Protecting valuables

[Ancient Dream]

Hello,
I hope all is well for everyone. I have a fairly (?) simple question. What does everyone do to secure your cash, important docs, laptop, etc? I was looking at some smaller to medium fireproof & waterproof safes but I have read a lot of discouraging things on other forums. Such as burglars seriously damaging a boat in the attempt to get the safe out, etc.

There were a few suggestions of creating false bottoms to drawers, making a fake blackwater tank, or just hiding the items well.

What do you all do to protect your valuables? I am open to suggestions.

Thanks so much for the advise,
April

[GreenWave]

I think you already listed the good ideas. Find or create places in your boat that is hard to get to but not too hard. I have a few more tricks you didn't list, sorry not giving those secrets away. :-)

[psk125]

A friend of ours created a secure spot on his boat by locking a seat down with a rod that he slid in from a hidden spot a long way from the opening. It looked like the seat was screwed down and didn't open.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Ancient Dream

What do you all do to protect your valuables? I am open to suggestions.

Mainly I radically minimize the "valuable" things in my life that people might want to steal.

Cheap older binoculars, phone, laptop (with everything backed up). Cash? Minimal; spent it all on the boat. Passport? Hidden where they'll never find it. Outboard? I use oars on my dinghy.

Nobody seems to steal anchor rodes, halyards, or sails, even though that's where the money is.

[George_SD]

Don't have one, don't feel like I need one. I try not to bring anything that I could not replace if it was gone. Otherwise just put things away into various storage cubbies for cleanliness and out of sight to not make it too easy for anyone who may get the wrong idea.

[wingssail]

Maybe it is risky to tempt fate by answering that I have never really done anything much to hide or protect my valuables. I generally don't even lock the boat.

I don't have any money on the boat, so nothing to hide there. What money I do have I carry with me in my wallet in my pocket and it isn't much. If it was stolen and I lost the money and the cards, and I didn't have alternate cards available, I would ask the bank to replace them. So this is an inconvenience, not a major risk.

Same with my phone and although also losing that device would be an inconvenience, it would not be a major monetary loss.

My computer is sitting in plain sight at the nav station but a couple of back up computers are usually stowed away. Data loss is a risk if all the computers and external drives are found and taken, but much of my data is also on the cloud (and more will be soon). The possible monetary loss of these items is insignificant compared to the major headache of trying to lock them up all the time, and the data, which I do care about, is protected.

Judy's jewelry is still in her drawer where she last left it. Not much value there anyhow.

So I am not going to get excited or worried and go to a lot of effort to hide or protect my stuff. Mostly the inconvenience of dealing with the protections every single day is worse than the inconvenience of dealing with a loss if it ever occurred, which in 38 years on this boat, never has happened.

In my view armed robbery is a bigger danger. When you are anchored in a remote place you are an enticing and widely visible target. Armed self-protection seems more likely to be a danger to myself than to be effective fighting off invaders (ask Peter Blake's widow). So my method of reducing that risk is to avoid long stays in those places. If I feel like a place is dangerous, I don't stay.

[JPA Cate]

I was on board a metal boat that had a hidden and built-in safe. And on board a fiberglass boat that had a built-in gun safe for their guns, but in the main, most cruisers do not carry "valuables" other than the items of daily usage, like computers, and forego public display of wealth, even when we might like to show off something pretty.

Trying to lock up a boat is sort of like trying to lock up a tissue box: where there are acrylic or lexan hatches, there is easy to obtain entry, and few suitable places for a safe.



Ann

[GILow]

Try my trick. Don’t have anything valuable.

[Jim Cate]

Generally I agree with Wingsail's post upthread. I'm reminded of an event in Suva, many years ago. We heard a German cruiser in the YC bar loudly pontificating about hiding a large sum (>2000 USD) of cash on his boat, which was moored in the small marina at the club. When he returned to the boat some hours later, it was gone... fancy that!

It is surely not difficult, though, to find a hidey-hole somewhere on a cruising boat in which to put important papers, etc. A lengthy search would be necessary to find it, and that would hinder most opportunistic thieves, who want to be in and out quickly. I know this to be true because it often takes me a long time to find things on board, things that I haven't even hidden!!

Jim

[wholybee]

IMHO there are almost endless places to visit where theft isn't a problem. So I would stick to those. And, there isn't much need for very much cash. Just visit the ATM when you need some.

[dwedeking2]

I have a waterproof/fireproof small safe, mostly so I can recover it in a shallow water sinking (important papers, small amount pms). Mostly I protect my 100k boat by parking next to a 2mil cat. Gonna go there first looking for free money.

[chrisr]

our solution ?

don't spend time in places where you have to worry about such sh1t...

cheers,

[Ancient Dream]

Originally Posted by GreenWave

I think you already listed the good ideas. Find or create places in your boat that is hard to get to but not too hard. I have a few more tricks you didn't list, sorry not giving those secrets away. :-)

Thank you. I also have a couple more ideas. I appreciate the advise.

[Ancient Dream]

Originally Posted by psk125

A friend of ours created a secure spot on his boat by locking a seat down with a rod that he slid in from a hidden spot a long way from the opening. It looked like the seat was screwed down and didn't open.

Thanks. My father used to make Chinese puzzle boxes.

[Ancient Dream]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Mainly I radically minimize the "valuable" things in my life that people might want to steal.

Cheap older binoculars, phone, laptop (with everything backed up). Cash? Minimal; spent it all on the boat. Passport? Hidden where they'll never find it. Outboard? I use oars on my dinghy.

Nobody seems to steal anchor rodes, halyards, or sails, even though that's where the money is.

Thank you for the advice. Most of my stuff is older but it is funny that you mention items of 'real' value.