Parking the boat

[Brine]

Trying to get some feedback/ideas...

I have 2 places to park the boat outside. Each has pros and cons and I thought I'd ask you folks what your thoughts were on each. Both areas are in the front/side of the house. What is important to me is that the boat is out of street view (broad daylight saying "steal something from me") and that it's easy to hook up to.

Spot 1

What I like about this spot is that it is fairly secure (accessible from the bow only). The landscape around it is pretty thick and nasty which should keep most lazy thiefs from trying to break into the boat. I keep all of my gear in the boat. The downside is because it's under these trees, the ground is quite soft and if we were to get a bunch of rain, the rear tires and trailer jack would sink in pretty good. There is about a 2ft slope towards the rear of the trailer in this spot, making pulling it out with my 2wd 4Runner sketchy. If I opt to park the boat here, I will probably need to build some kind of platform for the trailer to sit on, or throw some gravel down.

Spot 2

What I like about this spot is that the boat would be easier to get into and out of than spot 1. Because of the cypress trees, it is still well concealed.
The lanscape slopes about 1ft from port to starboard which I think is okay unless my boat cover were to fail which would allow water to sit in the boat. The other issue is that the transom area of the parking spot is open. A thief would have an easy getaway.

Theft isn't any worse here than anywhere else, but because I keep ALL of my gear in the boat.... It makes me nervous.

Any thoughts?

 

[3dees]

put a lock on the hitch and remove the prop. why would you keep all your gear in the boat? empty it and you don't have to worry about thieves.

 

[Brine]

put a lock on the hitch and remove the prop. why would you keep all your gear in the boat? empty it and you don't have to worry about thieves.

Thanks for the feedback,

Hitch has a lock. No outboard on it, 2 transom mount trolling motors and 1 bow mount.

I built the boat for storage. Most of my fishing trips aren't planned. They are more like..... "I've got 2 hours to fish today" type of thing. I don't like the idea of spending part of that time shuffling gear around. I just want to hook up and go.

 

[3dees]

I see your from Ga. so you probably fish year round. I was thinking winter storage. I don't like that first location if there is danger of the boat sinking in mud. with all the trees you will get tree sap, bird droppings, etc. which over time will ruin your cover. you can buy boat alarms that hook up to the cover. actually, there is no way to stop thieves if they really want what you have.

 

[Firescooby]

I'd go for spot 2. I have one of those "parking boots" that I used to put on my landscape trailer. That would solve stealing the whole package. Also easier to get to is you want to "tinker" with it during the winter.

What would worry me is the gear. I would remove the TM's and rod/reels and store them in garage or something.

 

[V8_TITAN]

cant help you on choosing spots, but something I learned recently about locks on trailers. If you just use a pad lock, where the pin hole is on the top of the receiver, your trailer can still be easily stolen with the lock on it. All it takes is a small ratchet to loosen the nut on the bottom which allows the receiver to open enough to put on the hitch, and tighten it shut. or you could just completely replace the locking assembly with a new one... only costs about 10 bucks and 2 minutes to change!

 

[BOB350RX]

I PRETTY MUCH QUIT TRYING TO STOP PEOPLE FROM DOING WHATEVER THEY WANT, I SAW 3 GUYS STEAL A FOURWHEELER OUT OF A PICK UP AT WALMART WITH ANOTHER PICK UP THEY BACKED UP TO THE ONE AND CUT THE STRAPS PUSHED INTO THE BACK OF THIER PICK UP AND GOT THE HELL OUTTA DODGE, THATS WHY I NEVER WENT ANYWHERE WITH MINE IN THE BACK WHERE I COULDNT BE WITH IT, I HAVE SEEN BOATS GET DRUG OUT OF PEOPLES YARDS BY THE SAFETY CHAINS, WAS FISHING A LOCAL LAKE ONE TIME AND WHEN I GOT TO THE DOCK THERE WAS POLICE CARS EVERYWHERE, THIS GUY HAD HIS RECIEVER, ABD HIS TRAILER STAOLEN WHILE HE WAS ON THE LAKE, CAME BACK TO GET THE BOAT OUT AND IT WAS ALL GONE... IF THEY WANT IT THEYLL GET IT, GET GOOD INSURANCE IS REALY ALL YOU CAN DO

 

[PSG-1]

Wherever you park it, you should take some security measures, such as:

installing a game camera, to get photos of anyone sneaking around

installing driveway alert sensors (such as the "reporter wireless alarm")

installing motion sensor lights

placing a chain or cable with lock through a rim on the trailer, and locking it to the frame

you could also install a rudimentary car alarm system, with a shock/tilt sensor mechanism, so if someone disturbs the trailer, an alarm goes off

and if the problem of thievery REALLY is a concern, you can do what I do....****y-trap everything, examples of such include, but are not limited to:

securing a razor blade under the coupler latch, so when they go to flip it open, they lose a finger, or a massive amount of blood

trip wire mechanisms set up with fireworks, triggered with a mouse trap and a 9 volt battery, using either an 'electric match' or a small light bulb with the glass broken, and the exposed filament placed inside the fuse of the fireworks

you get the idea.......

 

[BOB350RX]

securing a razor blade under the coupler latch, so when they go to flip it open, they lose a finger, or a massive amount of blood

NEVER THOUGHT OF THIS ONE BUT ID PROBABLY FORGET AND GET MYSELF...

 

[bobbyb]

I like the 2nd spot.

My next door friend bought a Digital Baby Monitor - 1 in the Boat - 1 in the house. He has a dog, a big doggie. When he tested it, he had a friend disturb the boat - yep, dog went crazy, so that works if ya have a dog. I also think he sleeps with his gun :roll:

For me, I have a chain thru one of the wheels back to the roller carriage, where I have a decent solid lock. My Receiver has a waterproof Brinks lock - and all my stuff is in the basement of the house.

Now If I were single I'd have a trip wire around the boat.. [-X ...well you know the rest......

bobby
thief hater

 

[fender66]

Wow....I guess I'm lucky that I don't have to worry about this stuff.

I'd offer my thoughts, but the pictures are blocked from me seeing them here at work. Hope it's safe no matter where you store it Brine.

 

[TNtroller]

For either place, I would suggest getting some concrete patio pavers, the 12'x12" ones and build a "parking pad for the boat, fairly cheap, this would keep the wheels & jack from sinking into soft ground, and if you use the boat enough, you;ll wear the grass out. Also, consider putting them under the boat as well or gravel, as grass won't grow all that well, and will make it easier to trim/maintain w/o moving the boat. Low or no grass around the boat keeps critters away as they don't have a place to hide or build nests. Get a decent cover, can use an old folding lawn chair as a support so the cover will shed rain/leaves, etc for the most part anyways. I used pavers and gravel for my motorcycle trailer spot, easy to maintain, and I can roll it up on the pad manually, as I keep the hitch up close to the back of my shed.

Spot 2 looks better to me based on the pics.

 

[basstender10.6]

I would go with the second one. I had a beautiful 23' searay sorrento speed boat that I kept in my drive way at my summer house during the winter. My neighbor had a huge tree on the property line (the only tree in sight). During a bad storm 2 years ago a limb came crashing down crushing the boat. The boat was totaled. the worst part was that the boat was supposed to be in the water already but it rained so it was put off 2 days. Just be careful and watch your surroundings where the boat is parked, you never know what could happen.

Oh and I would suggest taking off both tires and putting blocks under the frame or taking off the coupler if it is bolted on (not welded). Any smart thief would look at the boat with a pad lock on the coupler and say "Ill come back tomorrow with a socket wrench and new coupler and drive off". Just an easy way to protect your boat

 

[PSG-1]

securing a razor blade under the coupler latch, so when they go to flip it open, they lose a finger, or a massive amount of blood

NEVER THOUGHT OF THIS ONE BUT ID PROBABLY FORGET AND GET MYSELF...

Yes, that's the ONLY problem with ****y traps....they often catch the person who sets them when they forget about the ****y trap. But when they actually catch a dirtbag, they work great!

 

[PSG-1]

For either place, I would suggest getting some concrete patio pavers, the 12'x12" ones and build a "parking pad for the boat, fairly cheap, this would keep the wheels & jack from sinking into soft ground, and if you use the boat enough, you;ll wear the grass out. Also, consider putting them under the boat as well or gravel, as grass won't grow all that well, and will make it easier to trim/maintain w/o moving the boat. Low or no grass around the boat keeps critters away as they don't have a place to hide or build nests. Get a decent cover, can use an old folding lawn chair as a support so the cover will shed rain/leaves, etc for the most part anyways. I used pavers and gravel for my motorcycle trailer spot, easy to maintain, and I can roll it up on the pad manually, as I keep the hitch up close to the back of my shed.

Spot 2 looks better to me based on the pics.

+1 on the idea for pavers. If you leave a boat trailer sitting on the grass, it creates ruts, making it nearly impossible to move the trailer around by hand.

 

[PSG-1]

I would go with the second one. I had a beautiful 23' searay sorrento speed boat that I kept in my drive way at my summer house during the winter. My neighbor had a huge tree on the property line (the only tree in sight). During a bad storm 2 years ago a limb came crashing down crushing the boat. The boat was totaled. the worst part was that the boat was supposed to be in the water already but it rained so it was put off 2 days. Just be careful and watch your surroundings where the boat is parked, you never know what could happen.

Oh and I would suggest taking off both tires and putting blocks under the frame or taking off the coupler if it is bolted on (not welded). Any smart thief would look at the boat with a pad lock on the coupler and say "Ill come back tomorrow with a socket wrench and new coupler and drive off". Just an easy way to protect your boat

Taking the wheels off will DEFINITELY slow down a thief. Because even if you lock the coupler, a determined thief will just wrap the safety chains around their hitch and take off.

Too bad we can't deal with thieves in the US like they do in the middle east, chop off their hand. That would put an end to a lot of thievery.

 

[Brine]

Thanks for all the input folks... Lots of good ideas.

Hope everyone has a good Halloween.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

securing a razor blade under the coupler latch, so when they go to flip it open, they lose a finger, or a massive amount of blood

NEVER THOUGHT OF THIS ONE BUT ID PROBABLY FORGET AND GET MYSELF...

Yes, that's the ONLY problem with ****y traps....they often catch the person who sets them when they forget about the ****y trap. But when they actually catch a dirtbag, they work great!

****y traps are generally illegal and can get you in a lot of trouble. Motion sensor lights and a noise maker will send thieves on their way.

 

[freetofish]

if my boat sits very long I always take the key out. really hard to get a locksmith to make a key for a boat. I put a padlock on my hitch but I close it into the down position... Makes it harder to hook on using the ball hitch.

 

[nomowork]

I paved the area where I store two boats with red bricks as it also doubles as rain run off.

Each trailer has a braided cable wrapped around the frame and a fence post and padlocked to the hitch. I know it can be cut, but due to the tight confines of the storage area, it would be really difficult.

I also have cow bells attached to both motors. Poor man's alarm system. :lol: