Stolen dingy st Augustine

[a64pilot]

I thought the major target was the motor, assuming this is true, how do you secure the dink with chain?
I had thought about drilling my transom and installing the bolts, hoping that would at least make the thieves have tools, but what is the best way to secure the motor / dinghy?
I know a lock through the holes in the two "wings" that tighten the motor is a joke.


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[MarkJ]

My engine has one of those expensive locks.

On my dink I have plastic coated cable (sorry Zboss) seated to the internal bow eye and a seated loop at the other end and a marine padlock.

Chain is better but the links chew the tube.

I also have a mounted bum-shoving spear to roger thieves.

[l2ridehd]

A crook only steals it to make a quick buck.

Paint your engine some awful color, pour grease over the top, add a big scratch in that really bad paint, put patches all over your dinghy, throw away the gas cap and stuff a rag in it's place, remove one of the turnbuckles and put a rusty nut in it's place and no one will ever bother to steal it. The one next to you will always look better.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

A crook only steals it to make a quick buck.

Paint your engine some awful color, pour grease over the top, add a big scratch in that really bad paint, put patches all over your dinghy, throw away the gas cap and stuff a rag in it's place, remove one of the turnbuckles and put a rusty nut in it's place and no one will ever bother to steal it. The one next to you will always look better.

I guess do the same to your Yacht?


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[timbenner]

I would raise hell with the marina!!! It's owned by the City of St. Augustine and they should move the dingy dock where their staff can keep a better eye on it. They should have a camera on it 24 hours a day as well, if they're letting thieves on site. You should write a complaint to the City Council and ask for better security, at least a camera.

St. Augustine is a small town, if they had a picture of the thief, they probably know him.

[sailnow2011]

Originally Posted by timbenner

I would raise hell with the marina!!! It's owned by the City of St. Augustine and they should move the dingy dock where their staff can keep a better eye on it. They should have a camera on it 24 hours a day as well, if they're letting thieves on site. You should write a complaint to the City Council and ask for better security, at least a camera.

St. Augustine is a small town, if they had a picture of the thief, they probably know him.

My last trip there they had cameras. Why he didn't ask the marina staff for the video is beyond me.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by timbenner

St. Augustine is a small town, if they had a picture of the thief, they probably know him.

I dunno. Perhaps he is the Mayor's son?

I heard a method that might be useful in certain places. The post described installing a large port in the bottom of the RIB. Pull the dink on shore and take the port with you. Lock up too of course.

What do you lock to on a motor or especially the dink that can't easily be cut way easier than the chain? I think it would be easy to hit any of the towing eyes or other loops and bust them out of the fiberglass. Is this like home entry where thieves focus on the locked door instead of walking through the drywall next to the door?

Has anyone with a defaced, ugly painted dink & motor had it stolen?

We have an outboard lock that covers the clamp screws. Are these any good?

[zboss]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

My engine has one of those expensive locks.

On my dink I have plastic coated cable (sorry Zboss) seated to the internal bow eye and a seated loop at the other end and a marine padlock.

Chain is better but the links chew the tube.

I also have a mounted bum-shoving spear to roger thieves.

I am OFFENDED! You offend me!

I agree, the chain does need a wrap. I did not get one but am thinking of getting some firehose.

We had a cable on ours when it was stolen off the back of our boat. FYI - I was awake in the cabin when our was taken. They cut the cable and another line clean through without making a sound.

Cables OR chain - they only keep the honest, honest - as the saying goes.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by sailnow2011

My last trip there they had cameras. Why he didn't ask the marina staff for the video is beyond me.

Ahem... they are empty inside.

[roverhi]

There are two types of dinghy thieves, those that want a dinghy and those that want quick money off the motor. The dinghy is too hard to title on resaie so not an easy thing to turn over. Motors are relatively easy to move without title issues.

A few years back some bums on a boat, think they were French, stole a dinghy the night they left one island in the Caribbean for another. They didn't count on the coconut cruiser wireless and the fact that the dinghy was bright red. When they dropped anchor at their next auction, the cruisers knew to look out for the dinghy and recognized it instantly from it's relatively distinct color. That's why painting the dinghy and the motor in some distinct fashion makes them unattractive to steal and easy to recover if stolen. It may spoil your sense of aesthetics but dumping a quart of bright colored latex paint on your dinghy will make any thief think twice before they try and rip it off.

Not having an engine so large that locals will want it is another way to deter theft. 10hp or larger motors make good power for small fishing boats. 5hp or smaller motors just don't have that much use for a thief other than powering a small dinghy. Using some elaborate locking system to fasten a motor to the dinghy is not a very good investment. Anyone who wants the motor will take the dinghy along with the motor and then dismantle the transom, if they have to, at their leisure. It's not to say that you shouldn't somehow lock up the motor or make it very hard to remove, just that it probably won't deter a serious thief.

Yes, stringing up a dinghy thief from a halyard immediately on apprehension should be the least punishment for someone who steals your mode of access to your boat. Wonder if you could draw and quarter a thief with the cooperation of other cruisers.

[sparrowhawk1]

A friend of mine that was mechanic had a kill switch in the glove compartment of his truck. I always wanted to add a hidden one to my outboard that way a thief couldn't drive away using my motor. I also keep a bicycle chained to a light post in Miami Beach and the reason it hasn't been stolen well two reasons one its kind of rusty but more importantly I have a case hardened chain locking it that cost more than the bicycle.. In the past I've used stainless steel chain for my Dinghy not quite as hard but you still need a bolt cutter. And one more thing, most larger outboards have a hole in the mount to pass a bolt through so you can bolt them directly to the transom.

[Wanderlust]

Originally Posted by zboss

Cables OR chain - they only keep the honest, honest - as the saying goes.

While basic security will likely deter the opportunistic thief, it would probably not stop someone who is specifically looking for a dinghy to take. Even a simple hacksaw will cut through a stainless padlock or chain in a minute. It's worth trying just to appreciate how quickly they can be defeated.

I'm of the opinion that the less attractive it is, the less it will be a target.

[SunAndMoon2]

On my dink I have plastic coated cable.

You can cut a plastic coated steel fiber cable with a scissors in less than 5 minutes.

[Sea Frog]

Originally Posted by powsmias

TagIt GPS Bluetooth Tracking Device Black 3768BB - Best Buy

This one doesn't make much sense for dingly, it is a bluetooth so limited in range to several meters. It must be a cellular tracker, that sends and receives info via SMS. I have one in my car installed, batteries lasts for 2 years. I will use the same kind of stuff for dingly too. It is small enough to fit into the engine itself.

[Jolly Roger]

Considering retribution, if the perpetrators were found. I have a Brigantine schooner, with a yard arm......