Boat security while working?

[Anglan]

I'm thinking about getting a boat in the next year or so as my dad has lived on one for the past 10 years and I always enjoyed it - plus the savings wouldn't be totally awful! Problem is he has spent the vast majority of his time in marinas and I think I'd prefer to be a continuous cruiser.

 

Now obviously within a 20 mile radius working and continuously cruising is possible but I wondered if anybody has had any experience with boat security whilst away at work? Things like break ins, vandalism, people untying ropes or any number of other things? I would be out of the boat between 7am and 5pm every day and in my head a narrowboat is quite vulnerable being held in place with only rope during the day.

 

If so, what steps can be taken to prevent it? Trackers, security cameras etc? 

 

Any help would be appreciated! Or equally call me a paranoid nutjob, any feedback is helpful! 

[matty40s]

I have CC'd for 10 out of my 13 years on this boat whilst working in the Midlands, London and East England. My boat was secure, in Winter the stove always had a wisp of smoke whether I was there or not, at night, it might have looked like the telly was on (12v LED unit), in Summer there might have been a chair outside, with a book on.

I did 12 hour shifts in london, with an hour commute either side at some points.

Other places, I operated a 24 hour cover, sometimes doing the entire 24.

All you can do is make your boat less attractive to break into , dont moor in silly places, close your towpath curtains, make it sound like you are on the boat (solar radio set) etc.

Easy, enjoy.

[blackrose]

The best security is to moor up with other boats, especially people you've met. 

[David Mack]

Lots of boats have a permanent mooring on the towpath or other accessible spot, and are left unvisited for weeks at a time. 

[Tracy D'arth]

If you don't cruise far enough C&RT will help by attaching Aware labels which will discourage some felons. Ultimately they will remove it from the canal for you and park it in a nice safe compound near Chester.

[matty40s]

1 hour ago, blackrose said:

The best security is to moor up with other boats, especially people you've met. 

Disagree, I left Kensall Green during slight thaw, in the freeze of 2010, next two nights, all the other boats were broken into..with residents onboard...and police didnt attend.

Which is why desperate boaters opened up all the paddles at Camden Lock to break the ice on a 22 mile pound so they could escape.

[blackrose]

31 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Disagree, I left Kensall Green during slight thaw, in the freeze of 2010, next two nights, all the other boats were broken into..with residents onboard...and police didnt attend.

Which is why desperate boaters opened up all the paddles at Camden Lock to break the ice on a 22 mile pound so they could escape.

 

Disagree. If boats were being broken into while the owners were onboard that's a pretty extreme example based on location, not on the fact the boats were moored together. The logical conclusion of what you're saying is that a single boat would have been safer in that location which is obviously nonsense.

 

My point was simply that in general, all other things being equal, boats moored together with owners on board a couple of them are safer than boats moored alone.

Edited April 20, 2021 by blackrose

[restlessnomad]

I would think break ins during day time be rare during non-winter months(if you are moored near other boats or house)...

[matty40s]

9 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

Disagree. If boats were being broken into while the owners were onboard that's a pretty extreme example based on location, not on the fact the boats were moored together. The logical conclusion of what you're saying is that a single boat would have been safer in that location which is obviously nonsense.

 

My point was simply that in general, all other things being equal, boats moored together with owners on board a couple of them are safer than boats moored alone.

Which is why I disagreed with your example, as I was aware(and just missed out on) a case where your scenario didnt help. Its not about the logical conclusion you have ended up with, it is giving the OP a wider view of experience.

[robtheplod]

We've got two cameras on the boat : #8 Security & Remote Monitoring - YouTube

[Tracy D'arth]

5 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

We've got two cameras on the boat : #8 Security & Remote Monitoring - YouTube

They steal those too!

[Alan de Enfield]

10 hours ago, matty40s said:

Disagree, I left Kensall Green during slight thaw, in the freeze of 2010, next two nights, all the other boats were broken into..with residents onboard...and police didnt attend.

Which is why desperate boaters opened up all the paddles at Camden Lock to break the ice on a 22 mile pound so they could escape.

 

Kensal Green - that's London innit.

 

Lots of baddies in London.

[Mike Tee]

One trick if you are concerned about scroats untying your boat - buy a 56lb weight, tie a substantial (12mm/14mm) rope to it and drop it off the boat on the canal side. Even tied to the centre line ring it would stop the boat going far. It gets embarrassing if you decide to go for a cruise and forget to pull it out ...................

[PaulJ]

If buying your first boat isnt hard enough already (so many choices and decisions)- looking at boats that look more secure would help. Portholes and not big windows, steel doors or covers and not flimsy wooden ones . It wont stop anyone getting in but they may pick an easier target.

Alarms and cameras are a good idea but come wintertime when you have little time left to charge your batteries it may not be (easily) viable.

Having tied up many boats that are drifting about, I cant ever remember any suffering any real damage. So this is probably the least of your worries other than the heart stopping moment you experience when your home has disappeared ?

 

 

[BWM]

Keep interior pictures off of social media, more than a few have suffered a break in after such exposure. 

[ditchcrawler]

11 hours ago, robtheplod said:

We've got two cameras on the boat : #8 Security & Remote Monitoring - YouTube

Did you see the video on Facebook of a chap climbing on a boat, looking through the window, then cutting the mooring lines before pushing the boat out. The owner was asleep onboard. Lovely footage of him but it didn't stop him doing it