My boat was stolen

[Blackout]

There are no words to describe how angry and disgusted I am right now. After staying up all night studying for the Bar (studying Criminal Law no less!) I came home exhausted to find my boat GONE. The boat was taken yesterday between 5pm (when I left the house) and 7:30pm (when my brother got home). My brother said he saw a black Mercury cruising slowly by the house that morning. The guys who did this had definitely been watching the house, and knew to wait for both my car and my brother's car to leave. That's the only reason why anyone would steal a boat in broad daylight during rush hour when people are normally getting home. I didn't have a trailer lock (stupid) because I always keep the truck parked in front of the boat. Well, that didn't make a difference to them. They hitched the boat and pivoted it at an angle that just cleared the truck, then proceeded to pull it out of the driveway, hitting the side of the hull hard against a big tree that was in the way.

When my brother called the cops (and didn't call me because he didn't want to interrupt my studying!) they said they had found a boat matching the description only a few miles away. The house that it was at had a black Mercury parked out front. The bastards ripped off the engines and my electronics from what the cops said. I'm going to pick it up at 9 and see what else is missing/broken. They haven't caught the ****ers yet because no one was there when they found and moved the boat, but since it was at a residence they said they have the name of the home owner and the car owner, and it's likely they'll get the pricks. My stuff will be long gone by then, but at least I'll take comfort knowing these assholes are behind bars. There aren't enough horrible things in this world that I can wish upon these mother****ers. All I can hope is that they get treated like the bitches they are when they're in jail. I'm going to make sure to press every conceivable criminal charge against them and will personally go to court at their arraignment. Oh, and then I'm gonna sue the shit out of them for what little they may have. Lawyers are NOT the type of people to steal from. Especially young lawyers with extra time on their hands and a vindictive streak

Guys, please learn from my loss and take every precaution to protect your boats, cars, and homes. As the economy goes down and people lose their jobs, thefts like this go up. I feel lucky that at least the cops were able to recover most of the boat, and that insurance will cover the rest. It could just as easily disappeared completely. Speaking of insurance, I have some paperwork to dig up... FML

[TTesterman]

glad they found it.. the comment about being stupid about the lock is not true! NO American should ever have to lock up their car or boat! we should go back to tar and feathering these asses. get your head back into the books and let this slide by till your done. the bolo list is log right now in the state of Florida and still there is no team, squad, people or investigative unit that handles this... good luck on the bar.. now get back to the books and breathe!

[Another Grand]

Sorry about your boat!

Good luck with the Bar I am taking it at the same time!

[mannyc]

What scum bags!

Good luck on the bar fellas!

[Uncle Buck]

Holy crap man... Just when I was planning to put the new name on the side this weekend.

[Captain Juan]

That sucks bro. I hope your fully insured, though you always end up losing because the insurance company does not cover everything aboard. The reality is that we live in the freakin boat theft capital of the world. On this forum alone we've seen troublings posts like this many times. Boats are either stolen for smuggling or to be stripped for drug money. My old 21 open fisher was stolen right in front of my old house in the mid 90s as we slept feet away, and it had a tongue lock and a chain through the axles. And, I had lights pointing everywhere on it. So, don't beat youself up, because the thugs are going to get what they want anyway....if it takes them one minute more to cut through chains or locks. My boat turned up three days later in an empty lot in Wynwood stripped of its Evinrude 250, most of the brightwork including the t-top and leaning post, batteries, safety gear, anchors, docking lines, gaffs, belts, and some tackle I had aboard. I got my boat back and repowered it but took a big hit on things not reimbursed. I also felt a little different about the hull itself. Never felt the same again.

So, the message is to add those extra steps and deterrants so that maybe the a-holes move on. I say deterants because that's all that chains, locks and lights are. A lot of boat thieves, namely the ones that steal big open fishermans for human smuggling, are absolute pros and will take even the most secure vessel. But, again, the deterrants are worth it. The other thing is insurance. Got to obviously have it if the hull is financed, but even a boat paid off should be covered. The only other things that can be done are installing those fancy and expensive alarms and lojack type devices that track a boat's movement.

Good luck.

Juani

[Pourbaix22]

Sons of bitches communist motherfuchers!...Ricky they will burn, and we will fish my boat till your up and running again NO worries!

[NightCrawler]

First off, feel really bad for you. That just sucks.
The problem as I see it, is these dirt bags are getting slaps on the wrists (specially in Dade). As far as what you can do to them (as a lawyer), speaking from personal experience, yeah it has helped out in certain circumstances, but most times these dirtbags have NOTHING!!!

[Harry Klauber]

Chris,
I live close to you and had "almost" the same thing occur with chains, locks, and everything. The good news for me was the lawn man across the street saw a suspicious F-250 driving around and called the police. They caught the guys IN THE ACT - they had a torch to cut locks and chains and the truck to tow it away. It was only luck that they were not successful and it happened on the one day the "extra" car was not in the driveway so they had been watching the house for a long while. All three went to jail - 2 longer than the other as they had both only been out less than a month for guess what - BOAT THEFT. Mine was just a close call and I know how I felt so I can understand what you are going through. Good luck and I will speak to you soon. Harry

[Another Grand]

With the thought that it may help alleviate your misery (as I try to figure out what the hell a trust is....lol) I offer what I dealt with yesterday

Yesterday I had a similar, though not nearly as bad situation occur to me. I took a break from studying this weekend and went to Bahamas for a day. When I got back I was freaking out about the bar and didnt take the time to take a cooler out of my car which contained every piece of Yellowfin Tuna anything I owned inside. My mom then borrowed my truck and went to Lowes to get some chit while I was studying. When she got back she took her chit out and didnt put the tailgate back up. I took a break at 4 or so to go to the gym, worked out for an hour and went to get back in my car and saw my cast net sitting on the edge of the tailgate about to fall off. It took me about two minutes to realize what happened. When I did, I almost ended it....lol. Near a thousand dollars of tuna shit somebody found yesterday between glades and 20th st. A virtual gold mine. Losing my sword chit, I would have laughed an said sweet an excuse not to go. Losing my Tuna chit....having no $ to replace it in the foreseeable future....I am still at a loss for words. Somewhere some "lawnguy" is trying to filet my Speedsters and my Circle Hooks are now providing a Mayan Cichil meal for the masses.

So tragedy was widespread yesterday...

Back to studying! Where you taking Barbri?

- Johnny

[Tail Walker]

Chris,

Those blooodyyy mother *uckers will PAY.... You forgot to mention that the neighborhood you leave in also has guard gates on each end! The nerve that people have in South Florida is absolutely un-real and simply un-acceptable. I will personally contact the Pinecrest Police department and raise HELLLL.... We all live in a society of organize anarchy and need to watch our backs especially as you said with the current economic crises... Not to worry we will get you back up and on the water A.S.A.P, and you are more then welcome to fish on my rig at your disposal. I will also personally accompany you to the arraignment so I can "SPITE" on the low-life TRASH that preys on successful individuals ... Let me know if I can lend an extra hand in any way, I will give you a shout this afternoon to see the damage that these bastards have done!

LET THEM BURN IN HELL!

[Tail Walker]

here is a good report about boat theft in south florida

P.S. Chris - I lived down the canal from this house in college

Three arrested in theft of powerboat docked in Tierra Verde - St. Petersburg Times

[Harry Klauber]

Originally Posted by Tail Walker

Chris,

Those blooodyyy mother *uckers will PAY.... You forgot to mention that the neighborhood you leave in also has guard gates on each end! The nerve that people have in South Florida is absolutely un-real and simply un-acceptable. I will personally contact the Pinecrest Police department and raise HELLLL.... We all live in a society of organize anarchy and need to watch our backs especially as you said with the current economic crises... Not to worry we will get you back up and on the water A.S.A.P, and you are more then welcome to fish on my rig at your disposal. I will also personally accompany you to the arraignment so I can "SPITE" on the low-life TRASH that preys on successful individuals ... Let me know if I can lend an extra hand in any way, I will give you a shout this afternoon to see the damage that these bastards have done!

LET THEM BURN IN HELL!

I live close to Chris and we have a UM connection. I also told him he can fish with me anytime he needs a break from the exam, or until he is up and running again. I used to keep my last boat in the dry storage building at Black Point and had a pair of brand new engines stolen from inside the building. I was so disgusted when that happened that I set things up at the house and now keep my new boat on it's trailer at the house. If they really want your boat they are going to get it no matter what you do. It's a shame that things have gotten so bad but it's just a part of life. The detectives told me when they tried to steal my new boat from my house that 2-3 boats are stolen every week just in this area alone. Obviously it's more than just random theft. It makes insurance an absolute must but we all are getting hit with higher rates as crap like this occurs. Harry

[Fillet-N-Release]

Just like someone else said in another thread>>> may the fleas of 1000 camels infest thier balls...

[OneLuv1979]

Damn sorry to hear this ......

My boat is probably not as desirable to crooks since i have a 17' with only a 90HP Johnson , but im now seeing that boat theft is pretty common ....
I park my RV in my back yard and my boat in front of the fence on the side of my home , since i dont want to be moving the RV everytime i want to go fishing , but after this i think im going to hit up the lumber yard and extend my fence in the next couple weeks and buy a Good Coupler Insert Lock ....

Sorry to hear of your misfortune , i hope they find those animals ....

[Chronic Obsession]

A buddy of mine has a device he refered to as a Hammerlock...it is basically a square piece of metal with holes thru it that is cemented in the ground where your trailer axle ends up when you park the boat, then you have a squared off U shaped piece of metal with holes thru it that fits over your axle , you then have a metal pin that goes thru the metal where the U & square meet with a very large lock ....seems pretty secure but haven't been able to find it on the web.... found Hammerlock of miami which is where he said it was located but did not find the device.....I'll post it if i can find it. By the way Bro !!...Sorry to hear bout your boat.

[quack quack]

Very sorry to hear this. I hope they nail those buttheads. If they are illegal I hope they deport them!!!

[Uncle Buck]

I've always thought that a couple of these retractable bollards in front of the trailer would be a great theft inhibitor. The controls for raising/lowering could be hidden inside the house.

[Disco Lady]

Sorry to hear that brother.Hope they.those scumbags.

DL,

[Harry Klauber]

You can buy a Hammerlock (I have one) at Boat Center on US1 and SW 183rd St in South Miami. It is a great device but many a boat has been stolen with the Hammerlock simply being dragged down the road. Alot of guys use them down here when they leave their trucks and trailers in the lot either over night or for a couple of days for a Bahamas trip. They steal the trailers Hammerlock and all. They are good but not going to really prevent the pros from being successful. Harry

[weekley rehab]

Dang man, I am so sorry to hear that , I often worry about that, but I live in the hood and they normally do not shop my neighbor hood for things to steal , instead they go across the tracks to lighthouse point. I had my truck stereo stolen 2 times in front of my house . put up cameras and they won't come back. I told the BSO officer you better find them before I do or this case will never get settled as I am going to bury them at sea !!

[Blackout]

Thanks for all the support and suggestions guys. My head's still spinning, but at least there's some good news. The cops got a search warrant and went into the guy's house today. Inside they found my engines, a ton of electronics and equipment ripped off of other boats, and about 800 gallons of fuel that they'd been siphoning off the boats before ditching them. Greedy bastards take absolutely everything they can. There's no sign of my Garmin 4212 and engine gauges, but at least it's insured and the rest of the boat is in good shape. The trailer is another story. While maneuvering it around my truck in the driveway they drove it over a small drop-off on the side of the yard. The weight of the boat on top twisted the frame of the trailer, not just the tongue, so the whole thing needs to be replaced. Also, it looks like they dropped the engines off the back of the truck while in a hurry, because they're both scratched/dented pretty bad and one of the skegs is bent. I kinda wish they'd just taken the motors so I could get new ones, but I guess insurance is there to cover them. They still haven't caught the guys yet, but the one who owns the house has a long rap sheet and the cops are confident they'll get his ass. I also just found out that another boat was stolen yesterday morning less than a mile away from my house. Don't know if they found it, but my heart goes out to whoever's boat that is. Hopefully the boys in blue will get these f*ckers tomorrow so that they can can spend Independence Day in shackles.

[Disco Lady]

Glad you got her back Blackout!


DL,

[mneptune]

Sorry to hear about your loss bro... Harry was correct that no matter what a person does, if the thieves really want it, they will be able to get it. It is a crying shame to work so hard to have a boat and a bunch of scumbags can just drive up and steal it. I also agree that it is ridiculous that many of these assholes have committed crimes before but are let out to continue their illegal activities.

As for myself, I sleep very lightly on nights when I have my boat out front; I am also locked and loaded with several firearms. If it ever hits the fan, I am coming out shooting and have no interest whatsoever in taking prisoners!!!!

[Mike]

damn... sorry to hear about this crap... It's amazing that they do this in broad daylight....

[ameristrat]

So who wants to go hunting.... for boat thiefs?

[OneLuv1979]

Originally Posted by ameristrat

So who wants to go hunting.... for boat thiefs?

Right Chum him and use em as shark bait

[agc490]

Hi everyone,

I also had my boat stolen, around October 30th.

I had my boat and my trailer secured with a chain in a private street in Miami.

The chain was cut and the boat and trailer have been stolen.

Please check out the picture in the address below and if you see it around please call the police, I have reported the theft. There are not that many red inflatables around so it is easy to recognize.

STOLEN BOAT

Thank you!!!