Brought the boat home from the yard today to start it and charge the batteries and the fuel hose to the engine and downstream of the bulb was cut neatly in tow. It's a new hose since the summer '09.
Vessel right behind mind is a pontoon boat. Owner wraps his motor all up with plastic each year. All that plastic was cut up and strewn all over the place. Probably they tried to get his fuel too.
I have an anti-siphon system on my boat. You either need to pressurize the tank from the fill side or pump the gas from the motor side to get any thing to flow and even then It's very, very slow. I know because I used the boat as a gas tanker for our generator during Hurricane Ike as there were no gas stations open for two weeks.
Luckily, they didn't know enough to look into the cuddy where we store the 6 man Switlik life raft that cost almost $5000 in 2005. That would have been a great loss.
They also didn't attempt to take the batteries out the outboard or the prop. So, just gas thieves, I guess.
Even at that, we were about 30 gallons short of a full tank after our last kingfishing trip out in the gulf and we put the boat in storage since. I filled it on the way home and it took 33 gallons. So, if they got anything at all they sure didn't get much.
Still, I'm concerned that with the ecomony going downhill the way it is there's going to be more of this. So, I'd like suggestions on how to better secure the boat. Here's the things I think I need help on.
1) Trailer tires, currently anyone with a lug wrench and a cheap jack could have my tires...all brand new.
2) Gas
3) Batteries (I might just take the out for the rest of the winter season
4) whole rig. Trailer has a lock on the locking handle. But I hear all one has to do to steal it is to undo the nut under the locking handle.
5) outboard. Heard that once someone took a chainsaw to a transom and just gut the motor out and onto a hand truck for loading into a vehicle. It'd be easy with my rig too.
Also, have a buddy in the same lot with a sail boat. He said the other day he was worried about his mast as someone had cut the mast up for scrap aluminum on another boat. So, any help on securing a sailboat would also be appreciated.
Maybe I ought to buy theft insurance too? What do you think?
I still have one more year with the boy at home and I sure don't want to miss a season of fishing and skiing with him because of some low life thief.
You allready know the answers to your questions so get er done!
It's cheaper to keep your batts on a trickle charger than to replace them.
Jack&block your trailer and remove the tires.
Pull the prop
Store the raft and electronics etc.
I know someone who had all their diesle fuel syphoned off and had a tank off water left! Seems they used water to float the rest of the fuel up?
"Still, I'm concerned that with the ecomony going downhill the way it is there's going to be more of this. So, I'd like suggestions on how to better secure the boat. Here's the things I think I need help on."
My advice..sell your boat..I have a feeling you may get run over if anyone see's you on the water, then you won't have your leftist problems.
Well if this didn't happen your shit wouldn't get stolen..
Last edited by canyongear; 02-12-2010 at 07:27 PM.
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