Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

LAC_STS

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 1, 2010
Messages
895
I keep my boat at a marina dry rack and uasually keep it on the water at the dock there for three or four days at a time. There is a locked gate that you have to walk down the side of the marina to get to the docks. There is a half a** fence set up with wire on top but I have locked myself out before with the keys on the boat and had to jump the fence and it's not that hard.

Well I never leave my tolls on the boat. Yesterday I was there from about noon to 3PM and I had to leave bit was planning on coming back in a coluple hours.

So I left my tools (one of those 5 gallon bucket tool bags filled with tools) in the cabin. I ended up not making it back to the boat yes and when I went there today my tools were gone.

I could tell someone was on the boat. The anchor locker was not locked and different than I left it. There was a huge sandy footprint on the deck and I always wear Nike shocks so my footprint is very distinctive. I could also tell the cabin was went through. Stuff was in places I have never put it. The CD player was still there as was the VHF and a brand new spot light in the bag.

It really pi**es me off. There was 4 other boats in the water and I guess mine was the only one to be messed with.

When I first went to the marina I asked them of they ever had any problems with people or bums there and they said never. I asked because the main crack ***** prostitute street is two blocks away and there is a little bridge right by the marina that bums always sit under. Again. They told me they have never had any problems. Well guess what? After seeing my tools gone I looked online and found there was two guys caught just 6 months ago burglarizing the boats on the storage racks there.

I dunno but I'm so mad right now. It's gonna cost me about $500 to replace all the tools on that bag/bucket. There's also some hardware that goes to the boat that I'm gonna have to find replacements for. And my friends dwell meter and bottle of no lox that I'm gonna have to replace.

I'm thinking about sleeping on the boat sometime with my Sig and hopping they come back. I have a feeling they won't.
 

metalwizard

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
Messages
411
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

Sorry to hear that Bro. You DON'T mess with a mans tools..

Make sure of your states Castle laws.. and wait like you said...

CAn you make an INS claim? at $500 thats probably your deductible.

hope you get your stuff back. but it sounds like you won't
 

LAC_STS

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 1, 2010
Messages
895
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

Thanks.

Yea my ded is $500 so not worth it there. Florida just passed the stand your ground law recently. I have a CCW permit (concealed weapons permit) but before stand your ground even if you were in your house you had to treat force with equal force. Meaning if someone broke in your house and punched you you couldn't shoot them. Now you can take any means necessary to protect yourself and/or your property.

Even though there was still valuable property left on the boat I have a feeling they won't come back. I'm gonna drive by there late tonight anyways.

Before I started trading for a living I used to run a remodeling company and I know how important a mans tools are. I know how devistating it can be. I have been acumulating tools since I bought this boat that I will never use except for to work on my boat. Now I have to purchase them again. Along with all the fasteners and stuff.

I'm so mad it's prob good that I they don't come back to my boat tonight. I would prob go WAY beyond standing my ground.

After seeing a thread here on iboats about a members trouble after having his boat stolen I'm so scared now of it happening to me. It's not even worth it to me to keep my boat at a marina. Yea it's convienent but is it really with it?

I can't wait till the marinas office opens Monday. I'm gonna tell them what happened and when they say they have never had any problems before I'm gonna show them on my iPad the news report of they're burglary 4 months before I started keeping my boat there.
 

metalwizard

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
Messages
411
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

I know what a CCW is I have been carrying for years. I carry a Kimber 1911 ultra elite compact. EVERY DAY.

Know you laws. thats better than nothing (equal force) here the Castle law says you can protect your home with Deadly force, even before they gain entrance. so if they are trying to kick you door down you can shoot them through the door. your home includes temporary encampments. (meaning tent trailer BOAT hotel etc.

anyways thats all for a different thread. and revenge is NOT a good reason to do that. but it sure would be nice to watch them poop their pants when you pop out with your sights between their eyes.. maybe next time they would think before stealing stuff.

My suggestion call the cops fill out a report. if by chance they catch the guy doing some other crime you MIGHT get your stuff back. also if he tries to pawn it, you have a small chance of getting it back. and thats better than none.
 

zach103

Commander
Joined
Mar 11, 2008
Messages
2,233
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

Id ask around the marina.. maybe one of the employees grabbed it off the boat to be a good guy and they have it stored in the shop... its worth the shot.. if not call the po po
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

needs to be reported, that is how patrols are increased. the perpetrators, may have come by boat, instead of land.
 

Limited-Time

Vice Admiral
Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
5,820
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

Sorry for your loss. Fill out a Police report then check the local Pawn Shops. You may find your tools, and the police may get them back for you. If nothing else get them back at a reduced price, bad as it sucks. Good luck.
 

Gary H NC

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
8,972
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

That really sucks!

They had a problem a few years ago with outdrives being stolen at our local marinas.
People with houses on the lake and boats hanging in the lift were hit too.

I'm glad my boat stays on the trailer inside my fenced yard with my 2 dogs.

Can't stand a thief!
 

scipper77

Commander
Joined
Sep 30, 2008
Messages
2,106
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

If you by some chance can show receipts I see no reason why the marina's insurance shouldn't cover the loss. I had my car robbed overnight at the auto shop once and there business insurance covered my loss. Of course I'd guess that loss of property is addressed in whatever contract you signed with the marina.
 

Beefer

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
1,737
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

Does the marina have any security cameras? The Hi n Dry I was at did. Might want to ask.
 

scoutabout

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
1,568
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

Sorry man - that indeed sucks. I've had a couple of cars broken into (once destroying a $2000 convertible top to steal loose change out of the ashtray and a flashlight...). The feeling of fury lasted a while.

Agree file the report, follow up with the marina on their insurance coverage and check out the local pawn shops. You might even want to wander the grounds checking in bushes and stuff. It's possible they just grabbed items quick, planning to go through it later, dumping what they didn't want. Might get some of the fasteners and bag back at least.

My dad caught some guys trying to break into his Chris Craft twenty or so years back. He was staying on it overnight at the marina where he kept it. Even without the gun (damn those uptight Canadian laws...:D) he said the mad scramble to beat it back off the boat was hilarious after they got an unexpeded blast of the hand-held spotlight in their eyes as they were working the companionway hatch open. Left a brown trail all the way back up the dock to the fence they came over...

I think lighting their asses with the flare pistol would certainly have been defendable. "Sorry, officer - my intent was merely to provide some illumination for the authorities. I really didn't mean to get the guy in the back of the head"...:cool:
 

LAC_STS

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 1, 2010
Messages
895
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

Thanks everyone.

I asked the dock master today and he said he didnt touch them and hasnt saw anyone around there. it would have probably been at night time because there is always a bunch of people there in the day time.

He also said the same thing I did that he dont know how they would have gotten around the fence with the tool bucket. It must way close to 80-90 if not 100 lbs.

He did say they could have came by boat or that at low tide you can jump down off the sea wall and there is about a 2 ft section where there is no water you can walk around.

I think it was either some bum or some kid or something that hangs out or just stopped by the little bridge/overpass. There were 3 other boats in the water at the dock that day/night. Mine was the only one with a cabin though so maybe they thought they would find more or something. I dunno.

They dont have any cameras anywhere there even though they are a tracker/Mako dealership.

What also makes me mad is that when I first went there to inquire about storing my boat there I asked if they have ever had any problems with people stealing stuff because they are so close to a major crack ***** street. The guy told me they have never had any problems. Well I started looking online yes and sure enough there has been burglaries there, even one 6 months or so before I went there. And thats just what i found.



I dunno. I started a list to try to remember everything I had in there. Im gonna have to replace it soon cause those are the tools I use to work on the boat. I cant think of anything in there that would have a serial # on it so I doubt the cops would do any good but I can call and make a police report anyways.


thanks again
 

SigSaurP229

Commander
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
2,123
Re: Someone went on my boat and stole my stuff!!!

Nothing Peeves me off like a D****** thief. I work hard for what I have. I don't have the nicest of anything or top of the line anything. My truck is almost 10yrs old. My boat is older than I am, but I have worked everyday to pay for them. A D****** thief can do the same. I am now on my third set of Socket wrenches. Had a $200 Craftsmen set stolen, then this spring I went and bought an el chepo $60 Stanley set I actually liked them for being a $60 set. Be Da**** if someone didn't reach into my covered boat and take them while sitting in my driveway at the apartment. Had Another gentleman decide to borrow my circular saw without asking. Now I NEVER buy any expensive tools, my cordless drill set from a pawn shop, saws come from a pawn shop. My grandpa left dad and I a TON of tools and they all stay over at my dads house locked in the shop. The worst one ever was my Grandpa used to make fishing poles someone reached into the boat and took a rod and reel that were older then I am that was hand built by him. If I ever catch a thief in my stuff I very well my break some legs.
 
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