It’s Friday evening and all you’ve thought about at work all day is getting home so you can do the last-minute checks on the boat and ready the rods for the big weekend club tournament. The last rod is slid into the locker, the batteries are hot, and all the safety gear is aboard. But as you walk around the trailer checking tire pressures and tie-downs you freeze—where’s my prop?

Sometime over the past few days some lowlife stole the damn prop. So much for the fun weekend: Now you’re out $500 and will miss at least a half day on the water while you search for a replacement wheel.

But things could have been worse — a lot worse. Just ask any one of the nine Lake of the Ozarks boat owners who had their boats pulled from their moorings late one spring night and taken out into the lake where each was stripped of the electronics and other gear valued at more than $12,000.

Or you could be the Ft. Lauderdale man who’d just taken his boat in for routine service only to be called by the boat repair shop a couple days later informing him they’d been hit by thieves who unscrewed the building’s tin sides to gain entry. Their take was lower units and electronics—of which his boat was one of the targets.

Even more gut-wrenching is going into a Wal-Mart to get a couple quarts of motor oil only to come out to find your boat and trailer gone. Someone had brazenly pulled the pin from your truck’s hitch, rolled the trailer sideways, slid the shank into their own hitch, and drove away.

Boats are easy targets for low-lifes bent on making a few bucks. Ripping off a boat doesn’t take much skill or elaborate tools—it just takes opportunity. That’s why the theft of boats and related gear and electronics costs owners and insurance companies tens of millions of dollars every year.

Thieves love hitting boats parked in driveways, carports, or any other location that’s not secured, well lit, or under constant watch. They also prefer the easy target over the time-consuming.

Theft is primarily a crime of easy opportunity. Take away the easy part and you reduce the chances of things being stolen. Hence, the reason bass club members should take a serious look at installing locks and alarm systems on their boats and trailers.

NO EASY BUTTON
It’ll take more than one lock to make your bass boat and trailer less appealing to a thief. The first place to begin is at the hitch. If you have locks all over the boat but the hitch pin can be easily pulled out, then the thief can just tow away the boat, trailer and all. Then there’s the trailer coupler, which if it’s not locked, a thief can easily uncouple the trailer and roll it over to his own truck.

Think like a thief when you look at your boat and trailer and you are on the right track making it less attractive to the common criminal looking to make a fast buck at your expense.

As one Florida marine enforcement officer told me years ago, selling stolen boats is fairly easy because thieves can replace ground-off serial numbers with bogus ones and create a fake registration far easier on a boat than a truck because there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of boat makers as opposed to a couple dozen vehicle manufacturers.

Keeping your trailer locked when it’s not hooked to your tow vehicle is equally important. If the coupler is disabled or locked, the thief looking for a boat/trailer will most likely go to the next target of opportunity. (Thefts of empty trailers is also on the rise as scrap metal prices for aluminum make it “profitable” to cut up boat trailers.)

Employing wheel-locks, coupler locks, or just good old-fashioned chain-and-padlock technology can be the difference keeping what’s yours yours.

So, too, can parking your trailer in a way that makes it difficult to move it or to back another vehicle up to the tongue. Chain it to a tree or post, or at least run a chain through the wheels and padlock the end so the wheels can’t turn. It also helps to park it out of view of the road and in a well-lit area, like in the back yard where a security light can snap on if someone approaches.

LOCK ’EM DOWN
As for the boat itself, it’s a smorgasbord of thieving opportunity. Think of it this way: If you can remove it, so can a thief—only faster.

“Thieves typically target anglers who are making a stop for a short period of time (fuel dock, lunch or bait shop to shoot the bull) or they get home and leave the rig in the street/driveway until they get around to cleaning it up and putting it away,” said Michael Pellerin at BoatU.S. (www.boatus.com).

“Items left out that are the primary targets are the electronics that are not hard mounted in the console, the fishing rods (either on deck or in unlocked storage areas), or personal gear that is left on deck such as cell phones, hand held GPS units, cameras, wallets and sunglasses.”

Again, remove targets of easy opportunity. Lock everything down that is in plain sight and place items that are not lockable inside locked compartments even if the boat is going to be left unattended for only a few minutes (see “Gone in 60 Seconds” sidebar).

That includes placing all rods in the rod locker, placing locks on the prop, the trolling motor height adjustment bracket, and of course any bracket-mounted electronics. Smaller outboards need to have the transom clamps locked. Bigger outboards mounted through the transom can be protected with special locks designed to prevent access to the bolts or nuts.

Don’t forget to do the same with the lower unit. A good boat thief can drop a Mercury or Yamaha V4/V6 lower unit in less time than it takes the burger pusher at Mickey D’s to hand you your to-go order.

An outboard mechanic friend says he could drop a lower unit in less than six minutes without making a sound, “They are easy pickings and easy to sell. Used lower units sell anywhere from $1,500-$3,000. Add in the prop and there’s another $300-$400 theft incentive.”

Remember, too, that a lowlife targeting your boat doesn’t really care if cables and wires are cut, or things pried apart during the theft; all he wants is the item itself and probably has no intentions of re-installing anything on his own boat—if he even owns one.

But when the typical hit-and-run thief sees locks on everything, most likely he’ll move on to an easier target of opportunity.

ELECTRONIC GUARD DOG
On the electronic side of theft prevention there are several different approaches to boat security. One is letting the world know someone is tampering with your stuff via sirens, horns and/or flashing lights. Such alarms can be activated by the pressure of someone stepping on deck, unsnapping a boat cover, or removing some piece of equipment that is connected to the alarm system.

Attention-attracting alarms work well if the boat is parked in close proximity to your house or if the thief is an amateur looking for an easy hit.

However, if the boat/trailer is in a location where there’s very little foot traffic or a long distance away from houses the alarm’s effectiveness is determined by the determination of the thief and how long he thinks it’d take for anyone to come see what the commotion is all about. That’s where employing both hard locks and an electronic alarm work well together.

Boats on the water are an even more attractive target. Docklines can be cut, the boat towed or driven to a remote cove and stripped of everything with no one being the wiser. Again, electronic alarms activated by standing on the deck, sitting in the seat, or moving the boat itself are nice preventive measures. So is the cheap method: chaining the boat to the dock or dock poles.

ENGINE DISABLERS
Another method of electronic boat protection is disabling the outboard using a hidden kill switch or, better still, utilizing a keyless ignition system, like that offered by Digital Guard Dawg (www.digitalguarddawg.com) to prevent anyone but the holder of the right key fob to start the engine.
Such systems have proven very effective preventing thefts and unauthorized use of motorcycles, PWCs, snowmobiles and high-end luxury sports cars. Now bass boat owners can have the same luxury.

At the high-end of electronic boat security is putting in a system that provides multiple levels of security, including satellite tracking. Seakey (www.myseakey.com) offers the peace of mind should your boat or boat/trailer be stolen it automatically notifies a real person at a monitoring site who then calls the authorities and you, so all can track its exact location in real-time. It’s like a $2,000 LoJack for boats only with a whole array of other features boaters will find quite useful.

If you do go the electronic path, make sure the brains of the system are designed for marine use—not automotive. Water, moisture and corrosion are surefire alarm killers over a short period of time and the unit needs to sealed against the elements found in the marine environment.

THINK SMART
Even with electronic and security hardware in place, your boat is still vulnerable to theft. So it pays to photograph, mark and document every valuable on your boat/trailer. Then store the information in a safe place at your home or office. Should a theft occur and the authorities are lucky enough to find missing items, you can easily prove what’s yours using the documentation.

The key with all of these theft prevention tips is making your bass boat a lot less appealing to the common thief. A thief sees locks and security measures on your boat and none on the boat atop the next trailer over, guess which one gets hit first? Exactly—the other boat.

Every club member knows the darker the area and the more remote the location a boat is left unattended, the higher the risk of theft. But don’t let your guard down just because your boat is in a high traffic area in broad daylight.

Some thieves are so brazen they go about their business right under the unsuspecting noses of onlookers.

My buddy and I were organizing our gear in a busy parking lot of a hotel at Lake Havasu, Arizona. We were midway through a two-day multi-club tournament several years ago when we noticed two guys pull up to a bass boat a couple rows over from ours. They hopped out, nonchalantly dropped the trailer onto the hitch, plugged in the trailer lights, checked the deck to make sure things were tied down, then casually drove away.

We didn’t think anything about it until later that night when we heard that bass boat had been stolen. We actually watched it happen and didn’t have a clue because the two guys looked like they belonged. A simple trailer coupler lock would have saved the day.

As unfortunate as it is, we live in a world full of crime and bass boats happen to be one of the targets lowlifes find attractive.

Short of standing guard 24/7 with a Smith & Wesson locked and loaded by your side, the best theft deterrent for your bass boat is putting locking devices and some sort of electronic security measures on anything and everything that has value.

Sixty seconds is a long time. Five minutes, an eternity. At least that’s how boat thieves view the clock in their line of work. With the most basic of tools a good boat thief can walk away with an alarming number of expensive items in a remarkably short time.

Here’s just a partial list of unsecured items a professional boat thief can part from your ownership in the time it takes to stroll into a convenience store to pay for your gas or shoot the bull at Burger King. — Bruce W. Smith

• Rod/Reel on deck: 0:05
• Rod/Reel in locker: 0:10
• Pedestal seat: 0:10
• Electronics in bracket: 0:15
• Prop: 0:30
• Tire/wheel: 0:30
• Boat/trailer: 0:30
• Portable Outboard: 0:30
• Trolling motor, Hand-control: 0:30
• Trolling Motor w/ Foot Control: 2:00
• Console-mounted Electronics: 3:00
• Lower Unit w/ Prop: 5:00
• V4/V6 Outboard: 10:00

DuraSafe
No company makes as many boat/trailer security products as Wisconsin-based DuraSafe. They offer a full-line of trailering security devices from receiver locks to coupler locks to swing-away trailer tongue locks. DuraSafe also offers locking devices for everything on a bass boat from the trolling motor to bracket-mounted electronics to the swivel mounts used for their mounting. All their products are strong and durable. Contact: www.durasafelocks.com (866) 544-5615.

McGard
McGard Innovative Security Products has been in the theft-prevention business for 40 years, focusing originally on custom vehicle wheels. Now their lock line extends not only to boat trailer wheels, but also props, sterndrives, lower units and outboards. The McGard locks for sterndrives and outboards feature a hardened stainless steel free-spinning collar around a “keyed” inner head that replaces one of the standard mounting nuts. Their locking prop nut has a similar design but is built using both naval brass and hardened stainless steel. Contact: www.mcgard.com/marine; (716) 662-8980.

Guard Dawg

Digital Guard Dawg got their start, so to speak, in motorcycles. The Guard Dawg ($399) keyless ignition system works great in boats, preventing anyone but the holder of a special “proximity” key fob to start the engine. The Guard Dawg engine disabler is easy to install, hard to defeat. A push-button replaces the ignition key and the fob you carry in your pocket automatically arms and disarms the starter button according to the proximity of the fob to the primary control unit, making it truly hands-free. The cool thing about the system is one key fob can be setup to control multiple Guard Dawg keyless ignitions—so you can walk around with one key fob that works on your boat, ATV, motorcycle and PWC. Contact: www.digitalguarddog.com (916) 337-1040.

SeaKey
SeaKey v2.0 DM ($2,000) is the latest in marine safety and security devices. The unit houses a dual-mode cellular and satellite-based system that communicates vital boat information to the SeaKey 24/7 Response Center as well as to the boat owner’s personal web site. When cell service is not available, SeaKey automatically switches to one of ORBCOMM’s 35 satellites to provide the communications link. SeaKey keeps real-time track of your boat’s exact location 24/7; the SeaKey personnel monitor and call you when such things as battery voltage drops below a certain level; the boat/trailer is moved outside certain perimeter (GeoFence); the ignition key switch is activated; or bilge water rises above normal. It also provides a one-touch SOS button for emergency situations and a personal concierge service so you can call and ask directions to the nearest marina, gas station, restaurant, tackle shop or any other place you need directions to—on the water of off. Contact: www.myseakey.com (866) 473-2539.

Columbia Boat Alarms
Columbia Boat Alarms, Inc manufactures and sells security alarms for boats. The Standard ($210) boat alarm system utilizes wireless communication between the sensor transmitters (boat cover snaps, locker lids, trolling motor, and/or special pressure pad hidden under the carpet) and the boat alarm control to reduce the amount of wiring required. A siren sounds when any sensors are tripped. Columbia’s Best ($439) boat alarm system uses the same types of sensors and siren but all are hard-wired. Columbia alarm systems are activated or de-activated remotely with a key-fob and operate on 12V DC. www.columbiaboatalarms.com (406) 249-0640.

Flagship Marine Security
Flagship Marine Security, aka Boatalarm.Com, is a great location to learn about setting up boat alarm systems and getting all the components to make a custom system just for your needs. Their “Boat Alarm Purchasing Guide” (www.boatalarm.com/howtobuyanalarm.html) is a must-read for any bass club member headed in the electronic security direction for their boat. They offer a wide array of electronic protection from remote alarms to keypad alarms to magnetic sensors to cameras and motion detectors. Flagship Marine’s ski boat system, FS301-DSP ($249) would be an ideal electronic protection package for a bass boat. www.boatalarm.com (516) 487-9650.

U.S. Boat Alarm
MarineGuard Security Systems offers complete kits that provide good invisible security detection utilizing MarineGuard’s unique Deck Sensors, which can be mounted under a boat's decking to detect intruders. The MG4 series and the new MG5 series boat alarms are exclusively designed to stop intruders before they can breach vital areas and cause damage. They also offer a wide array of other security systems including GeoFencing and 24/7 monitoring services. www.usboatalarm.com  (888) 575-5500.

S.T.E.A.L. Armor
Don’t want to hassle with installing an alarm? Check out S.T.E.A.L Armor’s cool portable Stryker 1 ($449). It is fully self-contained with a rechargeable battery and is designed with the bass boat owner in mind. Stryker 1 is a wireless 2-Way paging security system that will electronically protect your boat with or without a cover. Once Stryker 1 is activated it protects the interior as well as exterior with an RF proximity/disturbance sensor. When this sensor is triggered it sounds a Pain Generator siren that warns of intrusion. The system also pages you of any intrusion on the 2-Way key fob. The unit, which offers an optional “skin” that looks like a small drink cooler, can be placed in your tow vehicle to provide it with the same security while you are out on the water. www.bassboatalarm.com  (866) 424-0575.

Boat Insurance Links

www.acemarineinsurance.com/AceinaRoot/ACEMarine/

www.boatus.com/insurance/

www.geico.com/information/aboutinsurance/boat/

www.marine-insurance-coverage.com

www.marineinsuranceofamerica.com

www.nationalinterstate.com/products/spl/boat/

www.statefarm.com/insurance/boat/boat.asp

 

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