Long story .

[smoker62]

So, we keep our boat slipped at a new " Marina" 3 hrs from our house. This new " Marina" is about 25 slips at the end of a canal on a 24000 acre lake on the Wisconsin river, 16 miles from dam to dam.

The slips are very secluded off the main waterway , great for wind /wave protection but no security. It is property owned by a couple brothers from a nearby town who bought up any land on the river and surrounding areas. They are big in developments now. They are supposed to add another 90 or so slips.

The last two weekends my friend slipped right next to me has had someone using his boat. It is unclear if they are taking it out, but it has been retied both times. The first time he was up Thursday night and took the cover off but didn't go back until Sunday and found it retied, broken helm chair armrest. Missing some towels , couple life jackets, bag with picnic supplies. They didn't take his skis, depth finder etc. so not major theft. Radio tuned to a different station and the radio knob on the floor.

Last weekend, he drove up to his cabin, decided to check on the boat so drove the mile to the slip. His cover was off and tucked away in the back of the boat. The bimini was up, boat retied . Radio knob on the floor again. He did file a police report the first time but what are they going to do. My boat had the side entry unzipped but nothing else wrong. He pulled his out Sunday so I am expecting mine to be next.

What would you do.

[evinrude2stroke]

Wow, that sucks... I would talk to the owners and explain whats going on. Eventually it will be their problem to if too many boats are being tampered with. everyone will stop renting slips there. Too bad it's so far away to make unannounced visits. You can try setting up one of those hunting cameras that snap pics when movement is detected and maybe get a pic of the people who are doing it. Sounds to me like they know you guys live far away and the chances of getting caught are slim.
ooooooooor.......you can take a months vacation, set up camp in a hidden location and scout the area until they show up...then make it so that they would never-ever want to do that again...

[smoker62]

With nothing of any real value missing yet , we think it may be kids from a nearby development with new homes, coming down to hang out at night. Probably would get their parents suspicion if they showed up with a pair of skis or a wake board. They must have been on a couple other boats too because a buddy of mine went in that first weekend on Saturday about noon, with his 24' Baja to see if he had any trouble getting back there. He was thinking of getting a slip and lift next season . He got to our dock and said the pontoon right across from us had his radio playing and nobody around. Had a note that said " If your names not on the Title , stay the fuck off my boat ". That obviously didnt work.

The owners were told but these guys have so much money they dont care. They were supposed to put up a card reader entry gate , security cameras etc. last season and nothing yet. They could care less if everyone left , its just a place they started for a couple buddys to keep their boats. It used to be an old marina back in the day with ratty old piers and an old man and his disabled kid selling gas and minnows.Had a crappy old trailer home they lived in right by the gas pump. The brothers bought it after it had been sitting for years and cleared everything out.

[Capt Sully]

how bout trying to form a group of all those who have a boat there ? then as a group take it to the owners and demand some security. also as a group watch out for each other. all else fails, let your money do the walking and move out.

[Bryden24shp]

Sounds like its time to mount a couple of Game Cams and try to catch the basturds.
Its an inconvenience to go through, but you have to protect your property.

[smoker62]

I have been thinking of game cams but they would take them too. The trees on the shoreline may be too far away and even if they would work, the ir flash at night would alert them to where they are. I dont think they are doing it in daylight.

We went down late last Friday hoping to get lucky but nothing.

[Bamaman]

Marinas should be closely watched either by someone living on the premises or a security guard service that makes frequent visits. Otherwise, they should have chain link fencing and programmable security gates, like a mini-storage lot has.

With security cameras so inexpensive, every marina should have cameras at every angle hooked up to the internet and to a hard drive recorder. There's no reason the place cannot be watched by the owners constantly.

Any boat in a marina can take on water--from a leaky hull or a bad bellows in an inboard outboard. With owners often living hours away, it's up to the marina to watch every boat to insure safety. (I found out this the hard way with a sunk boat.)

In this situation, I would install one of the inexpensive infrared game cameras pointed at that boat. All possessions that cannot be removed should be taken home or taken out of the boats. Another option would to install a boat specific security alarm systems, like many tournament fishermen have on their bass boats.

[smoker62]

The closest structure to the slips is probably 1/4 mile down the road . They may be the ones doing it for all we know. You can not see the house from the slips. Like I said, the owners could care less so I guess its time to trailer or find a new slip next year.

[evinrude2stroke]

If you really like that marina and don't want to relocate you can maybe try speaking to the other boat owners who have had problems and have everyone keep making police reports anytime the slighted thing is touched. Sounds like a pain in the ass but when the PD's stats start going up they will have no choice but to address the problem.
Good luck.

[REPETE]

I have suspected my mechanic for years of cruzing with my toon but I could never "prove" it. Nothing was ever wrong with it or missing so I let it slide.

I would yank it from the marina. Screw them.

[smoker62]

I have suspected my mechanic for years of cruzing with my toon but I could never "prove" it. Nothing was ever wrong with it or missing so I let it slide.

I would yank it from the marina. Screw them.

Yeah, called about 20 dealers and bought a Triton scissors trailer today. I will be pulling it out Saturday and for the few times left this fall , I will drop it in and pull it back out. I will also leave a note on everyone's boat to let them know whats going on. Im sure the owners are not letting the others know.

[badmoonrising]

I have suspected my mechanic for years of cruzing with my toon but I could never "prove" it. Nothing was ever wrong with it or missing so I let it slide.

I would yank it from the marina. Screw them.

Yep. The marina I kept the Party Cruiser in, the former owner's son would take out customer's boat all the time. We'd see him out with his buddies on slipholder's boats. I am 3 miles from the marina and was down every other day so he knew not to touch my boat.

Had I caught him taking mine out, there'd be hell to pay.

[evinrude2stroke]

I work a lot of odd hours so I get home at night a lot. I always stop by just to check on it and I bring my Surefire flashlight to light up the whole place. Funny, There is always someone hanging out on the dock but once the light come out they scatter.

[Ezgoing]

Are they just partying on the boats or are they taking them out?

If you think they are taking them out you should install an hour meter if you don't have one.

I don't know why they are not installed on all boats now but that was the first thing I had installed when I found out it was not a standard feature on my pontoon.

[smoker62]

My boat has an hr meter but my buddy does not. His is the one we think has been taken out.