Electric fence....

[weavis]

Originally Posted by mrlee

Hi, ok...point taken for the grounding part...never really thought this through I guess...as for moving...I cannot move. I own a school here in Mexico and I want to sail! I have to learn to live with my environmental issues...like thieves! On the flip side, it IS beautiful here!
How will a motion sensor work on a floating boat that has motion all the time? Any ideas about a laser beam detection system? I want to have something for when nobody is there...which is not too often...but it only takes one brief moment and BAM...
Thanks

Pressure pads.

[StuM]

> "How will a motion sensor work on a floating boat that has motion all the time? Any ideas about a laser beam detection system? I want to have something for when nobody is there"

IR motion detectors. They are triggered by moving warm bodies, not just by movement of the vessel.

You can also get systems now that take a SIM and will send you a text message when triggered.

[accomplice]

I've heard that carpet tacks have worked for at least one cruiser

The more thought I gave to the electric fence idea, the less I like it (and I didn't like it to start!). I remember many years ago when I put up an electric fence around our vegetable garden to keep out the wildlife. I trained our dog to stay away from the fence -- and she did, at least while we were watching. One day when we were on the other side of the fence our dog must've gotten curious, because she let out a yelp and retreated onto the porch. Thinking that she had forever learned her lesson, we comforted her. The very next day, while I was watching, she went right up to the fence and sniffed it. You can imagine what happened next! That time she wouldn't leave the porch for a week, and kept clear of the fence forever after.

My point is that if I were a thief (I maintain I'm not, but probably a lot of thieves do too), and I encountered an electric fence, what are the odds I'd simply move on? I'd want to investigate (like my dog, but hopefully without sticking my nose out). And take retribution.... I would much rather have someone steal from my boat than sink her.

[s/v Beth]

Get a dog. Much smarter alarm system.

[weavis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8fwtkC5UJU

[ryon]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Get a dog. Much smarter alarm system.

Infrared sensors work by sensing the motion of warm bodies, but what is "warm" when the outside air is 98.6? A microwave detector would probably be confused with reflections from metal surfaces. A simple light beam like a door announcer might be your best bet,.. other than a dog.

[StuM]

"Large targets such as deer, moose, bear, people, etc usually have enough variation in their surface temperature to allow the sensor to detect them - even when the ambient temperature is the same as their average body temperature."

Motion Detector FAQ's - Crow Systems, Ltd.

[ryon]

Originally Posted by StuM

"Large targets such as deer, moose, bear, people, etc usually have enough variation in their surface temperature to allow the sensor to detect them - even when the ambient temperature is the same as their average body temperature."

Motion Detector FAQ's - Crow Systems, Ltd.

My infrared motion sensor was pretty useless during the warm months of the year, but that could have been because I run at 98.7 degrees.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Get a dog. Much smarter alarm system.

Unfortunately, after the dog has pissed on the electric fence once or twice it will move ashore and refuse to come back.

[Randyonr3]

My feeling is that you could be opening a can of worms you might not want..
I grew up on a farm and know the punch an electric fence puts out.. Its not a pleasent experance.. and cant imagine being it the water or a wet dink and grabbing ahold of a shocker like that..
If someone is hurt, or in the worst case, knocked in the water and drowns, its pre-meditated murder.. as you planed on causing damage to someone getting on your boat..

Its like that case that came up years ago about the guy who set up a shotgun in his garage for those that broke in.. I think he was convicted of pre-meditation when the gun hurt someone breaking in and changed the laws here in the US in many states, where its now only legal to cause deadly force if you are in fear of your live...