Home Depot Security, solar & wireless outlets

[Ducatihottie]

Daily in my email box I get, "Home Depots" buy of the day. Today it's Security Cameras, Solar lights / panels and wireless outlets. These buys of the day in general are good deals.

Out of the 30 plus boats we looked at, I don't recall seeing or having to turn off a security device upon entering the boat. Looking back, that's kind of odd. Note my moorage does not have secure gates and it's kinda touristy.

1. Since they are on sale, Do you have a security device and what kind?

At home I have motion detection lights outside.

2. Do you have any solar security lights on your boat? What kind as most of them suck.

At home I have wireless remote controls for some of my lighting, (also on sale).

3. Do you have any remote or wireless controls on your boat?

4. At home Alexa is my alarm clock, my music, does my laundry, washes my bike, everything . Do you have Alexa on your boat and do I need wi/fi for Alexa?

5. What tricks do you use to secure your boat, (I promise I won't tell).

I want a light to shine in the water in the odd chance a mermaid stops by. Plus the kelp growing outside my boat is beautiful, (hopefully there'll be fish). I'm one of those that will spend hours looking into the water in case I miss something floating or swimming on buy.

6. Does anyone have a nightly light that shines into water? I'd love to have one shining off the boat or submerged. Maybe a solar spotlight?

7. If you have any fun decorative lights, string lights, tiki lamps or even Christmas lights year round.....

Do you have any photos of them? Or the water light?


I'm certain Solar panels are talked about in depth here, but solar panels on sale today too.

Off to my boat

 

[Ducatihottie]

This excitment should wean in a few weeks. Security of my new purchase should be top on the list of things to do??

 

[Comodave]

I have never had an issue. Our current boat is behind our house and I never lock it.

 

[Ducatihottie]

I'll trade you moorage, (and homes).

I find it quite odd all the brokers needed was a skeleton key to enter most boats I looked at. I'm a little worried as my docks are not gated.

Is theft that uncommon upon boats? Some people don't even lock their cars. If a burglar wants to get in, they will. Saves you from having to repair a broken window. In my boat's case repairing an expensive wooden door if someone breaks in.

 

[STB]

In most parts of the country, thefts at major marinas are really that rare. I know it seems odd, but as long as your dock neighbors know you, and who should and shouldn't be on your boat -- they'll make sure it stays that way. And, you should do the same for them. Usually the culture of marinas is that we all look out for each other.

I'll even run over and question people on boats where I don't know who belongs because I've never seen anyone. Who are you? Who's boat is this? What is its name? Is it registered or documented? What kind of boat is it? What year? You get the idea.

I've seen and evicted people on others' boats that didn't belong, but they were mostly there for a selfie or, occasionally, to drink on the flybridge, not to steal.

Maybe once a year we hear of a theft of something off a deck, usually minor. Never inside.

Most unmanaged anchorages might as well be "Pick a part" centers. Mooring fields vary a lot. Docks behind peoples' houses also vary.

Why do people leave their boats unlocked? What is the upside? There is always the possibility of a problem compounded by a bilge pump failure. For example a shaft seal springs a leak or a hose fails at a clamp, or weeks of rain, etc. The bilge pumps keep the boat afloat for a while, but may eventually become overwhelmed, clogged, die, or lose power. Now the boat starts to sink. If the boat is open -- neighbors or the marina will often save the boat. If not, by the time they get a hold of the owner and permission to break it, it could be over.

The same is true for more minor things. My neighbors have come aboard and changed my smoke alarm batteries before! They started chirping and got annoying to them!

As far as why people leave the keys in the ignition, this is in case of major catastrophy. Imagine a fire on the docks, or an allison that leave the piling about to fall over onto deck, or storm damage, etc. If the boat is in imminent danger, many neigbors will move the boat (in these situations, the marina staff are often overwhelmed). But, to do this, they have to get in, get it going, and get it moving, fast. I've even heard of people emergencyh moving neighbor's boats over termite swarms!

Rememeber the boats, themselves are just attached by ropes to the dock. Anyone can take a whole boat by tow!

Personally, I keep my boat locked when I am not around. But, I keep a lock box on it and the marina and all of my neighbors have the code. I am thankful for their attention and concern each time they walk down the dock and look things over, and especially so if they go in for a closer look. And, heck, if they need to borrow a tool, they don't need to ask, they just need to TXT me to let me know they are getting it (so I can chase it down later if needed) and then help themselves.

The upshot is that, at a good marina, there is likely little to worry about. This is especially true if there are at least a few liveaboards (think of them like free security) or "regulars".

 

[WayneDana2]

We installed a 200W Home Depot solar system last year. So far it works great! Has doubled the time we can anchor without burning diesel.

 

[South of Heaven]

I've been in Boston marinas for the past 4 years. Thefts do happen and are NOT rare around here. The opiod epidemic is huge in Mass.

Just keep your boat locked. Other than that I wouldn't lose sleep over it. Since you're a new boat owner you'll have plenty of other places to spend your money. Lol

 

[AusCan]

Cameras would help identify the culprit if it someone you recognise but if it is some random person that pry's open your hatch and drinks your beer it won't be much help.


I often don't bother locking my boat (and never lock our house) as I feel it does nothing to increase security. If someone wants in, a locked door slows them very little. Locking the door just causes extra damage. Prying open a hatch would take 10 seconds longer than walking in the cockpit door. I say this with some experience, as I had a somewhat misspent youth.

 

[syjos]

I don't secure the boat since it lives in a locked boathouse, at a YC with a locked gate and lots of liveaboards.

When we kept a boat at a public marina we locked the boat, had a hidden switch that disabled the engine starter and lights activated by timers inside to go on and off to simulate someone inside.

I had a pressure switch mat under a rug in the cockpit that activated a light and a radio inside the boat after a short delay. The radio was set on a talk radio station at low volume so from the outside of the boat sounded like someone talking. The light and radio turned off after 5 minutes if no further activity on the pressure switch. A counter recorded activation.

17 boats were broken into one night at a marina in downtown Tacoma when we were moored there in the 90's. The transom gate on our boat had been opened and the pressure mat activated but no entry was attempted. The burglar, in his haste to get off our boat after the light and radio came on, fell into the water, hitting his head on the way down. He could not get himself out of the water and was hanging on to the swim platform screaming for help. Lucky for the burglar that security at an adjacent marina heard his screaming and called 911. It apparently took a while for fire and police to arrive, determine where the screaming person was located and make their way through the locked gate. By the time the medics got to the criminal, he was no longer able to scream, barely conscious , barely able to hang onto my platform. A few more minutes and he would have been dead - darn!

His attorney actually tried to sue the marina for not having a nearby ladder for the overweight burglar to get out of the water. There was one at the bow end of the slip but the idiot couldn't swim.

 

[SteveK]

My marina office has a key. I was more concerned about the boat safety than intruders issues and have installed BRNKL made in Victoria BC. It is expandable soon to incorporate smart home security features. It does have one camera and motion sensor but what was important is remotely knowing the shore power is connected, batteries are charged.If a bilge pump activates. For any monitored system parameters are set and alerts are sent to my cell phone. The boat sinking at the dock is no longer a concern.
Theft security could be an add on however insurance covers that more than an expectations of an arrest.

 

[pjtemplin]

Food for thought: a camera won't do you any good if the footage isn't accessible to you. Are you going to use a cloud-based camera so it's "instantly" uploaded? Think about the complexity of when you're away from the marina - will it reconnect as expected at transient stops? Or, if it records on the boat, is the recorder somewhere hidden so they can't get it?

 

[Ducatihottie]

Steve: It's just to costly for me but how cool it would be to tell you features of your boat are functioning or not. And I thought my Ecobee was neat

gkesden, your marina sounds perfect. Mine is in a historic Fisherman's Terminal that's somewhat touristy. Like I said no locked doors on my dock. There's also people scouring the docks looking for the "Deadliest Catch" boats that dock there. I'd hope one of the tourist don't hop aboard my boat as you mentioned.

Jason I'm debating on rooting for my Bruins or my new home team Kraken.

syjos I just noticed today that every slip at Fisherman's Terminal has a ladder in it, (what a crazy story). My wife wants our boat closer to Auburn, she wants a Tacoma slip.