police and ribs

[biffer]

i've just talked the the police to see if there is some way of logging our trips by road, one to save us from keep getting stopped and for them to know that the boat and car is a bonifide person, they seemed quite please that someone is taking time to help our problem of boats going missing, they are going to have a look at how it could work and get back to me

[Channel Ribs]

There were (still are?) stickers on cars that said "Police: please pull me over if seen driving during the hours of darkness" or something similar.

Would something like that work?

Edit: Not sure what stopped the robbers from peeling the stickers off before driving away?

[Kernow Buoy]

Could be done in reverse perhaps, owner carries a board/sticker that they mount on the Rib whilst being towed?

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Kernow

Could be done in reverse perhaps, owner carries a board/sticker that they mount on the Rib whilst being towed?

A robber could put one of those on 'n all.

[Kernow Buoy]

Originally Posted by Mollers

A robber could put one of those on 'n all.

OK, add towing vehicle reg no, computer check would then show owners details and make/model of car, would mean keeping your trailer board out of sight whilst not being towed.

[Jack Sparrow]

I am struggling to understand just how big the problem of boat (RIB) theft is in the UK? Between this thread and others about tracking etc it appears to be a big issue for you guys?

[Channel Ribs]

Originally Posted by Jack Sparrow

I am struggling to understand just how big the problem of boat (RIB) theft is in the UK? Between this thread and others about tracking etc it appears to be a big issue for you guys?

Nine so far this month.

[Nos4r2]

I used to have 'If not <number plate> then boat is stolen' (or something like it) painted down the side of my SR4 trailer on a bright yellow background. Paint is hard to remove in a hurry-though easy to cover I guess.

I think it might not be a bad idea to do it again.

[ADS]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

I used to have 'If not <number plate> then boat is stolen' (or something like it) painted down the side of my SR4 trailer on a bright yellow background. Paint is hard to remove in a hurry-though easy to cover I guess.

I think it might not be a bad idea to do it again.

I hate to piss on your fire mate but I never got round to wiping that off, in the 3-4yrs I owned the boat I didn't get pulled over once!!

[willk]

Originally Posted by ADS

I hate to piss on your fire mate but I never got round to wiping that off, in the 3-4yrs I owned the boat I didn't get pulled over once!!

yus yew nobbur butt nowun stowl yewr bowt in thatt tyme too

[Jack Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Channel Ribs

Nine so far this month.

Wow, in one area? When I lived in South Africa we had a similar problem with trailer boats being stolen. We resorted to attaching a heavy duty steel "eye" into the concrete driveway and then attaching a very heavy section of galvanised chain to the trailer axel with a dirty great big lock. It was just plain awkward for any wannabe thief as it was very difficult to get to the lock and chain with any kind of cutting device. Here in Australia we use trailer hitch locks and wheel clamps. I use the hitch lock for my RIB and a camper trailer and touch wood, they seem to work as a pretty good deterent....so far There are a few different types available but here;s the one I use. Costs about $20 without the padlock.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Jack Sparrow

Wow, in one area? When I lived in South Africa we had a similar problem with trailer boats being stolen. We resorted to attaching a heavy duty steel "eye" into the concrete driveway and then attaching a very heavy section of galvanised chain to the trailer axel with a dirty great big lock. It was just plain awkward for any wannabe thief as it was very difficult to get to the lock and chain with any kind of cutting device. Here in Australia we use trailer hitch locks and wheel clamps. I use the hitch lock for my RIB and a camper trailer and touch wood, they seem to work as a pretty good deterent....so far There are a few different types available but here;s the one I use. Costs about $20 without the padlock.

And takes about 30 seconds to remove.

I'd almost bet the ones that have been nicked have had insurance approved clamps and hitchlocks fitted. It's just too easy to remove them.

Now, stainless chain and a stainless ground anchor-that'd work. Stainless is a bugger to cut and takes a long time with a gas axe too as it has to be melted through rather than cut.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by ADS

I hate to piss on your fire mate but I never got round to wiping that off, in the 3-4yrs I owned the boat I didn't get pulled over once!!

Damn, that's really bad!

[simsy]

Dewault battery angle grinder with ultra thin cutting disk will not stop at any chain you can pick up (stainless or not).... But it's all you can do mechanically...

[lakelandterrier]

I'm not sure how logging trips would work.
There are vey few proper police patrolling anywhere, and the number of legitimate tow trips must far outweigh the thefts, so it would be a needle in a haystack job.
I'd also get irritated failrly quickly by Mr Policeman pulling me over to check I own the rib - I don't carry official documentation of ownership linked to my car ! and chances are they'd take the opportunity to do a roadside check & issue a penalty notice for lighting board being wrong shape / size / layout/ bulb magically not working / boat not strapped "securely" etc....

To a great extent I think if someone going to nick your boat they will. you can make it relatively hard / unattractive by use of various locks / clamps anchores etc... but not impossible. If you're really worried choose a well managed site with high security, CCTV, and be prepared to pay for it.

Even trackers won't stop the baot being nicked...it will tell you it has been, which does give he police a chance of retreiving it / apprending the toe-rage, but does anyone know where a tracker has actually enabled the baot to be recovered quickly and the boat recovered.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by simsy

Dewault battery angle grinder with ultra thin cutting disk will not stop at any chain you can pick up (stainless or not).... But it's all you can do mechanically...

Leave the chain slack and off the ground. You can't cut a swinging slack chain easily at all. About the only thing that'll do it is a set of hydraulic cutters.

[C2 RIBS]

Originally Posted by biffer

i've just talked the the police to see if there is some way of logging our trips by road, one to save us from keep getting stopped and for them to know that the boat and car is a bonifide person, they seemed quite please that someone is taking time to help our problem of boats going missing, they are going to have a look at how it could work and get back to me

Hi Biff, was this the marine police you spoke to? I had a similar conversation today with them at Hamble fuel pontoon and to be fair they showed me no confidence or interest stating " we dont work nights and its an eastern european team cause we are soft targets"

Perhaps I had the wrong one?

[Pikey Dave]

Police!!, don't make me laff Last autumn, 8pm Friday night, a brand new Volvo 20tonne articulated dumper truck drives down our (rural) lane. Neighbour clocks it & calls plod (999), plod says "be ther straight away sir" By 11pm, no plod, neighbour goes to bed. 8.30 Saturday morning, said big f'off yellow dumper drives back up the lane & disappears on to main road, 10 minutes later, a bloke turns up with a laptop showing a tracker on Google earth & says "excuse me mate, have you seen a dumper truck down here?" You're 10 mins late says neighbour. A quick search down the lane turns up a ripped out tracker, just as plod arrives. Apparently, plod were all tied up on Friday night mopping up the local piss heads in the town centre, didn't get chance to come & investigate £190,000 (yup £190,000) worth of stolen dumper, nicked from local quarry, it had only been delivered brand new the day before.
Expect plod to find your nicked pride & joy, don't hold your breath The best you can hope for is that the thieving bstrds who nick it get pulled for speeding whilst making their gettaway.

There, rant over, I feel much better now

[Powerboats]

Originally Posted by C2 RIBS

Hi Biff, was this the marine police you spoke to? I had a similar conversation today with them at Hamble fuel pontoon and to be fair they showed me no confidence or interest stating " we dont work nights and its an eastern european team cause we are soft

If it is the case that the marine police unit are taking this position it is very disappointing. With public sector cuts suggesting that police forces should be streamlining, and the level of thefts in the area at the moment, this is the unit's chance to shine by proving they deliver some value.

The current situation is just not acceptable and Hampshire Constabulary NEED to be on top of it.

[Anchorhandler]

Hi Guys

During the build of my trailer I toyed with the idea of welding a small bit of box section on the inside of the main longitudinal rails just aft of where the draw bar connects to the main chassis. The box section was going to be pierced to 16mm in the fore/aft direction with the idea being to fit a slightly smaller section of box profile inside the original piece. In effect it would have looked a bit like a prop stand and would have served a similar purpose. A 16mm bolt would have been used to lock the prop at just above ground level (jockey wheel wound right up) with a heavy padlock preventing the bolt from being withdrawn. This would have prevented the trailer from being lowered down onto a hitch and driven away, at least by most vehicles anyway.

In my rush to get the chassis to the galvanizers...i completly forgot to weld it in.. Simple and cheap enough to incorporate in any trailer build though and would certainly serve as a deterent.

Simon