Several Ounces of Prevention

Marianne Lee

Keeping the decks  clear and maybe a light on are simple way to keeping your boat a little bit safer

Uninvited guests with malicious intent have been a potential problem for adventurous cruisers since the original long-distance singlehanded cruiser-Joshua Slocum-famously put tacks on the deck of his little boat, Spray, at the turn of the century. He may have been guarding against head-shrinking cannibals rather than poverty-stricken petty thieves or automatic-weapon-wielding criminals, but as Webb Chiles' story (see "A Close Call with Pirates," page 90) and other recent tales of piracy in the news makes clear, the problem of protecting yourself and your boat is as pressing now as it was then. I contacted several active cruisers to see what techniques they use to guard against onboard theft and unwanted boarders. Here's what they recommend.

Clear the Decks
There's definitely "organized" piracy in some areas-most notably in the Gulf of Aden, in the northern Indian Ocean, and along the Strait of Malacca-but many "pirates" are just petty thieves looking for easy opportunities to snatch something they can sell later. And as you'll see, most of the following security tips only require that you practice some common sense. Simply by keeping the cockpit and decks visibly void of anything that can be swiped-handheld electronics, chart books, winch handles, and the like-and stowing equipment below, you can make your unattended boat less attractive to would-be thieves.

Lock It Down
Locking everything-everything-down makes it harder for the bad guys. It's important to be able to lock the companionway shut, both from the inside as well as from the outside, and the hatch and lock should be sturdy enough to withstand attempts at forced entry. If they aren't, the companionway should be reinforced. The same holds true for ports and hatches. Ports should be locked even though most are small enough to bar entry, and all hatches should be locked and further secured with a sturdy grate that's lockable from the inside. This makes hatches harder to get through even if they're broken into.

Dinghy Defense
Nothing is a more lucrative target for opportunistic thieves than a dinghy and an outboard. Obviously, you should always remove the kill switch from the outboard when you go ashore, but a long, sturdy cable and a beefy padlock will provide much more concrete protection. Always lock the outboard to the transom of the dinghy and lock the dinghy to a hard point on land when you go ashore. And if you're unsure about the safety of an anchorage, locking the dinghy to the boat and hoisting it out of the water when you're on board makes it harder to steal (and helps keep its bottom clean, too).

Lights On, Nobody Home
If they must leave the boat unattended in a sketchy area for a while, most veteran cruisers leave something on to make it appear that somebody's home. In many cases, leaving a cabin light, the anchor light, and/or the radio on when you're not aboard provides low-tech but effective electric security. Yes, these measures consume a bit of juice, but the added security and piece of mind could well be worth running the engine a bit more to top up the batteries when you get back to the boat-and find it just the way you left it.

Fatty Goodlander does the opposite when he's under way in waters with reported pirate activity. He keeps all his running lights off at night and doesn't chat on the radio to keep from drawing unwanted attention from any locals looking for an easy score.