Owning a boat is a huge achievement especially if you worked hard for it. But your responsibility as an owner doesn’t stop there. You need to maintain its condition, improve gear, and protect it at all costs.
In this article, we’ll discuss how you can protect your boat from theft and how you can prevent this from happening.
How Common Is Boat Theft?
Docking your boat in a marina will somehow give you ease and confidence that your boat will be safe from any thieves.
But unfortunately, there are theft cases reported even inside a marina. Most of these cases involve stealing marine electronics such as navigation and sonar devices, toolbox, boating gear, etc. since they can be removed and hidden easily.
According to an article, the National Insurance Crime Bureau stated that boat theft has nationally increased by 1% in 2016. For example, 643 cases of boat theft were recorded in Florida last 2015 which increased to 811 cases in 2016.
This is the reason why boat owners decide to double their security even if their boats are docked in a marina. If your boat has no anti-theft devices, then it’s time to purchase one.
How to Protect Boat Electronics
Create an Inventory List
Always make sure that you’re tracking your boat electronics, fishing equipment, and other important stuff that are stored in your boat.
It is important to include the serial number and manufacturer of each device in your inventory list so you can easily trace them when they are stolen. This will also help you track down the stolen item if the thief will try to sell it.
Additional documentation such as taking photos of your boat equipment can also be useful for future reference.
Install an Alarm System and Other Anti-theft Devices
An effective way to scare off a thief is by installing an alarm system on your boat. This is identical to the car alarms that will produce a loud sound when an unauthorized person will try to open your boat.
If you want to monitor your boat more, you can purchase a boat alarm with a security camera that will show you real-time recordings by connecting them to your smartphones or tablets. This is by far the best way to monitor your boat and prevent unwanted happenings.
GPS tracker devices are also useful to monitor the exact location of your boat if someone will try to drive them away.
Look For a Safe Place to Store Your Boat
Boats that are kept on trailers are an easy target for thieves. It’s better to store your boat in a warehouse, boat storage facility, or in a locked garage just to keep them safe.
But if you can’t afford to store them in these places, you can keep your trailered boats in your yard or in your driveway but make sure that you’ll cover them to secure all electronic devices. This will prevent any stealing temptations since they don’t know what’s inside your boat.
Also, use chains with a high-quality lock so you can attach your boat to a fixed object or you can remove one wheel to prevent anyone from driving your boat away. Storing your boat outside is a big risk so make sure that you have installed alarm devices on your boat.
Conclusion
As people say, prevention is better than cure. By following these easy steps, you can simply avoid unwanted events that can happen with your boat. Even if you’re confident that you store your boat in a safe place, it’s still best if you gear up and double your protection.
Have you experienced boat theft? Share your thoughts and comment below.
