Boat Stolen..FOUND

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MikeeH

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A friend in West Palm Beach had their boat stolen out of a storage yard in WPB sometime over the last 48hours. Its a HydraSport CC with 2 Yamahas on the transom,a hardtop and the name King Slayer prominently lettered on the sides. I know its a long shot but if you spot it please call the authorities.

UPDATE: Local authorities found the hull in a vacant lot, stripped of everything, even the cleats. Fortunately, insurance will cover 100% of the financial loss, but not the emotional loss.
 
Good luck fining it but I have a question. What would a thief do with a boat like that to turn it into cash? Sell it? Part it out? It sucks that someone did that but I'm curious.
Jim
 
Jim, my bet, and I've already told my friend this, is that its already in a shipping container and destined for either the Caribbean or South America.
 
If it's an older boat like mine, the engines and anything removable from the cockpit and below are on ebay. The hull is sitting at the bottom of some waterway or in an abandoned yard.
 
Agree with Stephen, hull has been disposed of and engines are for sale somewhere. Sad day for the owner, hope insurance makes it right.
 
It is the twin Yamaha thing. Heck, even law enforcement boats in FL have had lower units stolen in the middle of the night! This is why I have Hondas on my boat :-)

In the Bahamas I've seen center consoles (with Yamahas that is) with car alarms installed. I docked next to one that chained the console to the pier each night. Usually in the islands the twin Yamaha boats are stolen to run drugs or Haitians. In the States it is usually for the engines/parts.

True story:

We met "Stan" from Stuart, FL the other year in the Abacos. He had a 30-something tug and told us a story from a few years before. They had just crossed and tied up for the night on a bulkhead. A center console came in and bumped his anchor when it docked in front of him. The owner apologized (no damage to either boat) and mentioned that if they hear him around midnight light up it is because he likes to fish at that time. Sure enough around midnight "Stan" hears the Yamahas light up and decides to help the guy off the bulkhead so he doesn't hit his boat again. The guy thanks him and heads out. Then around 4 am "Stan" hears the boat light up again and heads out to do the same. Come 8am the Bahamian cops show up looking for any information on who stole the boat after the owner got back around 3am. Needless to say "Stan" checked out that morning and never went back :-)
 
A friend told me that he knows a guy in the Bahamas that painted his Yamaha's with a Mercury paint scheme to discourage theft. :-)
 
quote:
Originally posted by damaib

A friend told me that he knows a guy in the Bahamas that painted his Yamaha's with a Mercury paint scheme to discourage theft. :-)

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Ouch!

But seriously, that's a really good idea!
 
Every full moon people expect more thefts of CCs with Yammies in the Bahamas. The guy who thinks he is protected by chaining it up is naive. They cut the towers off to steal them here.

The only boats that seem to get recovered once in a while are those with hidden locators that cannot be disabled. There are also new engine controls that will restrict the RPMs making the boat useless.

People cannot prevent the boats from being stolen but they can make them useless for a long enough period to allow recovery. In the States that is different because they probably do not have to go as far to part them out.
 
quote:
Originally posted by boatbum

The guy who thinks he is protected by chaining it up is naive.
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That was at Old Bahama Bay of all places. Actually, both of my stories are from West End.
 
I never realized that Yamahas were a primary theft item. Why Yamahas and not Mercs, Hondas, etc as well?
 
I was going to ask the same question Mike. I can see nobody wanting a Merc, but a honda?
 
My thoughts are it could be due to popularity of the brand, and the demand for parts. The Mercs with the superchargers are considered too complex with a high number of parts. Hondas in that HP range are not as popular and Etecs require two stroke oil.
 
There are very few Honda dealers in the Abacos. There's one in Marsh Harbour (nice guy, charged me a fortune for spark plugs, but that was probably duty he had to cover). I think there's another one in Nassau, but that's about it. Yamahas are everywhere. Bigger market means a larger market for black-market parts I'm guessing (or us Honda owners are all 100% law-abiding citizens :-)
 
Install a Spot Trace. $100 for Spot $100 a year. I get a e-mail message every day it has not moved, if it moves a location every minute. The 4AAA batteries last a long time and it can be connected to the boat battery. It gives you a chance at recovery.
 
The trick is to conceal it some how so the perps cannot locate it with a quick search.
 
Generally thieves are trying to get away from the scene as soon as possible. The spot is half the side of a pack of cigarettes and works thru fiberglass. Mine is under a metal shed ,under glass and still works. If you don't mind changing batteries once a month it can be invisible. You can also get power from a radio or light feed.
 
It was just a matter of time until the stripped hull was found. Stories like that really pi-- me off.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stephen

If it's an older boat like mine, the engines and anything removable from the cockpit and below are on ebay. The hull is sitting at the bottom of some waterway or in an abandoned yard.

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Stephen predicted that 100% right... The hull is now sitting in an abandoned lot... Does he get 50 bucks from the crime tip line?
 
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