MacGregorSailors.com

We were out of town this past weekend for my daughter's softball tournament. We return Saturday night to check the lines on the boat before forecasted storms blow in.

The hasp on the companionway was cut. The scum stole my new speakers, tools, spare parts box and first aid kit. I usually remove my tools, but did not this particular time. I will in the future.

So much for getting a slip within view of the Lake Patrol Headquarters.

I did a search on theft and noticed some have recommended an alarm system. Has anyone actually tried this?

Don't you wish Booby Traps were legal?

Perhaps some sort of wire mesh mat in the cockpit sole attached to the boat's ground, and a hidden wire attached from the inside of the lock hasp in the hatch straight to the positive terminal on your house battery...

Just Kidding - please don't actually try it (I'd forget and shock myself the next time I went to the boat...)!! But it's fun to speculate ...

- AndyS

Sorry about your loss - that does suck. There was a thread on alarms last winter..I think the consensus was that they arent too effective. Best security is a secure place.

Hope they were at least neat and didnt trash you too much.

I went the fake alarm route.

I have a red-flashing-LED that is located in the center of my removable cabin hatch. The led is powered by two AA batteries that reside in a small box mounted on the inside of the hatch cover and is held in place by velcro. At night that red LED can be seen for quite a distance away and even in the day, it can clearly be seen flashing.

I am relying on a theif seeing that red-flashing-LED and assuming there is an alarm on board and then moving on to my neighbors boat.... .....peace to my neighbor and his boat.

There isn't an audible alarm, but by the time someone responded to any type of audible alarm the perps would be long gone with my stuff...so what good would a "real alarm" have done? besides costing me more $$$$.


Rich

The fake alarm idea is very good.

As to a real alarm, I was thinking of a siren mounted in the V-berth to its own battery operating off of contacts on the companionway hatch. The arm/disarm switch could be hidden in the anchor locker floor. The siren would blast until the battery goes dead or someone calls me to turn it off.

It would be entry only and not motion activated.

My home lake is in city limits, hopefully the alarm would anger fisherman other boaters or residents enough to call police.

Thoughts?

Rick wrote:My home lake is in city limits, hopefully the alarm would anger fisherman other boaters or residents enough to call police.

Thoughts?

Sorry about your loss. Irritating!

I like the fake alarm idea.

I think there is a good chance the alarm would be ignored. Possiblily, the wrong individual would want to get destructive revenge for being disturbed.

Check auto alarms that run on DC to see if it could be adapted to the hatches.

I had one where the trunk, hood, and interior lights closed the circuit and let out this god awful clanging bell. Occasionally a 'ghost' would pass by and it would go off on its own.

Neighbors screaming for mercy pounding on my door at 3am. I was living in Italy at the time and didn't know quite how to apologize.

I would prayerfully bow to all present and mumble the Confidier Dei (through my most grievous fault) in Latin.

I wish I knew how to record our yard dogs growl when he sees one of the cats chomping on his grub and have it play from within the cabin when triggered by some disturbance.

OFF-TOPIC ...
Speaking of guard dogs, my Marina neighbor (dry storage lot) has his Corsair completely covered with a custom-fitted tarp (came w/ the boat, heard the PO paid 5 grand). He needs a guard dog for different reason. I noted this unmistakeable aroma wafting from his boat ... apparently a feral cat has discovered that his fully tarped Corsair is a real nifty den, and marked it well, in fact, marked it very, very well!

I never experienced that problem with my Costco tarps, but they were tented, leaving enough airflow that the cats probably had lots of other, more comfy choices. Anyone considering a custom boat cover? ..... just like a backyard sandbox for the kids, it's something to keep in mind

I have an ADT system at home which has both the audible alarm and the automated call to the alarm company.

The audible alarm is so loud and at such a pitch that it produces physical pain - and it operates from a battery backup (what good is an alarm if it does nothing during a power outage...) If you could get an audible alarm like that in the boat, it would be a good deterrent - it literally forces you to leave the house, clamping your hands over your ears does nothing to ease the pain. Incidentally, my house system also has a remote control disable switch so you can disable it from outside and not have to rush to the keypad and enter a code to turn it off.

I don't think the typical car alarm (honking horn) would be useful at all.

- AndyS

But if me and Gromit were working on the boat down the row from yours, It would be awful tempting to pull out the shot gun and go lookin' for that alarm.

In this months issue of Sea, you will fine an article devoted to the very issue of marina and boat security. Check it out.
Randy

Hey Rich. That would be a good Mod to put on the Mac Mods Page.

Whenever I go to the marina, there are some scary looking fishermen casting around the docks. I am nervous that one of them will scope the scene and break into boats or unload the outboard. The marina itself has security if the bad guys drive a truck in, but fishermen could break in undetected.

I am thinking putting a motion detection spot light up next to the boat, but Rich's blinking LED sounds like another level of deterence.

Cough it up Rich, how'd you do it?

Mark:

With the increase of thefts at our marina, I would hope that other boaters would call police when they hear an alarm instead of seeking to silence it. We have had over ten break-ins and numerous dock box burglaries in the past two months.

sleep on the boat.

Randy,
I will get the details, but my father-in-law has been making false alarms (flashing red LED's) for years and putting them on everything from his RV, car, House, dog, cat...well you get the picture, he is retired and has the time. Anyway, he gets the parts from Radio Shack for a few bucks and in 15 minutes with a soddring gun he has his deterant. He is on vacation, but I will track the info down and post in the Mod section and here once I get all the details.

Rich