boat security

[romarni123]

We have to many locks.Try undoing them all when you have just run up the towpath cause you need a pee

[mick1964]

Thefts of/from boats are very rare. Most boats have little more than a flimsy padlock at best. All our insurance policy states is that the boat must be locked up if we are not in attendance. In reality the lock fitted to our cabin door (as standard by the manufacturer) would take little more than a screwdriver to force open. It doesnt bother us too much, and we happily leave her unattended on visitor moorings without any worries.

 

"thefts of/from boats are very rare" how do you know that? any stats ?

[Naughty Cal]

"thefts of/from boats are very rare" how do you know that? any stats ?

 

As as any theft of/from a boat tends to get reported on here or any of the other boating forums pretty quickly, the distinctly low number of such posts gives a clue.

[JohnK]

Hi All,

 

Why would anyone steal someone elses front and rear covers? We were maroond in Lymm for a couple of weeks over the New Year and some kind person relieved my friend of his front and rear covers. They were specifically made for his boat and would be easily recoqnisable, so why?

It had to be another boater, there was drink, walking boots and other stuff untouched. Kids would have surely chucked it overboard!

 

Anyway if anyone is offered or has seen a set of dark green covers being fitted or offered for sale, I know there is a reward of a few hundred pounds for info leading to the offender being educated as to his/her wrong ways! (His boat is a semi trad and the front cover has a window in the panel.)

[magnetman]

Hi All,

 

Why would anyone steal someone elses front and rear covers? We were maroond in Lymm for a couple of weeks over the New Year and some kind person relieved my friend of his front and rear covers. They were specifically made for his boat and would be easily recoqnisable, so why?

It had to be another boater, there was drink, walking boots and other stuff untouched. Kids would have surely chucked it overboard!

 

Anyway if anyone is offered or has seen a set of dark green covers being fitted or offered for sale, I know there is a reward of a few hundred pounds for info leading to the offender being educated as to his/her wrong ways! (His boat is a semi trad and the front cover has a window in the panel.)

 

 

I know someone who had a generator 'nicked' then discovered it was pushed into the water, but it was by cows not children the state of bovine antisocial behaviour is terrible in Wiltshire.

[mayalld]

Hi All,

 

Why would anyone steal someone elses front and rear covers? We were maroond in Lymm for a couple of weeks over the New Year and some kind person relieved my friend of his front and rear covers. They were specifically made for his boat and would be easily recoqnisable, so why?

It had to be another boater, there was drink, walking boots and other stuff untouched. Kids would have surely chucked it overboard!

 

Anyway if anyone is offered or has seen a set of dark green covers being fitted or offered for sale, I know there is a reward of a few hundred pounds for info leading to the offender being educated as to his/her wrong ways! (His boat is a semi trad and the front cover has a window in the panel.)

 

Sounds like vandalism, rather than theft of something that they wanted.

 

The covers have probably been chucked in the canal nearby.

[Water Rat.]

I know someone who had a generator 'nicked' then discovered it was pushed into the water, but it was by cows not children the state of bovine antisocial behaviour is terrible in Wiltshire.

 

I agree!! Wiltshire cows attacked Jade last summer. Thought we were a scratching post - or maybe another cow? I thought we were being attacked by pirates

 

ps got metal doors and mortice lock.

Edited February 12, 2010 by Water Rat.

[mchancox]

out of interest Mike,

how much power does your system require to be functioning 24/7 even in winter and what guarantees and customer references can you provide,

... are there members of this or other forums who use your services.??

thanks

HI,

The basic unit that I would install (I only fit and do not supply) consumes 20mA whilst on Standby. I don't believe that any of my customers are on here and I don't have testimonials sorry. The unit itself has a 12 month warranty.

 

Hope this helps you.

 

Mike.

[magnetman]

I've been thinking about making an automatic notification boat alarm system of some sort and I've come to the conclusion I can do it for under £50 (assuming I don't already have a spare mobile phone).

 

Its the Blue Peter method, however it does assume some technical knowledge.

 

Hardware:

 

PAYG Mobile phone £30 (including £10 of credit)

 

Diesel engine stop solenoid (£10 max) OR central locking solenoid

 

Suitable relay to run above

 

enough wiring to attach solenoid to relay, relay to reed switch and relay to 12v supply.

 

Reed switch and magnet

 

A block of wood 4x2x 1 foot

 

some metal bracketing material

 

screws

 

cable ties, duck tape and some elastic bands

 

plenty of very light fishing line

 

a permanent marker

 

a packet of cornflakes

 

 

Instructions:

 

fix the mobile phone to the block of wood with the elastic bands.

 

Make a bracket to mount the stop solenoid in such a way that it operates number 2 (1 is voicemail) on the phone keypad.if in doubt use cable ties and duck tape.

 

program '2' on the PAYG to call your own mobile phone number.

 

have a bowl of cornflakes (assumes you already have some milk and associated crockery and cutlery)

 

wire the solenoid, via a relay, to the reed switch, which should be mounted outside the vessel, adjacent to the steel cabin somewhere.

 

fix the magnet to a long length of fishing line, the line to be attached to relevant parts for example doors and windows and mooring lines.

 

stick the magnet to the steelwork, beside the reed switch in such a way that it opens the circuit.

 

more cornflakes

 

program your own mobile number into the PAYG phone elasticated to the block of wood.

 

assuming its all wired up to 12v, just pull the fishing line a little bit as if you were attempting to enter the boat or set it adrift..

 

more cornflakes

 

if the magnet is moved away from the reed switch the solenoid will activate and you'll get a call on your phone. of course you will have programmed this number to be 'boat' in the phone book.

 

this system has the advantage that you can even listen in to someone nicking your boat while you are 50 miles away

 

suggest sugar in the cornflakes at this point.

 

once the cornflakes are finished use one side of the box to make a notice by writing "This boat is protected by a very sophisticated alarm system" on the reverse side, with the permanent marker.

 

this notice should be mounted inside the window.

 

[NB Alnwick]

Magnetman likes Corn Flakes!

[Tillerpin]

Has anyone else had running gear stolen from under the deck boards? We naively left our six week old boat moored up overnight at Fenny Compton, amongst several other boats and came back to find the instrument panel gone and about £800 worth of equipment missing from under the deck boards. We were told at the time that this was quite a rare event. No one had seen anything. Got a crime number off the police and an offer of counselling as victims of crime.

 

Soon after we fitted locks to the deck boards - I would put a photo of these up if I knew how!

 

Just wondered if we were unlucky.

[rubblequeen]

As a new boat owner this has been very informative. I planned to use padlocks that use rolls of numbers (I'm sure that there is a correct name for these) The idea being a) for when I drop the keys overboard, forget them etc for when my relatives come to visit/borrow the boat, they can also get in.

 

So I was concerned when these have not been mentioned - are they such a bad idea that they arn't worth mentioning?

[Québec]

Was intrigued and amused (in a nice way) by magnetman's Blue Peter approach.

 

Wondered if there's another way to use the technology available.

 

Discovered there's a programme called Video Snarf which is an add-on to Skype (free phone calls and video calls via the internet).

 

The programme allows you to monitor a particular location from any remote location that has Internet access. Basically it senses any movement (via a video cam), sets off an alarm, starts recording and saving sound and images, and calls you. You can then hear/see what's going on. You can also call in to check what's going on at any time (Handy for those 'Did I close the stove door' 'Leave tap running' moments).

 

Of course it relies on having a computer and video cam on board, and leaving it and leaving it on when you're away from the boat - which I suspect many of us wouldn't want to do, though it might work if you're just out for the day or evening, but not for long periods.

 

Then again it might just be a case of back to the cornflakes, definitely with sugar.

[Bones]

I've been thinking about making an automatic notification boat alarm system of some sort and I've come to the conclusion I can do it for under £50 (assuming I don't already have a spare mobile phone).

 

Its the Blue Peter method, however it does assume some technical knowledge.

 

Hardware:

 

PAYG Mobile phone £30 (including £10 of credit)

 

Diesel engine stop solenoid (£10 max) OR central locking solenoid

 

Suitable relay to run above

 

enough wiring to attach solenoid to relay, relay to reed switch and relay to 12v supply.

 

Reed switch and magnet

 

A block of wood 4x2x 1 foot

 

some metal bracketing material

 

screws

 

cable ties, duck tape and some elastic bands

 

plenty of very light fishing line

 

a permanent marker

 

a packet of cornflakes

 

 

Instructions:

 

fix the mobile phone to the block of wood with the elastic bands.

 

Make a bracket to mount the stop solenoid in such a way that it operates number 2 (1 is voicemail) on the phone keypad.if in doubt use cable ties and duck tape.

 

program '2' on the PAYG to call your own mobile phone number.

 

have a bowl of cornflakes (assumes you already have some milk and associated crockery and cutlery)

 

wire the solenoid, via a relay, to the reed switch, which should be mounted outside the vessel, adjacent to the steel cabin somewhere.

 

fix the magnet to a long length of fishing line, the line to be attached to relevant parts for example doors and windows and mooring lines.

 

stick the magnet to the steelwork, beside the reed switch in such a way that it opens the circuit.

 

more cornflakes

 

program your own mobile number into the PAYG phone elasticated to the block of wood.

 

assuming its all wired up to 12v, just pull the fishing line a little bit as if you were attempting to enter the boat or set it adrift..

 

more cornflakes

 

if the magnet is moved away from the reed switch the solenoid will activate and you'll get a call on your phone. of course you will have programmed this number to be 'boat' in the phone book.

 

this system has the advantage that you can even listen in to someone nicking your boat while you are 50 miles away

 

suggest sugar in the cornflakes at this point.

 

once the cornflakes are finished use one side of the box to make a notice by writing "This boat is protected by a very sophisticated alarm system" on the reverse side, with the permanent marker.

 

this notice should be mounted inside the window.

 

 

That, my friend, is genius!!!!!

[ValandPete]

As a new boat owner this has been very informative. I planned to use padlocks that use rolls of numbers (I'm sure that there is a correct name for these) The idea being a) for when I drop the keys overboard, forget them etc for when my relatives come to visit/borrow the boat, they can also get in.

 

So I was concerned when these have not been mentioned - are they such a bad idea that they arn't worth mentioning?

 

 

We have this type of combination padlock, works well for us. The combination number can be re-set if needed.

 

Val

[Phil Ambrose]

The problem is that high security locks that don't look downright bloody ugly are very difficult to find for boats.

 

As a locksmith, do you have any suggestions?

 

I'm no locksmith but my solution is big hairy 8 stone Land Shark called Duffy. And if Duffy says you ain't coming in, you dont!

 

Phil

[mickp]

We have this type of combination padlock, works well for us. The combination number can be re-set if needed.

 

Val

comby locks not the most secure ,and can be hard to read in the dark but still handy as u dont need to carry a bunch of keys around

[mchancox]

I've been thinking about making an automatic notification boat alarm system of some sort and I've come to the conclusion I can do it for under £50 (assuming I don't already have a spare mobile phone).

 

Its the Blue Peter method, however it does assume some technical knowledge.

 

Hardware:

 

PAYG Mobile phone £30 (including £10 of credit)

 

Diesel engine stop solenoid (£10 max) OR central locking solenoid

 

Suitable relay to run above

 

enough wiring to attach solenoid to relay, relay to reed switch and relay to 12v supply.

 

Reed switch and magnet

 

A block of wood 4x2x 1 foot

 

some metal bracketing material

 

screws

 

cable ties, duck tape and some elastic bands

 

plenty of very light fishing line

 

a permanent marker

 

a packet of cornflakes

 

 

Instructions:

 

fix the mobile phone to the block of wood with the elastic bands.

 

Make a bracket to mount the stop solenoid in such a way that it operates number 2 (1 is voicemail) on the phone keypad.if in doubt use cable ties and duck tape.

 

program '2' on the PAYG to call your own mobile phone number.

 

have a bowl of cornflakes (assumes you already have some milk and associated crockery and cutlery)

 

wire the solenoid, via a relay, to the reed switch, which should be mounted outside the vessel, adjacent to the steel cabin somewhere.

 

fix the magnet to a long length of fishing line, the line to be attached to relevant parts for example doors and windows and mooring lines.

 

stick the magnet to the steelwork, beside the reed switch in such a way that it opens the circuit.

 

more cornflakes

 

program your own mobile number into the PAYG phone elasticated to the block of wood.

 

assuming its all wired up to 12v, just pull the fishing line a little bit as if you were attempting to enter the boat or set it adrift..

 

more cornflakes

 

if the magnet is moved away from the reed switch the solenoid will activate and you'll get a call on your phone. of course you will have programmed this number to be 'boat' in the phone book.

 

this system has the advantage that you can even listen in to someone nicking your boat while you are 50 miles away

 

suggest sugar in the cornflakes at this point.

 

once the cornflakes are finished use one side of the box to make a notice by writing "This boat is protected by a very sophisticated alarm system" on the reverse side, with the permanent marker.

 

this notice should be mounted inside the window.

 

It is not a proper Blue Peter Job unless you use lots of Sticky backed Plastic!! LOL!!

[Ray]

The (front and) back doors of our boat are steel with the edges rounded over to take an insert of (in our case) 18mm veneered blockboard, the face of which is almost flush with the aforementioned rounded edge of the steelwork.

 

The rear hatch is, at present, unlined because we couldn't think of a way of fixing the lining without drilling holes in the steelwork and because we couldn't work out a safe way to enable us to secure the hatch and doors from inside so that we could open them if we needed to evacuate the boat in an emergency whilst, at the same time, providing a fairly robust means of securing the boat from outside when we leave it.

 

We've got a padlock outside at present which we lock when we leave the boat and take inside whilst we're on the boat.

 

We wedge a piece of wood between the inside of the hatch cover and the hatch opening surround to stop the hatch being moved whilst we're inside. If we need to get out we unbolt the doors, push them outwards, the wedged wood falls down and we can slide the hatch cover open - we get a slight headache when the wood falls but we can nurse that whilst we're waiting for the emergency services to arrive to attend to whatever forced us to evacuate in the first place.

 

We recently saw a boat that had a night latch (with built in deadlock) fitted. This was fixed to the door lining with the bolt mechanism vertical so that with a suitable spacer on the inside of the hatch cover, the bolt stopped the hatch being slid open whilst stopping the doors from being pulled outwards - they can't be pushed inwards because the cabin floor was stepped and prevents the doors moving that way.

 

Without buying such a lock (recommendations gratefully received) I'm at a loss to understand how it is fixed to the door - I don't see a problem with the fitment on the hatch slide. Are these devices simply screwed into the face of the door lining or are they held in place by some other means that I have been unable to ascertain? If they just screw into the door lining horizontally, is it not a simple case of exerting force on the hatch slide to lever the lock from its fixings in the lining?

 

Apart from the slight problem of drilling the 30mm plus diameter hole throught the steel doors, can these devices be fitted straight out of the packet on such thin doors or do they require some additional engineering?

 

We only secure the front doors from inside at present but would like to be able to do so from the outside as well as we sometimes find it easier to leave the boat at the front rather than the rear. So we were thinking of fitting a similar night latch to these doors. How easy is it to get two night latches that can use the same key?

[kiki]

all these locks are fantastic, pity they dont stop a brick through a window ??

[Ray]

all these locks are fantastic, pity they dont stop a brick through a window ??

 

That's true, but potentially uninvited guest may not have a brick!

 

I suspect that there are many places where even basic security is enough to put off the casual chancer - I suspect there are a few people with honest intentions that are nosey enough to simply want to look inside and do nothing else. There are probably also those who, if the opportunity presented itself, would not be quite so honest.

 

We'll never stop the determined person from gaining entry. We want to discourage those for whom effort is too much like hard work.

[Bat & Frog]

So far we have not had a problem with people trying to break in, just yobs trying to nick our bikes off the front deck at 2-4am which is really starting to p*ss me off, they are locked up and all quick release stuff locked on. A baseball bat has been suggested but 2 things I don't like, 1st I get sued, 2nd I get criminal record and 3rd, they know where I live and some people are vengeful and I don't fancy waking to find the boat covered in petrol/ paint remover etc.

As we have 240v I am thinking of linking a decent water pump to a couple of spray heads, activated by a PIR so when they get down on the front deck it kicks in. Pump will be in the dock so not the cleanest of water so hopefully word will get around. I have an old pressure washer and wondering if this would work or maybe won't have enough flow.

[gazznhelz]

dont bother putting the water pick up in the canal, put it in the black tank,

 

you'll be able to smell who was trying to break in if you ever walk behind them in the street