Another one that what;s to give up the rat race!

[heyjude999]

Hi I have always found forums to be excellent for getting balanced information.

I have had a fair old look around this one but cannot find any guidance about security.

What guidlines do you consider sensible, what security can be fitted to a narrow boat, does anyone do alarms or trackers?

It is important to stay balanced about things but having considered the 'dream' I do want to ensure I keep as safe as possible.

If you could point me to any articles on here of have personal advice I would welcome this.

Many thanks

[bottle]

Hi Jude

 

There are security problems, exactly as there are with a house.

 

There is no such thing as total security but you knew that, all you can do is make it more difficult for the thief etc. and make them move on to the next one.

 

As for alarms/tracking devices, yes they do exist, I cannot advise on them as not used one but those designed for cars would do.

[Gary Peacock]

Yes there are loads of security systems around probably the best approach is ones based around domestic components rather than a car alarm designed to protect a very small enclosed space.

 

You can do a very good boat alarm based on domestic components for under £90.00. (I posted the menu to put it together in the past)

 

If you want the easy life we use a wire free kit that costs about £190.00 but you are paying an extra £100 pounds just to loose the wires and have a less flexible installation with higher priced components.

 

If you want to get clever with messaging and tracking then this would be my choice http://nautilarm.canalboatbits.co.uk/ but you are looking at £400 plus.

 

You can get cheaper messaging setups but most of them are a bit "Micky Mouse".

Edited September 5, 2008 by Gary Peacock

[NB Esk]

I'd start by looking at security at a far more basic level, than gadgets/electronics.

 

A boat with portholes would be far more secure that one with conventional windows. No Tleaf in his right mind would consider squeezing thro' jagged shards of glass, firmly fixed in a porthole.

Similarly, steel doors/hatches, rather than glazed ones. Not everyones cuppa, but secure.

 

A final touch would be to chain the boat (left loose of course) when left for the day. Others may be set adrift, even nicked, your's probably won't..........Happy boating.

Edited September 5, 2008 by PistonBroke

[Tim Doran]

It all depends on where you plan on having your boat. The most common form of crime is (as always) oportunist crime. Make sure that you take sensible measures and do not advertise your belongings.

 

Tim

[BlueStringPudding]

I wonder about alarm systems on a boat. If you're moored away from other boats (or nearby boats move away when you're not aboard) there's no-one to hear an alarm go off, anyway. Trackers exsist but so do anti-trackers that block the signal so not a great deal of point in buying one.

 

Buy yourself some cheap solar powered fairy lights (less than a tenner) that come on automatically at night and put them inside the window of your boat so the light san be seen through drawn curtains or closed blinds - that way in hours of darkness it looks like someone's home.

 

As someone said above, moor using your ropes but a add a loose padlocked chain too (we do when in known "getting set adrift" areas in Warwick and Leamington, for example).

 

Make sure any hatches that seal with a padlock have a tamper proof padlock (one it's hard to get boltcutters into) and make it clearly visible if on the outside of the boat (best to deter someone from even stepping on to the boat for a closer look, I say)

This kinda thing:

 

And keep blinds or curtains closed on the towpath side when moored, so passers-by can't see if you've got anything worth stealing!

Edited September 5, 2008 by BlueStringPudding

[Melders]

I've got this terrible worry about someone lurking on the roof of my imaginary boat in the early hours ... just waiting for me to send Mrs Melders out of the front or rear door to check what the spooky scratching noise is ...... so i'd have a little periscope hole made in the roof in the middle of the boat for this device........

 

.

[John Orentas]

In some ways perhaps the opposite to the previous reply.. I know so many people that when leaving their boat in the marina or whatever, religiously go around the boat drawing all the curtains "so the villains can't see inside".

 

Most of these thieves are so stupid that when they look at such a boat they imagine bottles of booze adorning every shelf, crates of beer stacked on each bit of spare floor and piles of cash aligned on the furniture.. Leave all your curtains wide open and don't leave anything of value visible inside.. The worst scenario is to be broken into and have something of value stolen, they will be back next week and the week after and probably tell their mates all about your pile of swag along with appropriate exaggeration..

 

Some years ago I heard about a house in a posh area of Cheshire, it was burgled by some low-life who was later caught and sentenced.. While in prison the miscreant boasted to anyone who would listed about that house, stuffed with riches of all kinds, that story circulated around every prison in the country and the address written in a thousand note-books..

 

The house owner eventually was forced to move, some nights, he told the press, the house was 'screwed' twice in one night..

 

So there you are! don't get a mention in the 'Scrubs Times'.

 

I had a boat nearly 30 years, never lost a thing, Oh yes a gang plank but I caught the rat in the act.

Edited September 5, 2008 by John Orentas