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You may have secured your house and car, but have you considered
the importance of securing your boat? If you haven't, here are a number of tips on marine
security. If you think your boat is secure, then reading this may help to reinforce your
knowledge of security, or provide you with a few ideas you haven't thought
of.
Making Your Gear Identifiable
Marking: Deck chairs, floatation gear, windbreakers, and other loose items are
frequently stolen or lost. Marking such items with the name of your boat, home port, and
your name will make them less desirable to a thief, and must easier to recover.
Operation Identification: Electronic instruments, communication gear, and other
valuables should be permanently inscribed with your driver’s license number and
state. This allows instant identification of your belongings by law enforcement computer
networks. Prominently display the Operating Identification sticker so the thief will know
you’re serious about crime prevention
Know what you have: A complete inventory including descriptions, serial and model
numbers, and manufacturers of your boat, its engines or sails, equipment, gear, radios, TV
sets is a vital aid in recovering any stolen goods. A few snapshots files with your
insurance papers will also be useful to the police
The Barrier Concept: Physical measures alone cannot keep a burglar out of your boat.
But any barriers you can add that will increase the three natural enemies of crime will
reduce a burglar’s opportunity, and increase his risk of being caught.
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Avoid Cabin Entry
- Replace spring-latch locking assembly with
dead-bolt type lock
- Install lugs in the hinge-plates to prevent
opening the door by removing hinge pins
- Close or cover any gaps that could allow
prying
- Lay wooden dowels in the tracks of sliding
windows
- Add a lexan back-up piece and solid brass hasp
to make the forward hatch more difficult to open from the outside
- Install a commercial or homemade alarm system
to ward off intruders. Magnetic or pressure switches on doors, windows, hatches, holds,
and instrument mountings, plus pressure mats at entrance points and in front of operating
console can activate the alarm. A hidden ignition kill switch can double as an alarm
disarming switch.
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Loose Gear
- Avoid leaving loose gear visible in
open boats or on the decks of enclosed boats
- Keep radios, TV sets, and other items of value out of sight
through windows
- Pick one hold or locker and secure it. Beef up the door or
cover and install a dead-bolt lock or a strong hasp and padlock. Keep your valuables in it
when you’re not on board.
Boats Under 20’
Boats in this class – whether gas, wind, or manpowered – are much more
susceptible to theft than larger craft. There are many more of any given make or model.
They can disappear in the crowd. They can be easily transported on land or water. And,
they can be easily sheltered in the building
- Secure your boat to the dock with a hardened alloy steel
chain or vinyl covered aircraft type cable
- Make sure what you chain it with is as secure as what you
chain it to
- Make sure the chain or cable can't be lifted over or torn
loose from the dock or piling
- Back up cleats or eye-bolts with aluminum or plywood plates
using one-way bolts and lock nuts
- On small open bolts, run the chain under the seat
At the Marina
Get to know the people at your marina. Let them know who they can expect to see on your
boat if you’re not there. Encourage watchfulness and attentiveness for strangers.
Challenge them if they don’t look like they belong there. Carefully observe
strangers: note good description of car, license number, get name, hair color, other
descriptive features. Check with boat owner if you’re not sure. Report suspicious
behavior to the police – they may already know him!
Your Fish Out of Water
This is when your boat is most vulnerable. Don't take chances!
At Home:
- Remove or lock the motor and prop
- Remove a wheel and block the frame or lock the trailer
securely
- Lock or dismantle trailer tongue
- Remove all loose gear
- Keep it in the garage or behind the house out of sight from
the road
In Dry Dock:
- Strip the boat so someone else can't. Remove all
loose gear, instruments, fittings, canvas
- Make sure it's well lighted
- Maintain regular visitation program
Other Tips to Remember
Remember the three
natural enemies of crime:
If a criminal has a good chance of being
seen, can't be silent, and has little time, it lowers the chances that a burglary will
occur.
Good lighting is the single most
cost-effective crime prevention measure. Promote good all-night lighting at your marina.
Use an automatic timer to turn on a light and a radio. Make the burglar think he has
company. Don’t let him work in privacy or darkness
Remember: an ounce of prevention is worth
a pound of cure. Taking some simple steps to safeguard your property will help to
keep that property in your possession!
A printable version of this document is also available to view and
download. To find out more, click HERE
to visit the Just the
FAQs section of our Web site.
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