Stolen outboards Penmarlam Fowey.

[Kernow Buoy]

Just heard from a friend and fellow ribnetter his DF 140 has been stolen from his Humber 6.5, boat was stored at Penmarlam at fowey. 3 other outboards also gone, all over 100 hp, apparently thieves removed and then replaced boat/engine covers so it wasn't immediately obvious. Wil post more details when I know more.

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Kernow

Just heard from a friend and fellow ribnetter his DF 140 has been stolen from his Humber 6.5, apparently thieves removed it and then replaced it with an old carbed Merc 150. Wil post more details when I know more.

[Kernow Buoy]

Originally Posted by Mollers

You C@ck!

[Nos4r2]

Bloody hell.

I hope the CCTV down there catches them.

[Steve_B]

Bad news. Left the Rib there for a week last year and felt it to be a very secure site.
But then that was in the summer season, with lots of people about.
If they came by road, there would almost certainly be some CCTV of the vehicle, but if they came via the river, there may not be much.

There must be a huge demand somewhere, for all these engines to be stolen.

[chewy]

How long before someone goes on holiday and notices every boat is using Yams?

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by 250kts

Bad news. Left the Rib there for a week last year and felt it to be a very secure site.
But then that was in the summer season, with lots of people about.
If they came by road, there would almost certainly be some CCTV of the vehicle, but if they came via the river, there may not be much.

There must be a huge demand somewhere, for all these engines to be stolen.

I think there's CCTV covering every exit from the yard.

[Douglas]

BOAT owners have been warned by police to keep their outboard engines secure, after six were stolen from Fowey harbour.

Police belive it is organised crime.

Six engines, worth more than £35,000, were stolen from Penmarlum Quay.

All the engines were said to be securely fitted to the boats.

A Honda BF90 engine, two large Suzuki 140 horsepower engines, and two Yamaha engines, from the same boat, were taken, as was a red and black Mercury 4 horsepower.

Harbourmaster of 25 years, Mike Sutherland, aged 59, said: "To have engines of this size stolen, is a very rare occurrence.

"The thieves must have been organised, and knew exactly what to do."

Overnight

Cpt Sutherland said there was 24-hour CCTV, but no evidence had been picked up by the camera, and it is believed the thieves had struck overnight.

He estimated the engines could cost as much as £7,500 each, and that either a crane or other lifting device was used because of the weight of the engines.

"They must also have had, metal cutters and a large vehicle to take the engines away. All the outboards were left securely by their owners."

The only damage left by the criminals was a car park barrier which had been bent and broken.

Cpt Sutherland said the harbour already had night patrols, but nothing suspicious had been reported on the nights the thefts are to believed to have occurred, between March 19 and 23.

"We cannot be on watch 24 hours a day, sometimes crimes will happen, but on this scale it is rare."

PC Dave Street of St Blazey said: "We're interested in anyone who may know or saw anything.

"We still don't know how the criminals got away, or what sort of vehicle they were driving."

A police spokesman warned other boat owners to make sure they leave their boats secure, should the thieves strike again.

Cpt Sutherland believed the stolen goods would now be sold on, and warned people to thoroughly check engines if they were considering buying second-hand outboards.

Anyone who may have seen anything suspicious, or has any information, is urged to call the police directly on 0845277744 quoting crime reference GW/10/234.

● Twenty six miles away at Rock on the north coast £100,000 worth of boat engines were stolen over a similar period.

Although police have not officially linked the two incidents, they are investigating both.

Eight outboard engines were taken from the harbour at Rock Marine Services, and police suspect a group of people were involved.

[Sonar]

This is very bad news seems that no engine even secured on a boat is safe.

There must be a better way of protecting an outboard engine.

Maybe now somebody will come up with an idea I have slotted a stainless steel bar in my transom well I will be when I fit it.

But there must be other ways as well.
Any suggestions ?

[matt h]

yeh second that sonar.

Bottom line is ...if its kept outside then your at risk and it seems the heaviest guarded compounds/storage areas are the most targeted as hold the most valuable.
Locks obviously dont work to the proffesional scroat.

A gsm tracker as chris said is the only option or whats wrong with those tracker systems you see on police camera action?
do they run off a battery etc?

Datatag??

i remember watching a episode where the bmw was stripped of everything. yet it still gave off a signal. and im sure the batt would have been removed.

its likely the engines are being taken overseas,

Are lorries scanned at point of ferry departure point or does this not include container lorries?

im looking to upgrade mine to a larger 585 where it will be stored outside somewhere

[Sonar]

Originally Posted by matt h

yeh second that sonar.

Bottom line is ...if its kept outside then your at risk and it seems the heaviest guarded compounds/storage areas are the most targeted as hold the most valuable.
Locks obviously dont work to the proffesional scroat.

A gsm tracker as chris said is the only option or whats wrong with those tracker systems you see on police camera action?
do they run off a battery etc?

Datatag??

i remember watching a episode where the bmw was stripped of everything. yet it still gave off a signal. and im sure the batt would have been removed.

its likely the engines are being taken overseas,

Are lorries scanned at point of ferry departure point or does this not include container lorries?

im looking to upgrade mine to a larger 585 where it will be stored outside somewhere

The only items i can think of is a stainless steel angle bar thick one set within the transom ply prior to laminating .

The other would be over sized round headed bolts on the outside of the engine and some sort of stainless steel locking bar that covers all the internal nuts then a very thick grp decorative cover fitted with some sort of security screw.
It may sound over the top but what price is a new engine.

[alexm]

Originally Posted by matt h

Datatag??

My engine was fitted with datatag transponders and had a datatag sticker on the cowling... didn't do me much good.

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=34610

[Trickdog]

I was chatting to a guy on a pontoon in Fowey last summer who told me he’d had the engine taken from his RIB. The boat was in winter storage in a boat yard in Fowey (not sure which one, but it was not Penmarlam). The thieves used a chainsaw to cut the transom out.

I was also stopped by the police late last year towing my RIB near Bodmin. They said there had been a number of RIBs stolen from Rock Marine Services recently so they were checking the ownership of any RIBs they came across being towed.

I don’t know what the answer is to this, but it’s obviously a widespread problem. Considering how expensive boat storage is I think you should be able to expect half decent security on the premises. I thought Penmarlam was fairly secure but I guess that’s not the case.

[Kernow Buoy]

Just a quick update at Penmarlam, all engines had bolts removed, no transoms cut, friends boat sustained no damage and his cover carefully put back so as not to draw immediate attention. Penmarlam is not somewhere you would just happen across and Rock marine services are not on the main road or at a marina.

[Trickdog]

Having the boat undamaged must be a relief in the circumstances. Much easier to replace an outboard than rebuild the transom (presuming no issues with the insurance of course). No doubt it is Penmarlam and Rock Marine’s rather secluded locations that made them attractive to the thieves.

On the subject of security, this may be of interest to some on here who keep their boat on the driveway http://www.espuk.com/intro_guardcam.htm. Wires up like a standard security light, but it has a built in camera and can also give an audio warning. I do not own one of these but I have seen one and thought it looked pretty good for the money; I think it sells for about £90.

[Bigmuz7]

IIRC there was a case in the news recently, where caravan theft was halved due to 'just' a couple of Pikeys being lifted a couple of years back...ah this one I think .... clicky Sounds like there might me something well organised happening with outboards now

[Cookee]

Originally Posted by Trickdog

On the subject of security, this may be of interest to some on here who keep their boat on the driveway http://www.espuk.com/intro_guardcam.htm.

Link doesn't work for me! Looks like the website is down?

[Ian M]

Originally Posted by Cookee

Link doesn't work for me! Looks like the website is down?

Worked OK for me. Probably been fixed???

[Cookee]

Originally Posted by Ian M

Worked OK for me. Probably been fixed???

Working now!

[biffer]

has there been anyone found on the cctv on any of these lists of outboards that have been stolen?, make me question whether cctv is worth bothering with