Boat theft

[ScottinMA]

New to us Mainship 390 with questions about theft prevention. First, was wondering whether people have experienced break-ins when cruising on their boats. We had a break-in on our former Mainship 34 while at it's mooring and the thieves took everything inside down to the sumps in the bilge. We then installed a patio door through-bolt which attached to the door and went through the frame. I question whether that is necessary with the door installed on the 390 or whether the lock itself is a sufficient deterrent? We plan on doing a good deal of cruising this summer along the New England coast and I'd rather not have a repeat of the experience with the earlier break in.

Scott Smith
"Andiamo"
2004 Mainship 390
Cape Cod, MA

 

[jleonard]

Never had a break in for the 30 plus years we boated out of Mystic Ct. I used to lock our old Mainship 1 but it was easy to open if someone wanted in. Never locked our Albin.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. S. As noted in other threads, locks are poor deterrents to dedicated thieves and more damage may be done by the break in than the potential loss of goods. I would suggest a freakin' loud siren. Above 120 db. Leave your boat unlocked and get some sort of remote deactivation device so you can actually approach your own vessel IF the alarm is sounding.
Maybe add some garish disco effects for night notification.

A 30 second delay would allow you to deactivate the alarm on entering.

 

[jgtrucking]

+1 for the alarm deturrent. If the thief wants past your lock, he will get past it. Drawing light and sound attention to the boat, and goot location selection will pay dividends over locks.

 

[GFC]

In addition to the sound I'd recommend a flashing strobe. That would direct other boaters or the cops directly to your boat without having to hunt for the source of the noise.

 

[Seevee]

As long as we're on this subject, can anyone recommend products for



1. Noise
2. Strobe


I much prefer to make noise and light than to take the guy's picture.


Perhaps a good quality speaker that sounds like a mean barking dog would work, too..... or just get a dog.

 

[ScottinMA]

I'm looking at this option:

https://www.piratelights.com/

 

[Wood]

I use Boat Command https://boatcommand.com/

It can be configured for various inputs including motion detectors and sirens. Has 2 bilge inputs, GPS anchor alarm / tracking, temperature & voltage.

Communicates via G3 cellular. About $80 / year connect fees.

Worth $200 in my opinion.

 

[slowgoesit]

I use Boat Command https://boatcommand.com/

It can be configured for various inputs including motion detectors and sirens. Has 2 bilge inputs, GPS anchor alarm / tracking, temperature & voltage.

Communicates via G3 cellular. About $80 / year connect fees.

Worth $200 in my opinion.

Wood, I just checked out the link above. It's a bit more than $200.00!

Initial module is $299.00
12 v Control Relay is $29.95 (they don't explain what it does, of if it is required)
Temp or door sensors are $29.95 each


So assuming basic box, with control relay and say 3 sensors, you are looking at $418.80 plus shipping and tax (if applicable) I can't find out how much monitoring is unless I buy the equipment . . . Not a lot of info I could find about a lot of the type of alarms like anchor alarm etc. JMHO, but for $200.00, might be worth it, but not for what the website appears to want to charge. How did you purchase for $200.00?

 

[Seevee]

I have no need for a monitoring system, I'm withing sight of my boat 95% of the time.


However, when I'm sleeping on it or it's anchored and I'm on the dink, I want to scare away predictors (humans and bears). And feel that noise and light make the best option.


Another option, might be a light that flashes occasionally like taking a picture. That would be great for me at home base, where I'm in a rather secluded spot and it would be easy for someone to row up unnoticed and attack my boat.

 

[Shrew]

A lot of this is location dependent. I haven't locked a boat in the last 13-14 years. That doesn't mean you shouldn't. The display in the upper helm is mounted into the dash. That will get stolen whether the boat is locked or not.

Otherwise, you're welcome to my booze and underwear. At the end of the day, it's just a bunch of replaceable stuff. Fixing a broken door on a 20 year old boat is another matter.

 

[Wood]

Wood, I just checked out the link above. It's a bit more than $200.00!

Initial module is $299.00
12 v Control Relay is $29.95 (they don't explain what it does, of if it is required)
Temp or door sensors are $29.95 each


So assuming basic box, with control relay and say 3 sensors, you are looking at $418.80 plus shipping and tax (if applicable) I can't find out how much monitoring is unless I buy the equipment . . . Not a lot of info I could find about a lot of the type of alarms like anchor alarm etc. JMHO, but for $200.00, might be worth it, but not for what the website appears to want to charge. How did you purchase for $200.00?

I think I paid $199.00 for it - Amazon. But $299 isn't bad either for what it does. Temperature sensor is included. I used simple 12v automotive relays $5 to interface the motion detector / horn. Motion detectors, horns, or door sensors, of course, not included. I bought motion sensor for $10 on ebay.