How to Keep Your Boat Safe

If you want to keep your boat safe, you need to make it unattractive to thieves.  Its not that hard if you use common sense and look at your boat from the viewpoint of a thief.

Don’t make yourself an easy target. Always follow the simple steps below:

• Never leave anything valuable on display, however small and insignificant it may seem. Thieves steal first and think about value later.
• Don’t leave anything loose in the cockpit or on deck.
• Don’t leave your engine key in the ignition -always take it with you.
• Keep your boat keys separate from your engine keys.
• Always keep your boat locked when no one is on board, even for a short time.
• Use strong padlocks or rim locks on all your hatches, entry points and cockpit lockers.
• Constantly check and improve the security on your boat. It’s a good idea to fit an alarm and use a visible sticker to say that one is fitted.
• Make sure your cockpit lockers can be properly locked, and check that your main hatch and fore-hatch are strong.
• Also think about having a strongbox down below. If you don’t think something is secure, get it fixed.

As you can see, the tips above aren’t hard, but they do take some effort, but to keep your boat safe, they are well worth it.