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Five gallons of gas and a match should do it. Oh....take your lines first.
What To Do With A Thief
- Thread starter GeeBee
- Start date
Capt. Bill1
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+1 And I find it odd if he really "stole" your lines that he would just use them on his boat in plain sight of where you would be walking by and could easily identify them. As you apparently did. My guess is he will tell you he though they were abandoned and gladly give them back.
My marina has a large dry stack operation. Actually, it's more of a dry stack with 50 wet slips, many of which are vacant. Dry stack customers have the option of using a vacant slip for a day or two.
Many of these dry stack customers only come down and take their boats out and bring them back, they don't "hang around" the marina and don't know what goes on there. They think anything on the docks is the property of the marina and there for their use. I lost several hoses and nozzles before I strapped my hose to the dock and began removing my nozzle. A dry stack boater once asked me if the shore power cords belonged to the marina.
I don't think these people consider themselves thieves when they take a hose and move it to another slip, they think it's marina property and it's supposed to be moved to where it's needed.
I lease my slip on an annual basis and I leave my dock lines in place when I leave the slip so they will be handy when I come back. I actually use nylon ties to keep them from being moved or readjusted if the marina rents out my slip while I'm gone.
I took a month long cruise a couple years ago and when I came back, my lines had been cut off (the ties) and were coiled next to my dock box. It turned out that someone had cut the ties and just left the lines there, a friend of mine found them and put them next to my dock box.
My feeling was, it took a lot of balls for someone to cut my lines loose and if I had found out who did it, there might have been some repercussion (like hiding a dead fish on their boat), but I wasn't able to find out who did it.
Things like this happen at marinas and there's not much that can be done about it. A friend of mine and another slip holder got into a fight about a dock box that got way out of hand and ended up with the other guy leaving the marina.
In the OP's case, I would either talk to the boater or to the dockmaster and try to resolve the situation. I doubt the other boater actually went down the dock looking for lines to steal, there is probably a logical explanation for why his boat is tied with the OP's lines. And while the lines may look like his and he may believe they are, unless they are marked, there's no way to prove ownership.
Many of these dry stack customers only come down and take their boats out and bring them back, they don't "hang around" the marina and don't know what goes on there. They think anything on the docks is the property of the marina and there for their use. I lost several hoses and nozzles before I strapped my hose to the dock and began removing my nozzle. A dry stack boater once asked me if the shore power cords belonged to the marina.
I don't think these people consider themselves thieves when they take a hose and move it to another slip, they think it's marina property and it's supposed to be moved to where it's needed.
I lease my slip on an annual basis and I leave my dock lines in place when I leave the slip so they will be handy when I come back. I actually use nylon ties to keep them from being moved or readjusted if the marina rents out my slip while I'm gone.
I took a month long cruise a couple years ago and when I came back, my lines had been cut off (the ties) and were coiled next to my dock box. It turned out that someone had cut the ties and just left the lines there, a friend of mine found them and put them next to my dock box.
My feeling was, it took a lot of balls for someone to cut my lines loose and if I had found out who did it, there might have been some repercussion (like hiding a dead fish on their boat), but I wasn't able to find out who did it.
Things like this happen at marinas and there's not much that can be done about it. A friend of mine and another slip holder got into a fight about a dock box that got way out of hand and ended up with the other guy leaving the marina.
In the OP's case, I would either talk to the boater or to the dockmaster and try to resolve the situation. I doubt the other boater actually went down the dock looking for lines to steal, there is probably a logical explanation for why his boat is tied with the OP's lines. And while the lines may look like his and he may believe they are, unless they are marked, there's no way to prove ownership.
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After all is said and done.....if is not yours leave it alone!!!! Rons comments are good, but I kept my boat in a similar dry stack in Pensacola and would never have thought the marina provided dock lines, power cables, hoses or nozzles. In fact when we began our stay we were advised that we were expected to respect private property.
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People are getting stupider every year. As much as I hate it I find myself giving people I do not know the benefit of the doubt more often than I used to. Introduce yourself to the person and tell them that you noticed that they have made good use of your dock lines while you were away and would like to get them back at their earliest convinence. Giving them a change to give them back without accusing them of anything will be better for both parties. If they get huffy, go directly to plan D.
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In the past, I wrote my name and boat's name on my shore power cables, dock lines, and water hose. The lines on our present boat are black, so I haven't figured out how to mark them. Two seasons ago, I found my water hose connected to a different hose bib a few slips away. Obviously, someone used it to wash his boat and 'forgot' to return it. I put it back in place and never had a problem after that. During winter layup at the marina we used to use, someone stole my VHF antenna, unscrewing it and cutting the cable. I reported it to the owner's wife, but she was no help because the security cameras couldn't see in-between the boats. I bought a new antenna and painted the top foot bright red. Two weeks later, while speaking to the owner, I learned that he had found an antenna under a boat in the next row from where ours was stored. He left it in the garage for a few days and then, since no one clamed it, threw it out! I asked him if he had discussed this with his wife, who ran the office. "No, I don't discuss that kind of stuff with her." I was now dealing with a vandal/thief, who stole the antenna and cut the antenna lead, and with idiot owners, who don't discuss marina business with each other, even when a theft is reported! That was one of the reasons we left that marina.Hy
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Same here. How about a follow-up/update? Greg, we haven't heard from you on this topic for about a week. Any news?
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The cleats are a part of the slip, and perhaps your lines made it difficult for the transient to use the slip. Do you tie them down with the eye end out? If so, the cleat may have been loaded with too much line to put an additional line on it, and the length that works for your boat did not work for them.
If you signed an agreement that lets them rent out your slip and you are gone for an extended period of time, I think you should remove your lines and stow them.
I also think you should be happy they coiled them up and left them near your dock box. Maybe they did not want the responsibility associated with the use of your lines?
Ironworks, let me see if I understand you right. For $342.96 you're filing a police report and an insurance claim? You're insurance rate is likely to go up higher than your loss. Can't see the police putting out a dragnet unless you live in Mayberry.
Seems like a case of what's right vs effective. The right thing is that someone shouldn't take lines that aren't theirs. Effective is not leaving stuff laying around that can be stolen. I bet you don't leave the ss grill on the dock when you're gone because you don't want it stolen. You take the keys out of the car and lock it when you leave it somewhere because you don't want it stolen. Do you feel sorry for the guy who left his car running to go into the convenience store and had it stolen? Or do you think he was dumb?