onboard safe/vault

[Dr. Sea]

I read a recommendation to permanently mount a small safe or vault in an inconspicuous place to keep cash, passports, and other valuables. Does anyone have experience with this? Or opinions? Our boat was burlarized in Guadeloupe a couple of years ago, so I'm somewhat sensitized to this issue. We had quite a bit of cash onboard, but most of it was hidden in 3 or 4 strange unlikely places and wasn't found. The problem with this is remembering where you hid it! What do you think about welding or glassing a small safe onboard?

[Sondor]

For smaller items, such as your passports, cash, and small misc. valuables, I'm a fan of the biometric gun-safes.

Finding a solid place to mount it is of course gonna be dependent on the individual boat.

Gun not included nor implied for the sake of preventing this from becoming another gun-thread!

[Emmalina]

You can't find a place on your boat to hide these things I can put many things on my boat that would not be found unless I want to !!!

[CARL]

Also don't forget if said burglar finds a locked safe on your boat good chance he will nigh on rip the side of you boat out to get at that locked safe. Just a thought .

[Sailorman Ed]

on a related note, we save our expired credit cards and leave them out in the open - few robbers in a hurry are going to bother checking the expiration dates. It gives them something to take and move on.

[Paul L]

A safe is likely to stand out to a thief a lot more than the hundreds of great hiding places on a boat. Leave some significant money in a good hiding place that they can find. Then hide the rest properly in multiple places. The easier to find money can be the money you hand over when you are boarded and they are threatening the crew till you cough up the cash.

[JK n Smitty]

I would disagree with the biometric safe idea. Non-marinized electronics and battery dependent. Not a good idea for a boat in my opinion.

If I were to put a safe on my boat I would go for a quick combination, mechanical only safe. Something like the ShotLock CCW Solo (as others have said, no gun discussion just talking about the safe). Its small and can be through-bolted with backing plates to make it secured in place well.

As others have pointed out, I wouldn't count on it not being found. I would have some backups for it like hiding money in other locations just to be sure it's safe. I also like the idea of having something sacrificial that would look like your valuable possessions. Maybe a cheap lock box with some costume jewelry, a little bit of cash and expired credit cards.

Good luck.

Jesse

[senormechanico]

JK n Smitty,

Thanks for the link.
I can think of several uses for it.

[Nicholson58]

We have a couple safes. Also, a few electrical J-boxes with wires & seal tight. There are also a few places it took us over three years to find after we bought the boat.

[cornaylor]

I have a Gardall wall safe on my boat. No stolen stuff so far. Had other safes before but I like this one so far.

[SVHarmonie]

You don’t need to weld or glass it in. If you have it attached with standard nylon nuts through the bottom, if you can’t open it, you can’t remove it!

We have a small safe. there is benefit to both a safe, and the hiding spots. Nobody could do a real search of a boat in the time available in a routine break in, so most things hidden wouldn’t be found. The down side of a safe is in the event of a “home invasion” where the bad guys come aboard while you are there. If everything is in the safe, they can hold a gun to your head and force you to open it.

Best strategy, is both. Hide some valuables, and put the rest in the safe. If you are force to open the safe, you have something to give the bad guy, and hopefully get him on his way, but you don’t lose everything.

[NorthernMac]

Ever have a rag top Jeep?

You don’t lock the doors, if someone sees something they want they’ll slash your $2k top and take it, vs open the door and take it.

I went down this road with all my guns on the boat, long story short unless you have a steelhull you can weld/make a safe onto, Id forget the safe.

Small stuff, just stash it somewhere smart, big stuff I’d make a small locking door, this is for insurance or police so you can show it was broken into, but your boat won’t take heavy damage as the scum break into it, if that makes sense.


Speaking of security, here’s a good and cheap idea, just need a old android phone.
https://www.wired.com/story/snowden-...curity-system/

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by SVHarmonie

You don’t need to weld or glass it in. If you have it attached with standard nylon nuts through the bottom, if you can’t open it, you can’t remove it!

Give me two minutes with a crowbar and I bet I could remove it!

[thinwater]

I used a fake electrical box with some fake wires coming out of it. No crook is going to be opening junction boxes that look like other junction boxes. Cash and passports.


I'm sure some electrician down the line will scratch his head. I explained it to the surveyor and he nodded.

[slug]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sea

I read a recommendation to permanently mount a small safe or vault in an inconspicuous place to keep cash, passports, and other valuables. Does anyone have experience with this? Or opinions? Our boat was burlarized in Guadeloupe a couple of years ago, so I'm somewhat sensitized to this issue. We had quite a bit of cash onboard, but most of it was hidden in 3 or 4 strange unlikely places and wasn't found. The problem with this is remembering where you hid it! What do you think about welding or glassing a small safe onboard?

Don’t know your boat

A floor safe works well on many boats.. under bunk cushions , behind settee cushion backs ...

Choose the biggest that is practical

A key door is lowest profile