Is yacht theft common?

[shadow]

I've always been curious also about the percentage or frequency of theft of boats. Nice thread!

[David M]

There seems to be a common theme going here...the smaller the boat, the more likely it is to get stolen. Its kind of hard to hide things that are larger than an elephant.

[Steve Kidson]

I believe the theft of sail boats is fairly small for all the reasons above. When they are stolen, it seems to be an event that attracts a fair bit of attention.

A couple of years ago a 40 something foot yacht was stolen from Port Phillip Bay - Melbourne, Australia and was missing for a couple of weeks. As it turned out, a guy and his dog, took the boat, sailed it across Bass Strait to Tasmania, and left it again anchored in a bay on the northern coastline. If memory serves me correctly, he was never caught. The owner was re-united with his vessel and I guess "they all lived happily ever after"

It would seem to be more common for equipment to be stolen, particularly if it is on deck or in cockpit. Radios, electronics, dinghy and safety equip seem to be high on the target list.

My boats have never been as flash as others, and I reason that while another nearby vessel looks more attractive, or better pickings than mine, the other boat will probably be targeted first. A bit mercenary I know, but it seems to work.

Fair winds

Steve

[Rez]

Missed the link! Thanks.

[Tellie]

So more PWCs are stolen than sailboats? I'm trying to find a problem with that. Personally I think they should all disappear.

[gobi1570]

Aww, that wasn't nice...I like my Seadoo. In any case, I'm sure powerboaters feel pretty much the same about our slowass sailboats as we do about them.

[Tellie]

Well I don't like them. But then I make Poopdeck Pappy look like a choir boy.
The Curmudgeon of the Sea Tellie.

[hamburking]

This is at my home marina:

Boat stolen from slip | The Kingston Whig-Standard

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by Tellie

So more PWCs are stolen than sailboats? I'm trying to find a problem with that. Personally I think they should all disappear.

Tellie, they make great skeet...

[Jon Hacking]

By my experience (20+ years) yacht thefts are rare but not unknown. Back in the 80s there was a very tattooed German named Wolfgang in Martinique who thought the world owed him a boat. At an in-the-water boat show in the Med he asked to test sail a boat, & he "test-sailed" it to South Africa! Later, this same guy stole a friend's boat from St. Lucia. It took 3 months & lots of help to recover it. I wrote up the story here (which radio geeks will like) but we don't know where Wolfgang ended up.

[exMaggieDrum]

There are thefts, but as noted, rare. Thefts of items from a boat are much more common - outboards primarily but some dinks and other stuff. In our area powerboats are more likely to have theft - stereos, TVs, stuff. And a lot of owners leave keys where they can be found so workers can get in. I don't recommend that. Marinas with security and/or locked access are the best but some thefts seem to be from small boats who come in at night and lift outboards. There are boats which are broken in to, occasionally, but drunks or idiots. A couple have burnt up. I'd be much more worried about fire on my boat than anything else - either caused by a problem on my boat, or the boat next door catching.

[Sun and Moon]

Originally Posted by Jon Hacking

By my experience (20+ years) yacht thefts are rare but not unknown. Back in the 80s there was a very tattooed German named Wolfgang in Martinique who thought the world owed him a boat. At an in-the-water boat show in the Med he asked to test sail a boat, & he "test-sailed" it to South Africa! Later, this same guy stole a friend's boat from St. Lucia. It took 3 months & lots of help to recover it. I wrote up the story here (which radio geeks will like) but we don't know where Wolfgang ended up.

Nice story!

[roverhi]

Theft of boats is rare. Kind of hard to hide something 30' plus in length. The ones that are stolen seem to be drunks or crazies who just want to go for a sail. Unfortunately, in several cases it's resulted in grounding and eventual loss of the boat. A drunk crazy with no boating experience got the idea he was going to sail off into the sunset on 50'/$200,000 boat in our marina. Broke into the boat but had no idea how to get the engine started. Untied the lines and drifted out of the slip running into a few other boats on his way out of the marina. Some commercial fisherman saw his antics and actually helped the guy fend off boats as he drifted out of the harbor. They did call the police but it took hours for them to launch a boat and go looking for the guy. By the time the police got their boat in the water and found the guy, the boat was on the rocks a short distance outside the marina and ended a total loss.

There also have been individuals that get the bright idea to steal equipment off of boats. Usually drug driven and short lived careers. Not much of a consolation for the victim when someone uses an axe to remove a piece of hardware.

Fortunately piloting boats is intimidating for most of the dimwits who might think of stealing a boat. That's a good thing as stealing a boat is ridiculously easy. Most marinas are ghost towns during the week and at night. No one there to stop a theft. Have done some work on boats and have never been questioned on what I was doing on a customers boat. Would have been no problem breaking into the boat. Wouldn't even have had to hotwire the engine as the ignition keys were usually hanging on a hook inside, as are mine.

[Lepke]

In the 70's and 80's when I fished salmon and tuna on the US West Coast, a couple times a year, a boat would be found driven ashore on a remote beach. Usually with signs of drug smuggling and no sign of the crew. Not so common, now. I think they use other methods.

[mr-canada]

I had mine stolen. It was found a nautical mile away and could be seen from the dock moored to a private float. Nothing was broken and nothing stolen from the boat. It was probably a guy who didn't want me mooring my boat to the public float because I didn't live nearby. Time before that he had moved it to a private buoy. Either that or he wanted to report it as abandoned by the owner so he could try to take possession.

Whatever his rationale, I consider that theft. It was tied to the dock with 5 lines and was moved in under 2 days. I've moved to another dock in the area and (sadly) only felt comfortable leaving it behind with it locked to the piling with chain.

I reported it all to the police. The cops may not be able to prove anything, but its a small community there and it would probably only take them a few phone calls and heading there in a runabout to figure out who did it and give him a stern talking to.