possibility. You never need a gun right up until the moment that you do.
Granted, a well armed bunch of bad guys are gonna win, but some disorganized intruder bent on mischief will certainly reconsider their actions if they hear you rack the action on a 12 gauge, or hear a warning shot wiz past their noggin. .

Some sort of stainless steel firearm might make sense in some situations, unless you live in a state that doesn't support the US constitution.

[cmagnus4]

There arent pirate issues in NA that are worth the trouble of carrying heavy weaponry imho.

If you feel more comfortable having a firearm on board, whatever floats your boat. I would rather buy more real boat stuff. I suspect keeping ammo and weaponry in good condition in the marine environment is an issue - and, of course, if you arent training and re-training yourself on your weapon then dont do this. The movie depiction of citizens repelling the bad guys is not reality.

The idea that thieves would cruise around in boats looking for boats on anchor for stuff to steal is pretty far-fetched too, if you think it through.

Live life in fear and the bad guys win, even if they never choose you as a target.

You are absolutely right, Catigale. I'm lucky myself to live in a country where you can go sailing or camping without being armed. And your comment assures me that the same thing is possible on your side of the Atlantic too.
Claes

[jschrade]

The best choice would be a sawed off shotgun - sometimes called "snake guns" check your local gun store. It needs to be short for the tight quarters you will be in. These will allow you to miss a bit in a panic, which is likely, and still get the job done. After that a .45 is a great choice due to its stopping power. Guns like a 9mm carry a lot of rounds and will get the job done with the right ammunition (search for hydroshock) but the effect is more of a "bleed out" and does not carry the stopping power - this can be a problem with heavily drugged individuals as they may not stop them immediately and their self-preservation knob has been set to off.

Warning: Tazers and Pepper spray can be completely ineffective on many folks (don't you watch Discovery!). Also, these offer no potential for serious injury or death so it doesn't offer the correct disincentive and may actually provoke an attack to show that your non-lethal weapon is not effective on them. What the heck, if they fail, there's no harm right?

To be clear most "bad guys" are going to skip out of the game the second they see you are armed as it's just not worth the risk. None want to stay around after the first shot (well, except the drugged up ones).

If you are crossing the Gulf Stream and dealing with "those kind" of pirates, you need a rifle for standoff as that is what they will have (note .223//556 do not make big holes in fiberglass boats). Once again, if they see you are armed, they will move on - it's not worth the risk. There are plenty of other defenseless and unarmed boaters to go after.

Violent crime goes on the rise anywhere guns are banned or restricted so note these locals and avoid them. As was stated earlier, you are responsible for you and your families lives; do what "you" feel is responsible for the situation. People use their guns to save their lives everyday, the media simply does not report it.

Before this turns into a political brouhaha let me be clear that your choice to arm or not arm is yours and yours alone and I don't care either way. We should all respect the basic human right of a person to choose either direction.


Jim

[Québec 1]

The best choice would be a sawed off shotgun -

Violent crime goes on the rise anywhere guns are banned or restricted

Jim

Probably true in some countries, but not a good general statement for most countries with a basically uncorrupted legal system and laws aimed at reducing gratuitous gun ownership.
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[carriacou]

Hey Restless……….
Something I don’t understand, even after rereading this thread several times.
I get why you need a vacuum in the head…. Cleaning up “crap”

But what the heck do ya need a frying pan for in a bathroom??
Is it somkind of super scoopin' ????????