Security systems, locking gadgets, theft prevention/deterents, etc.

[NautiHippie]

Originally Posted by BadFish

These work good...


Cheers

Bill

Could not agree more!!! Mine has already earned herself steak dinners for protecting us and the boat, now she has a sister that's gonna be about 125lbs and mean as a MotherF***** here is one of the stories:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ded-20459.html

[Tellie]

Mind you, I do like this innovation. Just one bit of wire around the cockpit :

Cattle Electric Fence

Sureguard Solar Electric Fence - Models S1 & S2

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Specifications - Model S1

• <LI class=specs>Energize up to 1km of live wire <LI class=specs>Maximum output 7000 volts independant of battery <LI class=specs>May be padlocked for added security <LI class=specs>Size: 170x55x57mm (6.7"x2.2"x2.2") <LI class=specs>Weight Including Batteries and Mounting: 750g (26oz)
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[/quote]





It's 3am and in a rum induced fog you venture outside to relieve yourself........now the whole anchorage is awake.

[Pblais]

Mind you, I do like this innovation. Just one bit of wire around the cockpit

I've never had a problem with stray cattle before. The life lines keep them out so far. It might work against the hopelessly stupid.

[BadFish]

Originally Posted by NautiHippie

Mine has already earned herself steak dinners for protecting us and the boat

Yes you crazy Nautical Hippie, I remember reading that awesome story a week or two ago. My Cooper's a big big baby, until sh- hits da fan, then it's on. It's great to have a security system that you can fish, swim, chill, cruise, and play with. I am also lookin at gettin him a brother or sister this spring, as he's been so awesome on the boat... Little companionship for him while I'm at work.

Cheers

Bill

[James S]

Originally Posted by BadFish

These work good...



Cheers

Bill

You kill me sometimes!!

[Maren]

Originally Posted by Roy M

For the gas, install a ball valve before the tank, inside the boat. For a burglar alarm, there are plenty of inexpensive, 12 volt car alarms with loud sirens, or go for a standard home security alarm (also, generally 12 volt) with several zones. You can then arm an outside locker or the dinghy motor, while freely walking about the interior. Place a switch near your berth that turns on the deck lights and maybe another to activate the "panic switch" on the burglar alarm if someone boards the boat in the wee hours.

Ah, let me file that one away under 'upgrades', 'security systems' and 'well thought out answers to reasonable questions'.

[Bill_E]

OK, looks like normal, sensible stowage is the best answer. But here's a corollary question. How do you lock (or do you) your companionway when you are on a mooring ball or anchor in a relatively populated anchorage like Nassau or Marsh Harbor? Do you close up the companionway and latch it in any way?

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by wlearl

... Do you close up the companionway and latch it in any way?

Some do, and some have had a stainless steel grid fabricated by a welder ,which slides into the hatchboard slots, and can be padlocked from inside.

[Cormorant]

Just FYI, those cattle fences probably won't work on a boat. They pulse high-voltage low-amp positive electricity to the wire. There's no actual current flow till a cow/horse/thief touches the wire and connects between the + voltage and ground. Then they become a conductor and feel the ZAP. Cows and horses are naturally grounded -- hoofs in the dirt. Thieves wearing sneakers on a fiberglass deck won't create a ground connection, and they won't get zapped, unless one foot is in the water.

[Pblais]

Thieves wearing sneakers on a fiberglass deck won't create a ground connection, and they won't get zapped, unless one foot is in the water.

Security is the illusion of safety. The cattle fence approach is the idea that you could cause a would be thief injury. That illusion seems to be the great appeal of the "cattle fence" strategy. So the thief gets a jolt and then gets mad and trashes your boat. Revenge is a two way street. Cattle have a very low self esteem and are quite docile so they just run away learning not to mess with the fence.

They have not been proven effective against people without additional barbed wire and higher voltages of a constant nature.

They do however have a high urban myth value as being a great solution though few if anyone has ever installed one. Many homes do have a credible "cattle threat" factor so they are installed in many rural areas.

[Roy M]

Occasionally, I do security system installations. The primary guidelines to securing a facility are simple: Make it time-consuming and noisy for the uninvited to gain access. Fort Knox does it effectively by stationing its facility within a base that is the central armory for tanks and other armored equipment. More expensive than a Rottweiler, but they don't get distracted by a juicy steak thrown their way.

Without offering any details of my own choices, one can install multiple sirens and loudspeakers (some even speak phrases in English, Spanish and/or French) set to go off if someone disables a visible unit. Having a 130 dB alarm go off inside a boat is not conducive to a thorough search through drawers and cabinets. It almost causes nose bleeds. Detection systems can be varied for the point of entry: opening a port or hatch beyond a certain point can do the job, stepping on a doormat, walking past an invisble beam, or simply giving off body heat all work. If the system is tied into a video surveillance system (not too expensive - scdlink.com, et al), not only will it provide evidence to authorities responding to the hellacious racket coming from your boat, it can give you great entertainment when laying in bed watching someone who is boarding you, with no clue of what is about to happen. There are, of course, even more creative responses available for the truly paranoid or insensitive individuals that choose to pursue such options, but probably not worth discussing (for security reasons, alone).

The bottom line: for a couple hundred bucks you can have a sophisticated alarm system, which uses milliamps of current, allows you multiple options, and doesn't need sleep or companionship or walks to the nearest patch of ground. It beats no protection at all, and offers a modicum of "security", whatever that means to you.

[off-the-grid]

All this talk about padlocks made me realize I probably should have mentioned I have a catamaran. My cabin just has a good old fashioned door with a lock built right in.

Also that ball valve trick won't work for me, as my engine compartment is easily accessed from the cockpit. I also believe that the fuel lines may be accessed from the 2 cockpit lockers. I guess that also means the locking caps would be useless to me too.

I guess I could always install latches for padlocks, but would be a little nervous about someone accidentally stepping on one of them while underway, especially in rough weather. Well maybe not step right on top of it, but they are low enough that they could possibly do some damage to a calf or ankle if bumped into.

I guess just putting locks on the all the lockers would be one to add to the list, though.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by grunzster

I guess just putting locks on the all the lockers would be one to add to the list, though.

Someone, somewhere else (sorry, can't say where ) said using a small, low stretch line attached to the lid and led to the inside to a cleat is very difficult to defeat. Just can't raise the lid at all I suppose.

Although I don't know that the Gemini has usable channels for this type of application.

[off-the-grid]

Originally Posted by Therapy

Someone, somewhere else (sorry, can't say where ) said using a small, low stretch line attached to the lid and led to the inside to a cleat is very difficult to defeat. Just can't raise the lid at all I suppose.

Although I don't know that the Gemini has usable channels for this type of application.

I'm guessing that would require a few holes. Although if you could route all the lines to one location inside, it would probably be much less of a PITA than a bunch of pad locks.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by grunzster

I'm guessing that would require a few holes. Although if you could route all the lines to one location inside, it would probably be much less of a PITA than a bunch of pad locks.

That is what they said is good.

I do not know what channels could be had from the Gemini lockers that would not involve a lot of friction. I have never been able to find a diagram of a Gemini with great detail. For that matter I have never seen one for any other boat either.