Dinghy theft

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Fact still is we have less than 10% of the dingy theft that Florida does .

How you know that as "fact". Been mostly in FL for over 6 years and only really know of 1 really. Know of lots that have "gone missing" after a drinking out night that people call "someone took my dinghy".

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

How you know that as "fact". Been mostly in FL for over 6 years and only really know of 1 really. Know of lots that have "gone missing" after a drinking out night that people call "someone took my dinghy".

Number of police reported tender thefts. Had one attempted theft in my marina . The police boat had to get the thief out of the water . Wedont screw around here with thieves.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Number of police reported tender thefts. Had one attempted theft in my marina . The police boat had to get the thief out of the water . Wedont screw around here with thieves.

link for reports???

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by Ken Goodings

Lynn and I have been cruising in Eastern Caribbean for more than 12 years. To secure our tender, we utilize a 10mm-diameter stainless-steel chain, some six metres in length, which extends forward from the locked outboard motor, through the handle of the fuel tank, then over the dinghy’s bow to the dock or to a stanchion on our yacht. This long chain loops over the bow and into the water. Its catenary weight holds the dinghy away from the dock, allowing boaters to push us out of the way easily to make space for themselves. A fabric anti-chafe sleeve (old fire hose is good for this) protects the Hypalon where the chain crosses over the dinghy’s bow.

When using a security chain, tying the rope dinghy painter to the dock is no longer necessary, freeing up more cleat room for everyone else. High-tensile G4 galvanized chain may be used for this purpose, but we prefer the smooth, clean non-marring properties of stainless steel. Eight-mm stainless chain, although not quite as impressive as the more formidable looking 10mm, will do nicely. Chains smaller than 8mm, in our view, are too easily cut.

The dock end of the chain is secured with a robust, U-shaped high-security bicycle lock with a programmable four-digit combination. We prefer a combination lock, as keys can be lost or forgotten. Our bike lock takes less space on a dock cleat than a rope painter, and the long, 20cm lock hasp can easily fit over a large dock timber if there aren’t any dock cleats at all. Modern U-style keyed bike locks available in the Caribbean now feature sophisticated, double side-ground keys. Our combo bike lock is impressively well made and we oil it regularly; it’s served us well for nine years.

How can such a large bike lock fit through the end of a chain? We have fastened a heavy stainless shackle onto each end of our dinghy chain. This allows the chain to accommodate the large 12mm-thick hasp of our heavy lock. We’ve chosen the largest stainless steel shackle whose pin just fits through each end of our chain. After tightly installing the shackle pins in a vice, using permanent thread-locking compound and a large wrench, the flat knobs on the pins were sawed off and the pin ends peened over with a hammer to frustrate any attempt at shackle removal.

Remember, thieves usually only really want your motor, so why not invest in a quality, well thought-out locking device to protect the outboard? The very weakest link in dinghy security can often be the outboard engine padlock. Padlocks are often not as strong as one would hope, and so-called “hardened” hasps have often been proven to be underperformers when attacked with simple tools. In saltwater use, padlocks will quickly rust and jam if not oiled regularly. Simply locking both outboard motor clamp handles together seems optimistic at best, especially if those clamp handles are plastic. We have purchased a heavy-gauge stainless steel tube with a high-security internal key lock inside the end cap. This steel tube completely covers both motor-clamp handles, affording excellent protection against outboard removal — and also becomes the strongest attachment point for the chain on the dinghy.

What about securing the dinghy end of our chain? Since padlocks can be the weakest point of any security tether, we’ve eliminated one lock. That large chain shackle allowed us to form a steel chain slip-noose or loop at one end, which then fits over the outboard motor’s steel locking cylinder. No padlock required!

Multi-strand, braided steel cables are often touted by those who have them as tougher to cut than chain, but we’re still confident that a 10-mm stainless chain is a great way to help keep our dinghy and outboard motor safe. We once met a new cruiser who had a thin security cable on his shiny new Yamaha 15. He said, “I don’t need chain; cable is good enough. Besides, have you ever had your outboard stolen?”
“No,” I smiled back, while pointing at our heavy chain!

We’ve now tethered our outboard’s fuel hose as well; someone twice tried to steal that, too! For the same reason, our dinghy is empty. No hand-operated bilge pumps, tube repair kits, air pumps, flashlights, sandals, or portable running lights; just a scoop bailer, heaving line and bug repellant. Young kids often like to climb in and out of beached or docked dinghies to play. Loose gear walks away!

We know that our integrated chain security system has already saved our dinghy from theft multiple times in the past twelve years of full-time cruising. Every sailor knows that replacing a stolen dinghy costs much more than time, money, and inconvenience, especially when you’re anchored out. Dinghy’s gone walkabout? How will you get to shore?
Our continuing motto is “Don’t be the low hanging fruit!”

Sadly, the introduction of the cordless right angle grinder with a cutoff wheel means that it will take a professional thief another 10 seconds to steal your dinghy than a one secured with a vinyl covered cable. My solution was to have two motors. The 3.5 hp motor was never stolen, and we rarely used the 18 hp motor.

[Chotu]

Slight thread drift , but Florida theft related


https://winknews.com/2023/05/19/3-me...naples-marina/

[Ken Goodings]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Sadly, the introduction of the cordless right angle grinder with a cutoff wheel means that it will take a professional thief another 10 seconds to steal your dinghy than a one secured with a vinyl covered cable. My solution was to have two motors. The 3.5 hp motor was never stolen, and we rarely used the 18 hp motor.

Our ss dinghy chain has protected our 15hp Yamaha for 13 years and 15,000 sea miles cruising in Eastern Caribbean from Bahamas to Grenada.
Glib assertions that professional dinghy thieves use battery powered grinders is not borne out in fact in Caribbean. Those grinders, not commonly seen here, cost about a month's salary for most West Indian residents. It may be a thing in Florida but definitely not in Bahamas or Eastern Caribbean.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Ken Goodings

Our ss dinghy chain has protected our 15hp Yamaha for 13 years and 15,000 sea miles cruising in Eastern Caribbean from Bahamas to Grenada.
Glib assertions that professional dinghy thieves use battery powered grinders is not borne out in fact in Caribbean. Those grinders, not commonly seen here, cost about a month's salary for most West Indian residents. It may be a thing in Florida but definitely not in Bahamas or Eastern Caribbean.

You know, that’s a really really good point.

When thinking of how to defend against thieves we often think about the worst case scenario. What is the maximum damage a thief can do? What are the maximum capabilities of a thief?

We ought to be asking ourselves what the average and typical thief is going to do.

Especially given that it would vary by region. Brilliant post.

[wholybee]

5 year circumnavigation. My theory has been don't have the easiest to steel dinghy, and don't have the nicest dinghy. A worn out looking dinghy with an old motor, chained to the dock isn't they one that will be taken. At the mothership, I always pull it out of the water.

[Chotu]

Oops

Guess those three guys from the last post I made up the thread we’re not responsible for all of the Florida marine theft.

https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-da...-property/amp/

[Chotu]

At least they are still catching them. Here are some more that were exporting them to Mexico from Florida


This particular couple was responsible for 600 outboard thefts. In Florida.

https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/loc...275784706.html

[CarlF]

My gripe is with people who insist on locking their dinghy to a dinghy dock in The Bahamas family islands where dinghy theft isn’t a problem. All it takes is a couple of locked dinghies to make a crowded dock difficult for other cruisers to use.

I get it that you need to lock in the Eastern Caribbean - that’s one reason I don’t cruise there. But only an inconsiderate jerk locks their dinghy to the GeorgeTown dinghy dock.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by CarlF

My gripe is with people who insist on locking their dinghy to a dinghy dock in The Bahamas family islands where dinghy theft isn’t a problem. All it takes is a couple of locked dinghies to make a crowded dock difficult for other cruisers to use.

I get it that you need to lock in the Eastern Caribbean - that’s one reason I don’t cruise there. But only an inconsiderate jerk locks their dinghy to the GeorgeTown dinghy dock.

I must disagree. Always lock BUT you must have a sufficiently long chain to make room for others. The boat is my home. The dinghy is my car. I like to be assured to get home. I lock my car. Replacing a dinghy and motor in remote places is difficult, expensive and the choices are poor.

The real curse we see in places like Antigua is the massive tenders from the super yachts tying along side, bow and stern, to the usually small dinghy dock. We have occasionally locked to the big tender and walked over it. Amazing how quickly other cruisers warm to this plan.