Security Measures on Boat

Willhound

Kind of hypothetical, but curious as to various methods and schemes anyone uses to keep their Rinker and possessions safe and secure while berthed at a marina. Marina I will be docked at does not have gates or full time overnight security, and as far as I know, no full time live-aboards, although at any given night there is probably somebody staying over. It is in a quiet, somewhat rural area, so not a big hangout area for punks etc, but getting busier as urban sprawl gets closer.
Apart from the usual, not leaving anything you aren't prepared to lose above deck, keeping cabin door locked etc?

Marina does have WiFi, so I'm considering mounting a small wifi security camera somewhere on the deck. Use them at home while on vacation and love being able to check on the house, yard etc.
Have also considered mounting a small electronic safe in an out of site location below decks. Nothing of great value, but maybe spare keys, portable VHF radio back-up, an extra $50 for those times you get caught short, etc.
Anybody else do anything similar?

jme097

@Willhound you could do like me and just lock the cabin door and throw the keys away in a move lmao. 

But in all seriousness, I struggle with the same issues. I used to lock the cabin door and then hide the keys somewhere on the cabin. Then I started locking the doors and hiding the keys in the engine compartment and now I lock the door and take the keys with me. Just personal perference. I have never had a break-in (knock on wood) but you can never be too sure. Better safe than sorry I guess

Cableguy Greg

My marina does have security cameras, but no gates that are locked. Fortunately I have access to the cameras via my phone app. I use my cockpit cover to make getting into the boat more difficult. I also lock the cabin while others do not. My slip is 300 feet away from the main, and there are 20 other boats that they could access before mine. The marina did have some teenagers break in to the boats 3 years ago. They were looking for booze, which they got. One of the kids fell in and ruined his brand new phone. He decided to start taking more stuff. They made it to my boat, but since it was a PITA to get into and the door was locked, they didn't pursue it any further. They got iPods, TV's along with the booze. Fortunately we had a county detective docked there along with the security cameras. They caught the kids within days of the break in. I am with @jme097 , I lock my cabin.

Stodge

The first year in a marina I worried about that.  Then didn't bother any more.  Never had an issue at home marina or when at another marina on a trip.  It seems that the cases of people getting broken into is kinda rare and in locations where there is little or no security.  Just like your house, you can't make your boat theft-proof.  But you can be smart.  Don't leave expensive things in plain sight.  Remove any removable electronics when moored for long periods.  Practice situational awareness.  

"Some Day" I plan to put a security camera in the back yard so I can stare at my boat in "real time" when I'm at work.

raybo3

As stated before I never lock the cabin. If someone is going to break in they are going to break in. Locking the could only cause more damage and its very hard to replace. I keep all my keys in the blender. Never an issue..... Just say'n..

Cableguy Greg

Next time I am in Boston, I am taking @raybo3 boat for a ride while he is at work. LOL

Willhound

  yeah, should have mentioned, not looking for anyone's security secrets......lmao....but I've seen Raybo's mention of his special blender before......I'd be afraid of forgetting them and firing the thing up to make a Piña Colada or something.......

zaverin1

2 guns
rocket launcher and uzi does the trick
ohh and pit bull

wm61356

I just keep my cabin locked and refrain from leaving valuables out in plain sight in the cockpit when I'm away from the boat. I've never had a problem but my marina has pretty good security.

There are companies that sell security and alarm systems for boats (similar to those on cars). One such company that comes to mind is "Flagship Marine Security", or you can find do-it yourself systems for sale on Amazon. I've never used an alarm system for a boat so I don't know much about them.

Willhound

zaverin1 said:

2 guns
rocket launcher and uzi does the trick
ohh and pit bull

Yeah, but in Canada. Only people that can easily get a gun are the criminals.....
Could always get a rabid Beaver and a p.o.'d French Canadian girl to guard it I guess.....
Married one, so I know.....the French Canadian girl that is...

raybo3

Cableguy Greg said:

Next time I am in Boston, I am taking @raybo3 boat for a ride while he is at work. LOL

Dont forget to fill the gas tank............LOL

raybo3

Willhound said:

  yeah, should have mentioned, not looking for anyone's security secrets......lmao....but I've seen Raybo's mention of his special blender before......I'd be afraid of forgetting them and firing the thing up to make a Piña Colada or something.......

I think its a big difference being in a yacht club as opposed to a marina. Almost everyone at my club kind of knows where my keys are (its a small club 52 members) and I know where theirs are. We look out for each other.

Willhound

It's kind of a cross. Small, family run operation. 140 slips, mix of power and sail. Not a traditional "yacht club" I suppose, not a lot of on-site amenities. A bit of a club room and chandlery where you can hang out on a rainy day. 3 or 4 organized events a year to socialize and get to know your neighbours. It will be my first year, but in checking it out over a couple of visits last fall, everyone I met was friendly and interested in getting to know us. I think we'll fit in.
And yes, visitors are greeted in a friendly manner, but certainly scrutinized as to their intentions. Worried more about the quiet nights during the week. It's a well known fact around here that most marina's/yacht clubs give most, if not all of the staff Wednesday's off. So that's the day you have to watch...

JoeStang

Stodge said:

The first year in a marina I worried about that.  Then didn't bother any more.  Never had an issue at home marina or when at another marina on a trip.  It seems that the cases of people getting broken into is kinda rare and in locations where there is little or no security.  Just like your house, you can't make your boat theft-proof.  But you can be smart.  Don't leave expensive things in plain sight.  Remove any removable electronics when moored for long periods.  Practice situational awareness.  

"Some Day" I plan to put a security camera in the back yard so I can stare at my boat in "real time" when I'm at work.

I'm in the same area as Stodge and WM, and I do the same. I dont even lock the cabin door anymore, because the only valuable item is my stereo, and thats cheap to replace. The door is not if it gets ruined. Plus, the hatch is even easier to break into than the door.

I guess I'm lucky that I have more of a "bare bones" boat in my marina, compared to the big boys with huge nav screens, stocked fridges, and expensive fishing equipment/dingies.

reneechris14

I'm with @raybo3 been in 3 different marinas in the past 5 years and never hard a problem.1st  year locked everything next year not so much,now just leave the keys in it.

MarkB

We were in a safe marina. I locked up, but left a lot of stuff out like my fishfinder, rods, etc. Never had a problem.

rasbury

Mine is stored dry with a mooring cover but I do lock it up...very quiet area and they have cameras so at least you can see a replay if someone rips you off!

randy56

Always leave keys hidden in the boat somewhere, and lock the cabin door,My boat does not have blender.

J3ff

I hear the cabin door is a nightmare to replace so mine is never locked, anything they steal could be replaced for a few hundred bucks. I'd rather they can easily steal whatever they want and not do damage doing it.   Have done this on all my boats and never had a problem. 

As long as it's insured it's all good for me.  Most expensive thing on the boat is the chartplotter and that goes to a locked club locker each time.. 

Black_Diamond

I'm with Raybo.  If someone wants in they will. The door to the cabin is $1k+ IF you can get one.  I have nothing of much value on board. If someone wants a 14 y/o Kenwood....

212rowboat

crazy is the best defense.  hang some spent targets like a flag... leave some mirrors and razors laying around on flat surfaces above deck... a few spent casings (by a few I mean a few hundred).  name the boat 'call my attorney'... a little image goes a long way.  

[Deleted User]

My marina allegedly has a security person who patrols at night. I've never seen this person. Slip renters are supposed to keep the gate locked, but most of the time I find the gate "ajar." We are in a low crime area and tenants know each other and keep an eye on things, it's a community of decent people by and large. The County Sheriff patrols the harbor and there is little crime, they spend more time helping boaters in difficulty, to their credit.

In seven years only problem I have had is the theft of a couple of hose nozzles. I leave my cabin door unlocked. Why? Inside they can steal my portable VHF radio, the beer in the fridge and maybe the TV. The total value of that haul is less than the cost of repairing a busted cabin door.

Andy

Willhound

Starting to see the trend regarding the concerns about busting the cabin door. Hadn't thought about it, but might make sense. We do the same thing with ice fishing huts in the winter. Don't leave anything valuable behind and leave the door unlocked. Saves fixing the door all the time. As they say " a lock just keeps an honest man honest".  The camera I would use can take a pic and send it to me based on sensing motion. At least I'd be able to see who is poking around.

zaverin1

I look at it this way 
I have insurance and if someone breaks in well what are they going to take 
GPS 
towels
maybe my beer lol
i lock my cabin door and never leave keys on the boat
thats because I don't want someone getting freaky inside ( you know we all have some friends or marina people that might do that)
and my other friends that like to start my boat and screw around with it at the dock.
in all reality insurance will pay for my electronics 
inalways say if someone wants it they will find a way and take it.
just please take the entire boat lol

camera is not a bad idea specially if you have wifi option in the marina
Or maybe even the fake camera with led
always makes people think twice when on camera
here on lsc we cruise up river to mt Clemens 
there are always people hanging around and one of them actually asked if I had camera on the boat
i said yes and it's connected to my phone lol

LaRea

My club has no real history of theft, but our concern is fishermen, not teens.  We get lots of visitors every day.  Most are super-nice folks driving $70k rocket-powered tournament boats, and of course I don't worry about them.  But every now and then, we get some rangy-looking creatures that make me stop and think.  I'm on a T-pier, and anybody could hop onto my swim platform without much fanfare.  

I don't keep valuables on the boat.  Well, unless you count one or two nice bottles of single-malt Scotch.

Aprice

I have been locking the cabin but always leave the ignition key in. That way if my dock neighbor finds an issue or notices something they have the ability to help out and I do the same. Also never know if some emergency (boat fire in you row or whatever) happens someone could have the ability to move the boat. I try to leave extra keys in the dock box and have a combination lock on file with the Marina. We have security and some cameras but they can only do so much. I thought about the wifi camera also but think that would make me miss the boat more and get me thinking about being there with her!! ;-)

unikguy

I purchased a gost alarm system and installed a motion detector in cockpit and a contact on door.. I installed a sim card in system. When someone enters my boat it texts me or calls me. Keep on also in winter. Works extremely well. Very happy with this system. My sim card costs 20 per mth. Worth the money.

J3ff

have you ever had someone on your boat that it alerted you about? 

212rowboat

Unik I'm certainly not poking fun at you when I say this, don't take it that way... your system may work great and just as advertised, but it reminded me of the rating story of a phone app, intent on warning people of tornados.  

It turns out it had a 4.99 of a possible 500... 499 reviews singing it's praise with comments such as "the phone alerts us before the tv!!" Or "the phone woke us in the night when a storm approached!!!"  ... the one single negative review said "tornado wiped us out, phone never made a sound"... 

Ian

I use a preloved iPhone with an app that not only streams video to my phone but has a decent basic video motion detection to send an alert, record video and send to me and/or cloud. I have a security background and know it's limitations but its a little peace of mind. Plus I get to see what the weather is at the marina.

unikguy

Actually last year while away in Florida I received an alarm. Called security and they noticed a cut in shrink wrap. The internal siren scared them off I think. Lol. The cut was taped up and I was happy. I have no idea what would be the outcome had I not had an alarm.