Improvised Weapons

[offrd2001]

improvised weapon - potato gun. Im not sure how much damage this would cause anyone. I guess the best and safest way through these areas if you absolutely have to make passage is coordinating with other vessels that too have to cruise through the area. Having 3 or 4 boats going through at the same time will hopefully provide some strength in numbers. Not to mention if everyone has 50mm flare cannons that might be a little intimidating to the receiving end.

Dave

[Tellie]

I keep hearing pirates with massive fire power, RPGs, heavy machine guns and all the skills in the world to use them. My question is.. Has there ever been a small boat like we'd be apt to sail blown out of the water by an RPG or one obliterated by heavy machine gun fire? That kind of fire power does not come cheap even in third world countries. I think it highly unlikely pirates armed with such weapons would consider a small boat worth the ammo used for the gains returned.

[stevensc]

The original post was

"I'm willing to put up with the hassle of carrying a shotgun on board since that's likely to be viewed as defensive, but should I ever have to repel boarders I'd like something more formidable."

More formidable than a shotgun?? Carry some buck shot shells or slugs you can't get much more formidable (keeping practical) than that.

Steve

[David M]

I hope nobody is thinking they are going to out gun an armed band of pirates. Something like that only happens in the movies.

The chances of a pirate attack occurring to any one cruising boat is so improbable that it makes it almost not worth discussing. The chances of getting into trouble with the local authorities because you have arms aboard is much higher.

To me, the statistics are not in favor of carrying weapons...its not even close.

[sushirama]

A scuba tank rigged up to a steel pipe with large ball bearings some thing like a very powerful homemade paint ball gun would be a start, I think the jist of the thread is to make a weapon that would be lethal if needed but that the disassembled components would not raise eye brows as being a weapon

[David_Old_Jersey]

The Flare thing has got me thinking

Phosphoros shells

Apparently not classified as a Weapon, more like some sort of health care product rated safe for indoor use in Schools and Hospitals - at least in "some" parts of the Middle East (no finger pointing from me ). Of course like everything else works better on folk not firing back. like women and children.

[DavidGC]

These "protection from pirates" threads are really getting funny.
-Automatic weapons? LOL Unless you've been trained to use one you probably couldn't keep a hold of one while firing (it's not like the movies, where you grab an M16 in each hand and shoot from the hip -- there's a little thing called recoil that will knock you on your butt).
- Using a weapon in a foreign country (especially the third world places that generate these worries of piracy). OK . . . . so you repel the borders (whether they were intent on your death or on your cigarettes, we'll never know) .. . . there is now two dead bodies and a derelict boat floating in the water. Do you think the authorities will shake your hand and thank you for making the seas a safer place? Until proven otherwise, YOU are now the pirate. When or if you ever get the chance to prove it is another question. When you get to that third world prison they take you to, you'll wish you were dead.
- Improvised weapons (flame throwers, compressed air etc)? LOL Ever hear the expression "don't bring a knife to a gun fight." Real guns have something called "range." While you're frying your topsides with the 6 foot long flame of a propane torch, the bad guy is putting three rounds in your chest from 500 feet away (and maybe all he wanted was your booze).
- The real possibility of it happening? LOL. Just because we have a fancy word for it when it happens on a boat (piracy), doesn't make it any more likely to happen to you then any other traveller to that region -- in fact, the stats are probably way worse for land-based tourists to crime-prone areas. If you were traveling by air, you wouldn't even have a choice of arming yourself, so why the big "issue" just because you're on a boat?
- there is something a little twisted about purposefully traveling to an area where you feel in danger of being killed. These places are well known. How about this: Don't go there!

I have no problem with guns or the defensive use of them -- but the amount of time and energy spent on this one topic so far outweighs the danger as to defy common sense. Why this obsession? There are 100 things that are far more likely to get you in trouble on a boat.

DGC

[MoonlightShadow]

Too right David. Women have traditionally got me into trouble. And they have all taken my entire house, let alone the duty frees.

[bstreep]

With my luck, I'd go dig whatever weapon it was I'd stowed away/hidden away a couple of years ago, and it wouldn't work.

I'm a concealed carry guy here in Texas. Frankly, I can't see myself taking anything other than an H & K flaregun cruising. I'm probably more likely to end up in a 3rd world jail for carrying something, then ever needing one.

[SabreKai]

For what its worth, a snoot full of Dr Scholls athlete foot spray will put someone down for a few hours. Found that out one night with a drunk trying to come down the companionway.

I am planning on getting kevlar seat cushion
shaped pads made up which will go into the hull and onto the back of the cockpit seats. My boat is steel so adding the kevlar will do wonders for bullet stopping. I have a nice deep cockpit, so staying low is the first thing. The rest of it I am not telling anyone about. Let them find out when they come aboard without permission.

Sabre

[jwidahonurse]

I have been reading cruising world where they seem to love sharing pirate stories...and one thing Ive noticed is the attacks occur after everyone is in bed..or appears to be. They are down in the staterooms or galley..so, the issue is what ever you do you sure don't want to creat a fire or gas yourself...even with pepper spray....so, my quandry is.....guns are an absolute no...and buddy boating isn't always an option....not sure what one could do if attacked.

[offrd2001]

well that answers everything then. If they are coming while you are asleep or below deck then all you need is: Motion detecting lights and an electronic dog barker. At least it works if someone thinks about breaking into your house.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by SabreKai

For what its worth, a snoot full of Dr Scholls athlete foot spray will put someone down for a few hours. Found that out one night with a drunk trying to come down the companionway ...

I would think that the effects you witnessed may have been more due to the intruder’s previous intoxication, than to your application of the fungicide.
The active ingredient in Dr. Scholl's® Athlete's Foot Spray Powder is Tolnaftate USP 1%, which may cause mild eye, skin, and/or respiratory tract irritations, but is otherwise reasonably benign.

[Fixer]

DGC,

We all have an obligation to protect our crew. After using force on somebody why in the world would you hang around to speak with the local authorities of a banana republic? While on holiday in Central Europe several years ago I was left no choice but to use overwhelming force against several attackers. After which, the last thing I wanted to do was to be detained by the local authorities, and that was in Europe. I left the area and enjoyed the rest of my holiday.

Avoidance, deterrence and de-escalation are best options for personal security. But we all must prepare for the time when the fight comes to us and those non-violent options are taken away.

[jimking100]

MoonlightShadow...I agree, lost my house to ex-wife last year. Wonder if I would have had a better chance against pirates. Could have shot her but the idea of a life sentence in a third-world Virginia prison didn't appeal to me. Tried Fixer's idea of "avoidance, deterence, and de-escalation" but that didn't work with her.
jim