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* FOUND * Stolen Boat - from Mercia Marina

Yank on the Cut

By Yank on the Cut
in General Boating

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GoodGurl Experienced

GoodGurl

Posted
Posted

Spoke to chri graham asked me to thank everyone on here for all the help in getting her back.its been at western for a while and it was spotted by a member on here yesterday.no one was with the boat when it was found.they say they will post soon as they needed to stay quiet untill they got the boat safe

so it has been identified as the stolen boat? have the thieves been caught?

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

having read the replies to this, firstly congrats to these folk if it is their boat, and well done one and all for keeping such a look out. Did I read that Chris and Graham gave a gongoozler at Fradley all the details of when they would be away from their boat, where it was moored and the one thing that I really cannot understand is why did they give this person the name of the pontoon it was mooed on. ? anyway, Apologies if I have mis read this.

 

I don't think the person who they spoke to said - "can you tell me where you moor your boat and when you will be away because I'm thinking about nicking it".

 

It was just idle conversation I believe, much like most people engage in every day....

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

Spoke to chri graham asked me to thank everyone on here for all the help in getting her back.its been at western for a while and it was spotted by a member on here yesterday.no one was with the boat when it was found.they say they will post soon as they needed to stay quiet untill they got the boat safe

 

 

Excellent news, thanks for posting. Seems pretty definitive news that this IS the right boat then from what you say!

 

Congrats to Chris and Graham for getting their boat back. I hope it isn't too messed up inside, or by the hurried painting.

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Beaker Rising Star

Beaker

Posted
Posted

 

 

Excellent news, thanks for posting. Seems pretty definitive news that this IS the right boat then from what you say!

 

Congrats to Chris and Graham for getting their boat back. I hope it isn't too messed up inside, or by the hurried painting.

 

Will this be covered by their Insurance?

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Carrera Gongoozler

Carrera

Posted
Posted (edited)

If this is indeed the stolen boat, and Chris and Graham get it back undamaged apart from the changed paintwork, then I'm delighted for them. In reply to Trundler, who posted,

having read the replies to this, firstly congrats to these folk if it is their boat, and well done one and all for keeping such a look out. Did I read that Chris and Graham gave a gongoozler at Fradley all the details of when they would be away from their boat, where it was moored and the one thing that I really cannot understand is why did they give this person the name of the pontoon it was mooed on. ? anyway, Apologies if I have mis read this.

 

I'd say that as previously mentioned I don't have a narrowboat and have never been on one; however, looking in from the outside I would imagine that it is s very stress-free and relaxing way of life (please correct me if I'm wrong!) I would also imagine that this is a huge part of why you all do it, and that relaxed, care-free atmosphere militates against having to guard one's comments when talking to strangers. Why would anybody in that frame of mind assume evil intent on the part of someone asking apparently innocent questions which give you the chance to share your enthusiasm?

 

What this illustrates is that none of us, whatever our involvement in boating or any other activity, can afford to be as relaxed and unguarded as we should like to be. I'm a dinghy sailor and I can tell you that boats are stolen from sailing club compounds all the time. Although there are a very large number of dinghies around, they all belong to one class or another, and the classes are much smaller and the active participants generally know each other from open meetings etc; in addition, they are all identified by a sail number which is also usually permanently carved or moulded into the hull so the majority of stolen boats are identified and recovered, although not always in the condition in which they were removed. When I'm sailing I get frequent questions from passers-by about my boat; how pretty it is, why doesn't it fall over by itself, etc, etc. I answer all these in good spirit assuming that they are the innocent questions of someone whose attention has been caught temporarily; sometimes this leads to me taking them out for a sail, and once or twice that someone has become hooked and discovered a new interest in their life. Its all good. I can't believe other than Chris and Graham being of exactly the same mind.

Narrowrboats don't have the same regulated identity as sailing dinghies, but perhaps they should. Also, in order to help retain the relaxed atmosphere, perhaps owners of these (presumably) expensive boats should consider more sophisticated security than a yale lock or padlock. I think if I owned such a boat I would have a transponder fitted and hidden within its structure so it could be located at all times (thought: don't narrowboat hire companies do this already? I'd be amazed if the answer is no). I might also consider the idea of a couple of fibre-optic cameras, one facing forward from the front of the accommodation to show where it is going and one at the rear of the accommodation so as to give a picture of who is at the helm. These might cost a bit of money to install, but the sum would be insignificant compared to the cost of replacing a much-loved craft.

 

Lastly, I'd like to congratulate you. This forum has shown the best of what a community can do, even if it turns out that the boat was not recovered due to the activity here. The network you have created would have found it eventually I'm sure, and its great to see that such a diverse bunch of people put themselves out to achieve a a common goal.

Edited by Carrera
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RLWP Veteran II

RLWP

Posted
Posted

So can we definitely end the hunt officially now on other pages on fb etc?

 

Interesting! Who can 'officially' say that?

 

I would say yes, there's enough in this thread and elsewhere to say it is the right boat and has been recovered

 

Richard

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boathunter Rising Star

boathunter

Posted
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I really hope it wasn't nicked and sold to an unsuspecting couple who have brought it in good faith

The name is now apparently quickly greyed out, the people on the boat were not happy to be photographed and turned away from the camera...then decided to do a runner.
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StephenA Experienced

StephenA

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The name is now apparently quickly greyed out, the people on the boat were not happy to be photographed and turned away from the camera...then decided to do a runner.

 

Hopefully if they did a runner then there's plenty of forensic evidence left for the police to use, and doing a runner pretty much confirms that they are the people who stole it and not some poor innocents who got ripped off by the people who did steal it.

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trundler Engager

trundler

Posted
Posted

This is great news that they have their boat back in their possession. It also reminds me that, in future, to not disclose so much information to innocent or not so innocent bystanders about your future plans with regard to being away from your boat , intimate details of your mooring etc.

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boathunter Rising Star

boathunter

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Posted

They even asked the photographer if they were looking for "the stolen boat". The net closed in.

Congrats to the owners and everyone on this forum, I too hope not too much damage done and that the thieves are identified.

 

Hopefully if they did a runner then there's plenty of forensic evidence left for the police to use, and doing a runner pretty much confirms that they are the people who stole it and not some poor innocents who got ripped off by the people who did steal it.

That's how it looks to me and the grainy photo appears to show a child unless I'm mistaken, so a boaty family...
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Carrera Gongoozler

Carrera

Posted
Posted

One further question; why is someone on the canalside who admires your boat and asks a few apparently innocent questions called 'a gongoozler'? It sounds very dismissive and mildly insulting. Do you not want others to take an interest in your passion?

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

I really hope it wasn't nicked and sold to an unsuspecting couple who have brought it in good faith

 

My guess would be that if they were entirely innocent of any part in the theft and had no knowledge (or suspicion even) at all that the boat was stolen they would have still been on it when it was found even if it had been sold to them. After all an entirely innocent party who has bought it in good faith would be as much a victim of the original thief as Chris and Graham have been.

 

However if they got it at a price that 'was too good to be true' and it has turned out that indeed it was and they thought this might be the case from the outset they have probably legged it as they could/would be implicated too.

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