Common Sense Answer to Pirates

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Sorry, can't afford a 50 caliber machine gun on the foredeck, or know where to buy one.

Heres one for sale del
Ready to mount, even comes with a toughnut ready for foredeck action



TowerHobbies.com | Dragon Models 1/6 M2 .50cal Browning Mach Gun w/Tripod

[senormechanico]

I'd have no problem converting them to fish food.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by speedoo

If the pirates realize it's going to take them a while to gain entry, they are likely to move on to another target before help arrives.

Or start shooting holes in the hull just for fun.

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Heres one for sale del
Ready to mount, even comes with a toughnut ready for foredeck action



TowerHobbies.com | Dragon Models 1/6 M2 .50cal Browning Mach Gun w/Tripod

Cool, I need one of these. Anyone know where I can get a 12V or solar-powered version? Oh, and no "Made in China" versions please.

[vintageray]

It would be nice to not think about, "What If...", and not have any defensive weaponry on board, but when the pointy bowed skiff with three or four scurvy looking types is coming at your boat fast, it would be nice to have the Mossberg "street sweeper" at hand. Leave the nickel plated .45 at home. It ain't a macho contest and LEO's in some places will take it away and not give it back, they like them a lot. A plain Jane shotgun, close at hand in a securable locker is only common sense. Any thoughts on a barrel insert to convert a whisker pole to a concealed cannon?

[IdoraKeeper]

Just say no to piracy! No No No No No!

[Ahnlaashock]

Balloons filled with gasoline and a flare gun. This is an all or nothing last ditch close quarters choice because once they move off out of your ability to light them up, they can rip the normal cruiser up in short order with just about any belt or clip fed military weapon there is, in revenge. If they call the dance, you have to dance the whole dance.
Let them close, balloons, flare, move away, report incident, and tell the authorities to look for thick smoke.

[cat man do]

YEEEEEEHaaawwww

[Southern Star]

We've been through the debate about carrying firearms on board too many times already. Opinions vary and, based on past experience, I am pretty confident that debating it again will not lead to a conversion of anyone from one camp to the other, let alone a consensus.

On the topic of the thread itself, kudos to the shipping industry for thwarting another attempted act of piracy. The good news is that on a large steel container ship, the cost of a safe room should be low enough to encourage others to follow suit.

Brad

[KillerBoo]

Originally Posted by speedoo

I don't agree. The average cruiser can go below, lock all hatches, disconnect the engine battery and get on the radio.

Preparation for such an event would include reinforcing all entry points to the cabin to make entry as difficult as possible.

If the pirates realize it's going to take them a while to gain entry, they are likely to move on to another target before help arrives.

I wouldnt take much time to breach a GRP deck enough to throw a smoke grenade in there. Or just show the crew a handgrenade to get them out if the boat happens to be equipped with gas masks in the cabin. I bet anyone would be in a big hurry to get out if the bad guys put a .50 cal machinegun bullet through the cabin as well...


Just being the devils´ attourney. Saying that a standard GRP yacht out on the ocean wouldn´t stand much of a chance against pirates determined to take what they want. Be it money, equipment or hostage. not to mention a life or 2.

It´s very unlikely that I will ever get to visit pirateland AND find myself actually being boarded by pirates, I´d vote for giving them what they want and hope they´ll be satisfied with any loose gear they might obtain.

[Rolf the Rotten]

My first thought when reading about a safe room on a yacht was..what happens when the nastier of the scourge gets on my boat, finds me and mine holed up in a safe room, and decides to scuttle my boat?

Ugh. There is no good answer. Why are these kinds of people in the world? I just want to sail, am not bringing any misery to anyone. Leave me be!

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

If yachts were easy targets and worth a lot of money you'd think they'd be going after them in more earnest in the first place. I can't really imagine anyone making an argument that reducing effective piracy actions is in anyway "bad".

1. They already are.
2. Even the few thousand they get from taking a yacht is more than the $0.50 they get from a days catch of fish.
3. You just sold all your fishing gear to buy a RPG, and a couple of AK-47's, now what?

This problem is not going away. It is not going to get better. Passive resistance will do no good, when your family gets a ransom note they WILL send money. Piracy was ended in the past when the US marines invaded Algiers and overthrew the government that allowed it to happen. Until then pirates will get safe haven. The Somali government, (what there is of it), get a cut. Until the situation on land is changed that is one part of the world I would not recommend entering without an armed escort. Some one needs to have a gun. Cruisers for various reasons are not equiped to take on a boat load of armed and desperate men. You can reduce, (not eliminate), your chances by being better armed and defended than the poor sap a mile behind you. Or avoid that area completely

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

... Piracy was ended in the past when the US marines invaded Algiers and overthrew the government that allowed it to happen. Until then pirates will get safe haven...

Say the US/UN Armed Forces do go back in to Somalia , and take control of the country, and eradicate the pirate organizations.
Then what?

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Say the US/UN Armed Forces do go back in to Somalia , and take control of the country, and eradicate the pirate organizations.
Then what?

Good question! The US military is a little busy right now. That part of the world is a mess. I've seen pictures of piles of used military weapons, (captured or stolen), for sale in open street markets. The people live for violence. What is not mentioned in the press is that islamic extremists are trying to genocide and conquor everyone else. They are the ones that drove out peacekeeping forces, and overthrew the former Somali Gov't. Piracy off of the coast of Africa has been a problem for thousands of years. The problems in most of Africa go beyond the problems of Gov't. It would require a complete restructuring of society, Gov't, education, individual religion, morals, and behaviors to fix. A military "clean up" would only be the beginning of decades of work.

[Rou-Coo]

Originally Posted by speedoo

I don't agree. The average cruiser can go below, lock all hatches, disconnect the engine battery and get on the radio.

Preparation for such an event would include reinforcing all entry points to the cabin to make entry as difficult as possible.

If the pirates realize it's going to take them a while to gain entry, they are likely to move on to another target before help arrives.

I suppose there are 'pirates' and 'PIRATES'. If you are talking about a few local lads who get boozed up and decide to steal your money and radio you may be able to stand them off with these tactics. But a determined, ruthless individual (usually high on something) could break into a 'secure cabin' or intimidate the occupants into opening the vessel within seconds.

The point of a safe room is that it is SAFE; i.e. normal military ordinance cannot penetrate it. The point of a kill switch is that the vessel is too big to be towed - or, dare I say 'sailed' - to a pirate port.

A cruiser is a sitting duck. Any normal firearm is useless in the face of fully automatic weapons unless you happen to luck upon the most incompetent pirates in the world. Having said that, I suspect, if the tanker's strategy is successful, without the really big paydays offered by the tankers the pirate problem will recede to some degree.