Paranoiac or just cautious

[Jennifer McM]

As the title suggests, I'm just trying to get an angle on whether I should be concerned.

 

In the past couple of months of living afloat we've never been bothered after battening down the hatches for the night. I wouldn't dream of disturbing other boats either, unless of course a serious problem had occurred and we needed desperate help.

 

Last night, about 9pm, there were loud knocking/banging on the side of our boat, obviously our dog kicked off. John was in the shower, so me and our gsd went up on deck to see what was so urgent.

 

A man stood on the towpath, he apologised for disturbing me, and gave me, what I thought, a lame excuse. He said his wedding anniversary was next month and he wanted to hire our boat for a romantic weekend. I know when someone is stroking my vanity, and I've got to add our boat is nothing special, it's just like a thousand other boats.

 

This was disturbing, and my instincts are triggered. I'm pretty certain this man was looking for another boat and mistook ours for it. It can happen, but why not be open about it?

 

Have also to add that the man was not from the UK, he wasn't European either, therefore I doubt that canal heritage was a likely attraction.

 

Wondering if others have been disturbed by something similar? Would you be concerned? Eeee it was a funny yesterday all round!

[Top cat]

Sounds well dodgy to me. I wonder if he was actually checking to see if the boat was occupied before breaking in or stealing it. I would report it to the police just in case there has been similar occurrences recently in the area.

If possible I would move quite some distance.

 

Top Cat

[Phil Ambrose]

I would have been concerned, however not much you could have done other than wished him farewell, a call to the police during daylight might be in order because yours may not have been the first time he has done this which might suggest A. he's a nutter or B. he was looking for a break in target, thank the lord for GSDs

Phil

[mark99]

There is nothing normal about anything you reported.

 

Something is wrong.

 

At best he's just a liar.

 

I su'spose he could be a nutter; you do meet the odd one on the towpath. Last one I met asked for a drink of water, when I gave it to him he burst out crying and called me daddy.

Edited October 19, 2016 by mark99

[Jennifer McM]

Thanks everyone - incident now lodged with Warwickshire Police! They didn't comment except to say it sounds dodgy, and took description of man, who was about 45-50, and Asian.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Jennifer McM

[PaulG]

Thanks everyone - incident now lodged with Warwickshire Police! They didn't comment except to say it sounds dodgy, and took description of man, who was about 45-50, and Asian.

Perhaps you could give some indication of the location of this incident so that other boaters in the area are aware...

[Jennifer McM]

Perhaps you could give some indication of the location of this incident so that other boaters in the area are aware...

No problem Paul, we're moored next to the Two Boats (pub), going towards Stockton locks today.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Jennifer McM

[Nightwatch]

Not in anyway the same guy. We were transiting the locks at, I think, Barrowford, when a guy of similar heritage stopped and started asking questions like, is it ours,how much to buy,is it free to travel the cabals etc. I thought it odd, but then again it takes all sorts etc.

 

We moved on as he walked following us. He stopped at the next moored boat and struck up a conversation with the chap on that boat.

 

I'm glad you have informed the Police.

[Richard10002]

Couple of years ago a guy banged on my boat and when I went out he asked for a cup of sugar. I told him no chance. Obviously a chancer looking for a boat to burgle.

 

Not sure what the police can do, he's not committed a crime. I suppose if they find someone of similar description with stolen goods.....

[Neil2]

Yes this has happened to us a couple of times after we have turned in and I assumed it was a potential burglar checking to see if anyone was on board.

 

I have a related story which, knowing this guy in question, I don't doubt is true. We used to know a boater on the Leeds Liverpool who kept a machete ("just to cut the weeds down") by the stern door. He was, I think he said, on the Regents Canal and got disturbed in the night just like the situation described. The thing is he slept naked but his instincts took over and he leapt out of bed, grabbed the machete and pursued the would be villain, screaming like a banshee, down the towpath. Our friend is a big hairy guy one can only imagine what was going through the scoundrels mind as he ran for his life.

 

I'm not advocating anyone adopts this course of action and in the present day our friend was maybe lucky not to have had a visit from the Police but sometimes there's nothing like a bit of instant karma.

[nicknorman]

I su'spose he could be a nutter; you do meet the odd one on the towpath. Last one I met asked for a drink of water, when I gave it to him he burst out crying and called me daddy.

I blame the parents. Oh..... wait a minute...

 

 

 

Seriously, what the OP reports is definitely odd and she's not paranoid. You've done the right thing to report it. They'll be able to see if there is a pattern.

[BruceinSanity]

I blame the parents. Oh..... wait a minute...

Seriously, what the OP reports is definitely odd and she's not paranoid. You've done the right thing to report it. They'll be able to see if there is a pattern.

Isn't there a form to use to report it to CRT as well?

[IanM]

Couple of years ago a guy banged on my boat and when I went out he asked for a cup of sugar. I told him no chance. Obviously a chancer looking for a boat to burgle.

We had a guy knock on our boat asking for some sugar, we gave him some and he was most grateful. People do knock and ask for things.

 

Edited to add: He was on a boat behind us and not some random towpath walker.

Edited October 19, 2016 by IanM

[Dave_P]

Definitely sounds like he was seeing whether someone was in. Who would be going for a nice towpath stroll well after dark and then knock on a stranger's boat?

[MartinC]

Couple of years ago a guy banged on my boat and when I went out he asked for a cup of sugar. I told him no chance. Obviously a chancer looking for a boat to burgle.

 

Not sure what the police can do, he's not committed a crime. I suppose if they find someone of similar description with stolen goods.....

 

Might be reasonable grounds for "stop and search" (not asking for sugar but in some of the other incidents) and, if he had any implements on him, the charge would be "going equipped". https://www.gov.uk/police-powers-to-stop-and-search-your-rights

[dmr]

Boaters rarely knock on other boats late at night, unless they have lost their bottle opener/corkscrew and need to borrow one urgently.

Very occasionally on a cold night a disorganised liveaboard might knock and ask for kindling.

There was a spate of break ins on the K&A a few years ago and the technique was to knock on the boat, if anybody came out they asked a silly question, if no one came out they burgled it.

You say your boat is nothing special but in fact its a whole lot less bland than many!

 

.................Dave

[Victor Vectis]

I'm not advocating anyone adopts this course of action and in the present day our friend was maybe lucky not to have had a visit from the Police but sometimes there's nothing like a bit of instant karma.

Mooring pins live at the back of our boat.

 

In similar circumstances they could have a similar use!

 

ETA Yes, agreed, this bloke sounds dodgy. Glad you reported the incident to the cops. Were there any other boats around at the time? The 'Two Boats' is usually a busy mooring.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Victor Vectis

[zenataomm]

Hmmm, still at it are they?

About a year and a half ago I posted This!

[MtB]

Definitely sounds like he was seeing whether someone was in. Who would be going for a nice towpath stroll well after dark and then knock on a stranger's boat?

 

 

On the other hand, given that 50% of moored boats are dark as a graveyard and 50% are obviously occupied because of lights on, why choose one with the lights on if you are planning a burglary?

 

The whole thing sounds weird...

[spadefoot]

It does sound weird, especially if he hung around after your dog started barking.

You say he was Asian, well there are lot of people of Asian descent in this country who live very close to canals, I wouldn't read anything into that.

[MtB]

It certainly sounds as though he knocked on what he hoped was an occupied boat rather than an empty one, and wanted to actually talk to someone.

 

Even if the story he told was a pack of lies, which it may not have been.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Mike the Boilerman

[Starcoaster]

On the other hand, my boat looks totally dark from the outside in the evening due to blackout curtains...

[Neil2]

We always leave a light on when we go out at night, so the boat looks occupied. If someone was to knock on the cabin side they would probably hear one of the dogs bark, but if they hung around long enough they would realise no humans were on board.

 

So I don't think it's odd at all, an experienced thief would behave exactly this way.

 

And if you think a barking dog would deter a burglar, they don't.

[Stormbringer]

Devils advocate...

Maybe he felt he was being followed or felt vulnerable in some way...and knocked on an obviously inhabited boat as a form of defence / comfort..?

Bit of a risky tactic tho lol...

 

Still odd and best reported all the same though....

[pipistrelle]

I'm glad someone else said that lots of Asian folk live near canals. While the question sounds weird, I had a Sikh wedding party in Oxford ask if they could do a photoshoot outside my boat when it was moored near Donnington Bridge, so who knows. Regardless, it's well within your rights to let him know his behaviour made you feel uncomfortable.

 

I was moored in Peterborough last weekend and thought someone started knocking on my boat in the middle of the night. My tiny puppy started barking his head off and when I opened the window it turned out some drunk kids were throwing sticks in the river and had hit my boat by mistake and we had a bit of a laugh and they wandered off. I was quite glad it rained Friday and Saturday nights, though, as they were also singing.