Summer is coming, and with more and more boats being launched each day, it’s prudent to review some tips to keep your boat safe from theft!
Team Galatea aims to guide young boat lovers to have a safe boating trip. Read these recommendations by Galatea and enjoy safe boating!
· Be watchful in the summer. Summertime breeds boat theft. It’s most prevalent in May through September. These months are fast approaching, so be careful and take precautions to protect your boat.
· Weekends are much more popular than weekdays for boat theft with Fridays taking the lead and Saturdays close behind. A wise boat owner secures his boat when it is left unattended, even if only for an hour or two, because thieves often strike when it’s least expected.. When leaving your boat at a dock, remember to always use a cable and lock to prevent easy theft.
· Use a geo-fence, if possible. Recovery of your stolen boat may depend on your ability to locate it within 24 hours. Most stolen boat recoveries occur in the same state where the theft occurred and within one day of disappearance. After that first day, the chance of recovery decreases daily. A geo-fence is useful because it will aid in tracking your boat right away—and hopefully lead to a quick recovery time. So be sure to turn on your geo-fence every time you disembark and leave your boat. If it’s taken, you can track it right away.
· An alarm system and an ignition kill switch are also two important things to have installed. They are both theft deterrents and may inconvenience a boat thief just enough so that he will leave your boat alone and look for easier prey.
· Keep pictures and/or a video of your boat—and everything on it—in your files with your boat registration and title, just in case you need to report something stolen. Don’t keep your important boat papers like registration and title on board the boat; you don’t want them to get into the hands of the thieves!
· Include your boat and all of its contents on your insurance policy. Don’t forget to add the trailer in, too. If a thief hitches your trailer, along with the boat, to his truck and takes off, you want to be able to be compensated for both items.
· Be sure to have your Hull Identification Number inscribed somewhere on your boat. Etch all of your equipment with the same number to aid in identification.
· Always keep your boat locked to the trailer with a hitch lock.Additionally, lock the boat and trailer to a nearby immobile object, like a tree or post. A thief will quickly realize the futility of trying to steal a boat locked up in this manner and move on to greener pastures.
· Use a secure garage or storage building for your boat and trailer, if possible.
· If your boat has an outboard engine, secure it to the boat with a cable and lock.
· Take your keys with you when you leave the boat. Never leave them unattended in the boat ignition or glove compartment.