PLEASE HELP: Boat (SELKIE) Stolen

[fender.]

Its really good news that the boat has been found.

 

Whats distrurbing is this and the Cragdale case represent a new trend of narrow boat stealers whom the likes we have not seen before

[magnetman]

Its really good news that the boat has been found.

 

Whats distrurbing is this and the Cragdale case represent a new trend of narrow boat stealers whom the likes we have not seen before

I saw a young couple painting Selkie black a couple of days ago, "seems odd, painting a boat in winter", and they were moored right on a lock mooring too - "new to boating?"

I agree this is a bit of a disturbing trend. who would nick a narrowboat and actually believe they'd get away with it?

I noticed this boat the other day and didn't report it so i guess people don't really see things.

I had to call the owner, and inspect the overpainting, which is dodgy and hastily done, before being completely sure it was the right boat.

 

Sometimes, perhaps, doing something blatant like that makes people think "they wouldn't be that blatant" but maybe they are relying on that attitude to get away.

[fender.]

I saw a young couple painting Selkie black a couple of days ago, "seems odd, painting a boat in winter", and they were moored right on a lock mooring too - "new to boating?"

I agree this is a bit of a disturbing trend. who would nick a narrowboat and actually believe they'd get away with it?

I noticed this boat the other day and didn't report it so i guess people don't really see things.

I had to call the owner, and inspect the overpainting, which is dodgy and hastily done, before being completely sure it was the right boat.

 

Sometimes, perhaps, doing something blatant like that makes people think "they wouldn't be that blatant" but maybe they are relying on that attitude to get away.

 

Yes magnetman its probably the blatant attitude thats at work here, the perpetrators think they can get away wiv it but we'll have them caught in no time!

[Supermalc]

Sometimes, perhaps, doing something blatant like that makes people think "they wouldn't be that blatant" but maybe they are relying on that attitude to get away.

 

Yes, same as with stealing motorbikes. You see someone taking a bike and putting it into the back of a transit 'repossession mate'.

 

Well done on finding it....leaves a few unanswered questions though.

 

Why wasn't it found sooner, as it was in walking distance, and had been gone several weeks?

 

And why repaint it now? Surely the quicker you disguise it the better?

 

Curiouser and curiouser comes to mind.....

 

I know it was said before, but if I had £60,000 plus of boat left lying around, I'd certainly have it tagged, and monitored for movement.

[John Orentas]

Its really good news that the boat has been found.

Whats disturbing is this and the Cragdale case represent a new trend of narrow boat stealers whom the likes we have not seen before

 

 

 

I think similar attempts of theft have been carried out before, but it is gratifying to know that they are so rarely if ever successful. As long as the thieves get their collars felt routinely the practise should rapidly go out of fashion.

 

Congratulations to Magnet man and any other sharp eyed people who brought this episode so rapidly to an end, the best deterrent to any kind of crime is a near certainty of getting caught.

Edited December 30, 2006 by John Orentas

[magnetman]

Yes, same as with stealing motorbikes. You see someone taking a bike and putting it into the back of a transit 'repossession mate'.

 

Well done on finding it....leaves a few unanswered questions though.

 

Why wasn't it found sooner, as it was in walking distance, and had been gone several weeks?

 

And why repaint it now? Surely the quicker you disguise it the better?

 

Curiouser and curiouser comes to mind.....

 

I know it was said before, but if I had £60,000 plus of boat left lying around, I'd certainly have it tagged, and monitored for movement.

 

Being fair I believe, from what the rozzers told me, that the owner has been on holiday and the boat was reported missing to him by someone else.

 

I totally agree with you.

If my boat got stolen (nobody would want mine, its a dump and somewhat recognisable from all the modifications I have made to it) I would be on my bike, knowing that the furthest they could possibly get in one day from here would be Tring and that'd be a good run. Basically your going to find the boat if you look hard enough.

I just can't believe that these people could actually nick the thing from the marina and go off in it expecting to get away with it.

 

As for the painting, I think it was an overpaint over the previous overpaint probably, the boat wasn't recognisable. At the end of the day this boat may well have gone missing on the 26th which is only 4 days ago so it might just be a quick recovery. The craning out was what I was concerned about to be honest, doing that would get it 200 miles away in a morning.

 

 

"warder fakkin libertee" is what I say.

[haggis]

Well done on finding it....leaves a few unanswered questions though.

 

Why wasn't it found sooner, as it was in walking distance, and had been gone several weeks?

 

And why repaint it now? Surely the quicker you disguise it the better?

 

Curiouser and curiouser comes to mind.....

 

But it may only have been removed from the marina a few days ago. The owner said he last saw the boat on, I think, 11th November and it could have been removed any time since then. Painting it on the lock landing in such close proximity to the marina suggests to me that the removal took place a few days ago. I don't know what the stoppages are in that area but they might have removed the boat, planned to give it a quick disguise and use the Christmas/ New Year window to get as far away as possible.

Great that they were foiled due to the eagle eyes of posters to this forum.

 

Ann

[purplehaze]

Fantastic work Magnetman

 

As to why they were painting recently, maybe the boat wasn't stolen 6 weeks ago which would explain why it hadn't got very far.

 

Julie

[Janet S]

Martin, what a great result, and in such a short time!

 

It will give you a story to relate over a beer in the Virtual Pub. I hope you're going to stay with us on the forum. Free beers from Snibble on Fridaaaays and a great support network.

 

Janet

[DHutch]

The thing i dont get, is why if you repainting it use blacking. Or even black paint?

- There are VERY few black boats out there, certainty not roughly painted blacking on a 3yo boat!

- Black boats stick out like one-in-a-million, and as im sure allan will vouch for, they get noticed and remebered.

 

If i was trying conseal Selkie i would have left her green, repainted the cream and red, and the calked a false name on the name board, in mock antisipation for some sign writing.

 

 

Daniel

[magnetman]

The thing i dont get, is why if you repainting it use blacking. Or even black paint?

- There are VERY few black boats out there, certainty not roughly painted blacking on a 3yo boat!

- Black boats stick out like one-in-a-million, and as im sure allan will vouch for, they get noticed and remebered.

 

If i was trying conseal Selkie i would have left her green, repainted the cream and red, and the calked a false name on the name board, in mock antisipation for some sign writing.

Daniel

The other thing with black painted boats is that you can roast a joint of meat in the cabin in the summer...

I'm not sure if its bitumen but it seems like it, they left the red tramlines and cream bits, but under the semi-trad cover its still green. I agree that changing the name would be the thing but we don't want to encourage thieves to get brains onto their shoulders, to be fair.

[Janet S]

Daniel,

 

i would have left her green, repainted the cream and red, and the calked a false name on the name board

 

Sounds as though you've given this some thought. I'd have done just the same! Well, you think of every option when you can only afford a dinghy when you really want a narrowboat, don't you?

 

Janet

 

PS. Only joking folks.

[alan_fincher]

This is getting scary.

 

It seems like the Grand Union is fast becoming the canal you are most likely to get your narrow boat stolen on.

 

But for those who don't know it, (and depending on exactly where it was found near Ricky), I doubt it was located much over 5 miles, or 5 locks from where it was taken from.

 

My very strong hunch would be that it was stolen very recently, trying to take advantage of Christmas to not be noticed. The priority seems to have been attempted disguise, rather than a fast runner.

 

It almost beggars belief that they would not have tried to mover it further, if it had been gone a lot longer. (Unless there have been stoppages down that way, I suppose, which is always a strong possibility at this time of year).

 

Incidentally, this is not a stretch of canal where anybody can make a particularly fast getaway anyway.. I guess it would only be about 20 miles to have got it as far north as the Tring summit level, (where opportunities like the relatively remote Wendover Arm would make it easier to get out of view), but there must be some 40 locks from Harefield up to Tring.

 

I don't think they have active stoppages over the Xmas and New Year Period, but doubtless by about one week into January it would become hard to get very far North, without hitting some major outage.

 

Anyway, well done Magnetman, and I sincerely hope that the owners don't end up out of pocket over the incident.

 

Alan

[Supermalc]

My inattention strikes again Sorry I misread the day it was discovered missing as 27th November, not December ...... all makes sense now.

 

Well done to all concerned. Wonder if these people low life scum have a bill of sale, like the ones with GRAGDALE had.

 

Speaking of which. Didn't the owner of Cragdale say that was his job was security, or had been. Maybe some good can come out of this in the end, as he could supply and fit the necessary equipment.

Edited December 30, 2006 by Supermalc

[magnetman]

My inattention strikes again Sorry I misread the day it was discovered missing as 27th November, not December ...... all makes sense now.

 

Well done to all concerned. Wonder if these people low life scum have a bill of sale, like the ones with GRAGDALE had.

 

Speaking of which. Didn't the owner of Cragdale say that was his job was security, or had been. Maybe some good can come out of this in the end, as he could supply and fit the necessary equipment.

I feel that the major mistake that has been made here is allowing the fuzz to stick around the boat all day putting off the people low life scum who might otherwise have returned to the stolen boat and thereby allowed themselves the be 'clapped in irons'. I do regret this but its best to get the boat back into its rightful ownership to avoid further complications.

[NB Alnwick]

Found the boat, its been blacked over but I've checked with Martin and its certainly Selkie, no damage other than paintwork.

 

Very well done - we've been boating all day ande missed the excitement but nice to see a result!

[Supermalc]

Btw Magnetman - I hope you get the usual reward of 10%, the finders fee. You deserve it.

[John Orentas]

I suspect that many of you are attributing higher levels of intelligence to these characters than they deserve, the one thing that felons of this kind have in common is that they are all pretty stupid. Anyone who wanted to maximise his profits and minimise risks would have nicked a newish very saleable Merc. from a long stay car park, he could have sold it for a large bundle of euros in France before it was even missed. Hoisting narrowboats must be seen as mugs game by everyone, never the ideal getaway vehicles.

 

Reading Magnetmans thread reminds me of my natural reverence for our British police force, they don't sound to have behaved like Mastermind candidates either.

[chris w]

Btw Magnetman - I hope you get the usual reward of 10%, the finders fee. You deserve it.

Doesn't Magnetman now own the boat. Under Marine Law he can claim it as salvage!!

 

Great news it's found.

 

Chris

[Supermalc]

Doesn't Magnetman now own the boat. Under Marine Law he can claim it as salvage!!

 

No, that only applies to tidal waters.

[magnetman]

Doesn't Magnetman now own the boat. Under Marine Law he can claim it as salvage!!

 

Great news it's found.

 

Chris

Oh, wicked!

I 'found it with the magnet'. honest officer, it was there, quite heavy, just pulled it out of the cut, like countless windlasses, boathooks, hand grenades, 14lb incendiaries and all the other things.

I did think of it but it seemed unlikely.

 

Please let me see the legal bits for claiming before Martin arrives!

 

edit: damn! just saw supermalc's bit. I could make this bit tidal, the level changes quite a bit under the influence of a windlass...

Edited December 30, 2006 by magnetman

[chris w]

Re the tidal bit, was it in Rickmansworth or Rickmansworth Cove?

[magnetman]

Re the tidal bit, was it in Rickmansworth or Rickmansworth Cove?

I can't believe you actually got me looking up 'rickmansworth cove' on google. That is BAD.

 

No sign of the owner yet, maybe its all a cunning plan...

[William Martin]

What can we all learn from this - did they 'hot-wire' the engine - would keys or no keys make any difference - one boat on my marina has a padlocked chain for mooring but to me it looks like easy work for a bolt cutter - is there a way to imobilise a NB? - I uaually take my battery isolator keys away - but they are easily replaced - any thoughts?

[nbtafelberg]

Good job

 

I was just going to say I saw the add in the Toll house in Cowley and I'll keep an eye out for it.

 

Have you got possession of it?