Stolen boats and outboards(possible sticky?)

Jack_regan wrote: »

Stolen lake boat in Mayo. No doubt it's painted a different colour by now.

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/boats/3276595

That boat stolen from Lough Corrib has been returned to it's owner if i'm not mistaken

Mariner 45 4 cylinder stolen between 8 pm and 9 pm on Wednesday evening from Carlingford Marina, thieves tried to also steal Honda 45 but left it on ground beside boat. Mariner 45 rare engine here so if offered please report it.

A few engines have been robbed around north Dublin city in the past couple of days. Keep your eyes open and make sure engines are secured.

The locks will help prevent theft but recent outboard thefts appear to be organised with well prepaired thieves. The latest robbery was from a secured club house. Only the engines where removed.

came off tv3 news today at 5:30 about stolen outboards, they called outboards sitting ducks, and warned people to be careful. one spokesman came on from an insurance company and said that they came into the harbour and stole a number of outboards, a couple of weeks later they returned and stole the replaced outboards. be careful people.

I think it is well known most of these are taken apart and go to the UK via Larne/ Stranraer. It is operated by proper mechanics who know exactly how to strip and palletise larger outboards before loading them into vans at speed.
Normally these outboards will be in the UK before it is even noticed they are stolen here.
The northern route is well known not just for outboards but also for cars stolen in N Ireland and has been successfully used for quite a number of years.

Hi,
When boats with outboards have been stolen quite often the boat is discarded as they are difficult to sell on and some have been found in Scotland.
Outboards are very easy to sell on as many people do not record their serial numbers and quite often they are broken down for spare parts.
A lower unit or electrical components for a large outboard can fetch considerable money. These can be very difficult to trace again on the second hand market.
Many marine and commercial engines and parts have been discovered in Eastern Europe. I say this without pointing the blame at any sector of the community here in Ireland as these gangs seem to be operating out of Ireland and the UK solely with the intention of carrying out these thefts and not as general members of our own community in Ireland no matter where they may hail from.
I am also aware some of these thefts are being carried out by local people and sold through persons based in Belfast who in turn have a market for these items overseas.
This information comes from chatting to people who spent time carrying out these thefts and bragging about them. Unfortunately they were only the small fry and usually only had the stolen items in their possession for a few hours therefore making it very difficult for the police to actually capture them in the act.

I think we in Ireland need to be more prudent with our boating items and make sure they are no longer easy targets for these gangs. When we were growing up we could leave a small outboard unlocked on the back of our tender all summer with no risk of theft, those days have changed and we all need to change accordingly.

The Guards and the PSNI are all working on limited resources and unfortunately theft from boats is not going to be high on their agenda so it is up to us to make it as difficult as possible for these thieves to continue to see Ireland and the UK as soft targets.
Please everyone lock outboards and boats with proper locking systems, record the serial numbers of every item and where possible have markers placed on the items which may make them less attractive to be stolen.

My own brother keeps an Avon 4.65 rib with a 50 hp 4 stroke outboard on a good roadworthy trailer at a rural secluded residential premises which is unattended all day and many weekends with no security whatsoever and no matter how often I bring the matter of security up I always get the same answer , "it been there for years and nobody has stolen it". I also know these thieves (local people) operate in this area and it is only a matter of time before the boat is interfered with. It could be hitched on and in Belfast within the hour.
We all need to be more vigilant.