Securing the companionway and other approaches to burglary mitigation

[scallowayuk]

Hi i have a safe and i use camping mats cut into foot squares with thumtacks in them left by the shrouds and in cockpit at night.

[Sailor 99]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Keep the decks clear, keep the dinghy secure and we set our alarm system. It uses under deck strain gauges to set off a series of alarms. Starting with a dog barking if you step on the swimstep to all lights and very loud alarm if you step in front of the companionway. The strain gauge approach eliminates false alarms.

Hey Paul



Can you tell us more about your system and the strain gauges


Thanks,
Colin

[boat driver]

having been boarded more than once and having asked the local authorities the questions, the obvious self-awareness of the surroundings is the most important response.
The scenarios are all resulting the same- either easily cashed pilfering or worse, and this is not restricted to the Caribbean. Florida tends to have some juicy ones, particularly Jacksonville area.
Simple KISS methods work the best- bells on trips, tack strips in shadow areas of passages(works on polar bears as well- but use ten penny nails)
dogs , and then self-examine if someone proceeds into the berthing space....

[hellosailor]

todd-
Drop boards have the advantage of being cheap, easy to store, easy to access the full companionway when they are out. Easy to replace with screens or transparent.
If deck hatches could be locked from the outside, they probably would be illegal as fire/emergency exits. And if they could easily be opened from the outside, they'd be a security problem. So, there may be some logic in the way they are built. Which of course you could modify to your own wishes.
Factory drop boards inevitably don't meet ISF regulations, which require that they can easily and securely be fixed in placed (against rollovers) from both inside and out. I'd guess that sliding the companionway cover all the way out "locks" them down, but that's not what I'd really call secure.

[CarinaPDX]

I have always locked the companionway at night, which was very comforting when some swim-aboards tried to open the hatch at 3AM. Carina has a bridge deck and a single drop board of 3/4" plywood, reinforced on the top 1/3 with 3/4" hardwood. This makes for an easy install of a standard dead bolt (through 1-1/2"), with the bolt extending upwards behind the aft lip of the hatch. It is a magnetic pick-proof Miwa lock, now nearly 4 decades old (the magnetic mechanism is resistant to corrosion, as opposed to the usual tumblers). From the outside it presents no obvious vulnerabilities, and is quite resistant to a brute force attack.

Whatever you do, if you have a hasp and padlock get rid of them. They are trivial to break open using a screwdriver as a lever, and don't provide a way of securing the hatch from the inside.

Greg

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Dark Horse

Hey Paul



Can you tell us more about your system and the strain gauges


Thanks,
Colin

Colin
Here's an article I did a few years back
https://www.bwsailing.com/bw/2015/04/alarmed/

[boatman61]

Being at the bottom off the barrel I just sleep with companionway hatch open for ventilation.. making sure I am anchored near juicier pickings..

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Colin
Here's an article I did a few years back
https://www.bwsailing.com/bw/2015/04/alarmed/

Great article Paul and I think the strain gauges are the perfect sensor for a boat.

Pleased to hear they will work on a steel painted deck.

Are they sensitive to heat as steel boats do get hot in the tropics?

If not. Makes it very doable on my boat

Can you remember off hand your costs all in, excluding labor?

Thanks
Nick

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Great article Paul and I think the strain gauges are the perfect sensor for a boat.

Pleased to hear they will work on a steel painted deck.

Are they sensitive to heat as steel boats do get hot in the tropics?

If not. Makes it very doable on my boat Attachment 188492

Can you remember off hand your costs all in, excluding labor?

Thanks
Nick

They are epoxied on to the underside, so as long as you get a clean install they should last. On a steel deck I would expect their coverage area to be less than on a GRP deck. So depending on your configuration you might need more. A minmal system with few sensors is going to be more reliable and easier to install. Once installed you need to do a calibration on them.
I have one under the swimstep, one in front of the companionway and one on the foredeck near the forward hatch.

[Sojourner]

We have security at the top of our minds due to female crew and three cats... the cats are no joke, they're our kids, and if the boat is broken into while we aren't around...

So. Our security systems/practices, both for onboard and away as applicable, are (I'm really digging the bullet points this morning!):

1) Serious bars on all 'human-sized' hatches and companionway
2) All lockers/lazarette/engine room is locked from the inside always
3) The PO had a security sensor installed on companionway. It makes a bit of racket if active and it's lowered. Not much, but enough to wake me. I might swap the speaker for something from Gost (below)
4) Amel companionway is already thick one-piece wood and heavy fibre lid. Onto this I installed two metal posts that attach to a removable stainless steel 'flap' 4mm thick. It covers the closing corner and deadbolt entirely, full width (about 2 ft down and along top) and is locked to the front from the outside with hardened, not easy to cut because of their shape locks. You'd be working for some time to get in even with an angle grinder or an axe.
5) We light her UP. Installed mizzen down lights just for this purpose. When we leave and as needed at night, the boat is like a christmas tree. Low watt cockpit light is always on as well. Foreward light and deck light also as needed. In any place in the world, bad people hate light.
6) Despite this, the boat looks a bit shabby. Meaning we don't look rich compared to that Jenneau deck saloon parked next door. Lowest hanging fruit and all that.
7) Last but not least, I turned the aft cabin into a panic room. The door is a waterproof hatch, so very thick and solid. Installed heavy duty deadbolts along the edges, and we keep a VHF, phone, and one of our several machetes in there. Anyone boards, it's a place that will stay safe for a while, as help is being called.

Not much call for it here in the med, but down the road in the caribe, I found a device made by a company called Gost Global. Various strobes and sound incapacitating devices you can install on a mast as well as hidden in cockpit or below deck, auto or wireless manual activation. Puts out sound that you cannot tolerate for more than a few seconds at 110+decibels. Hidden inside a boat cabin, I can't imagine anyone would hang around for long with that set off. They even make a smoke device that can be wired to it! Imagine that! The intruder is rendered immediately deaf and blind while I know my boat inside and out.... Put in my earplugs, grab the ole banana-chopper, and I could do some serious Buffalo Bill basement chit with that setup should anyone make it thru the door...

For any naysayer re the time to activate vs being surprised in your sleep, remember point (5)... we sleep in a locked panic room. Between the bars, the stainless companionway door, and that, I got enough time to make a coffee. And yes, there are keys to the bars hidden nearby in case of fire

I'm sure I missed a few more active security options we can turn to, but that's prolly for the best

[tankersteve]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Jammer-
...
A couple of cans of wasp spray, which shoot out a 20' stream of chemical that will temporarily blind an intruder, is cheap and legal, even where "pepper sprays" wouldn't be...

Please, let's stop perpetuating that myth. I've mentioned it before:

"The active ingredients in most wasp sprays are pyrethrins, compounds derived from a species of the chrysanthemum plant which penetrate the nervous systems of insects and kill them. Since wasp sprays are not formulated to be used directly on human beings, some critics maintain, they should not be relied upon as a form of non-lethal self-defense, as their safety and effectiveness for this purpose has not been sufficiently tested, and the toxic effects of pyrethrin could potentially be much more harmful or less effective than expected.

The primary benefit claimed in advocating the use of wasp spray over pepper spray is that the former can be effectively deployed from a greater distance (“wasp spray can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate”). However, canisters of pepper spray with an equivalent (or greater) range are commonly available."

If you are worried about the legality of pepper spray, relabel the can - not that hard, if you are serious about protecting yourself and your loved ones.

https://articles.extension.org/pages...r-pepper-spray

https://www.policeone.com/police-pro...-Self-Defense/

Using wasp spray for self defense is the nautical equivalent of using blue plastic tarps for sails. Sure, you instinctively know it will kind of work, right? But real sails on a sailboat (used or new), just like purpose-built defense sprays to protect oneself when required, are an area every informed person should ever opt for.

I'd also offer that machetes may not be the best weapon for defense in confined quarters. Something that you can swing AND thrust with, works better with a low overhead like in a boat. Something like this works well, and serves as a machete just fine too:

https://www.coldsteel.com/gladius-ma...-clampack.html

Less than $40 on Amazon.

Tankersteve

[Q Xopa]

Originally Posted by daletournier

I've been boarded three times in the past five years, the last resulted in a punch up at 2am. The first two times a thief entered while we slept and stole phones and money. I now lock us in each night.

I have nice looking security bars in the companion way which can be locked from the inside. Also ss bars in the hatches. I leave the large front hatch Bar less as an escape hatch but it's closed at night. I now sleep better.

Never had a problem in the first 4-5 years.

Its impossible to cruise the world an avoid poor people, at some stage you will be a target, I believe in providing as little opportunity as possible or at least less than your neighbours [emoji3]

Ah yes the anti bear attack running shoes and pen knife strategy.
Well played.

[Cpt Pat]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

Handful of tacks on the side decks.

The Slocum Security Alarm. Joshua Slocum also had loud conversations with nonexistent crew down below when he knew he was under observation. "Bob, make sure the shotgun is loaded."


The Quakers, who believed in non-violence, had wooden cannons displayed on their vessels. While it might draw unwanted official attention, a plastic AK-47 replica slung over one's shoulder would be an impressive deterrence.

[taxwizz]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

Handful of tacks on the side decks.

Have you ever forgotten to pick them up in the morning?
Just wondering.

[wingssail]

We've had people come aboard twice, at the dock, in cities. Both times the intruder was a "looky-loo" who had no idea we were aboard and was totally shocked when my face appeared in the companionway and I yelled at them to "GET OFF MY BOAT!" I still laugh at the sight of the last guy who did that as he leaped over the railing onto the dock and ran up the ramp, scared as chit.

That being said we do worry about boardings while anchored in third world countries. Anchored in a bay you are a visible target to a lot of people.

Precautions we recommend:

• Don't stay long which give a thief time to get up the courage to attack
• Keep the decks totally clear of rob-able stuff
• Keep all human sized hatches either closed or limited from full opening
• Keep the main sliding hatch locked in place so it can't be opened
• Use a metal bar style drop board to maintain ventilation.

The point is to take reasonable measures which will prevent most people getting into your boat but don't become burdens to your life style. Don't let the fear of the bad guy rule your life.

Lucky I guess, but in 20+ years, 55,000 nm, lots of lonely anchorages in third world countries: we've been fearful a couple of times, but so far, nothing has ever been stolen and no serious intruder has come aboard.