Burglar Alarm

C

ccflyer

New member
So I've loaded up my CD with radios and other personal stuff and I'll be keeping it at a municipal slip which abuts a public park.

My past practice with my SeaRay cuddy was to take everything worth anything home with me. With the C-D I'll still take the GPS,VHF and AM/FM off the boat but the cabin is a bit more secure so I'd like to set up an alarm triggered off the cabin door. Seems like most auto alarms today are triggered by something else besides opening a door - like motion which wouldn't work very well for a boat at a slip.

I'd appreciate any recommendations.
 
It seems people are just annoyed by the sound of an alarm these days. Just a blinking red LED next to the door might be a deterent. Unless it's home in the garage, we all face the same dilema. Good luck. Roger
 
Silvertip looks great, but they seem to allow installation only through their dealer network, which isn't very widespread.

For a similar option, check out VoiceAlarm, http://www.voicealarm.com/index.html

They have a similar GPS tracking system, which can be programmed to notify you by phone if your vessel moves out of a predefined area. They also have door switches, snap alarms for the boat cover, pressure sensitive mats, etc. They say there is no monthly fee for the GPS system.

I haven't used it, but it looks pretty interesting if you feel the need for an alarm.
 
The voice alarm would do the job but at $599 before installation it seems pretty pricey.

There's got to be a simpler system. I need one magnetic door switch, a control panel and a horn. A flashing LED by the door would be nice but not essential. It should be programable so you can set it and get out of the cabin before it arms and of course time delayed so you can get in to disarm it. Finally, if tripped it should shut down after say 5 minutes.

When I search the internet I can find the components but they don't seem to work on 12 volt systems. I suppose I might find a home system with a battery back up and just rely on the backup feature?
 
I agree on the price - not cheap! The Snap Alarm system was cheaper, at $199, but I don't know if that would do the trick or not...looks like you can add a door switch for another $20. They post the installation manual for the snap system on-line, and it looked pretty straight forward.

But without an expensive add-on, the alarm will keep going until you can get there and shut it down - it could lose you some friends in and around the marina pretty quickly, I'd think.
 
flapbreaker
The system I had installed included 3 magnetic switches,engine kill, geo fence monitoring, battery, and temp in the boat monitoring, and bilge monitoring. The cost was 2000.00 CDN. I pay a monthly fee of about 35.00 for cell phone connection and that's it. I get a daily update of everything thats going on in the boat via e-mail and an instant call goes out to my cell phone and both of my sons cell phones if something goes wrong. Yes the initial cost was high, but as you might read in another thread it saved my boat already.
Jimbo
 
I never leave my boat unattended for long, so I have never really thought much about an alarm.... but in your case it might not be such a bad idea... I would think that one of the alarms from Crutchfield (on the web) would work,
I think just having full curtains is good for me...if you can't see into the boat it will deter some...but a determined thief will cut the power anyhow.
Maybe installing a deadbolt on the door would help...C-Dory locks look easy to overpower.

Joel
SEA3PO
 
I agree with Joel on the insurance approach to the issue on this and the other thread.

As far as the door goes, the hinges can be removed from the port side or a thief can force the lock with a crowbar, so about the only way to block the door shut would be to place a flat metal bar over the door with padlocks on both sides and hasps that are protected. Not foolrooof, of course, but it might discourage them enough to move on to another, easier victum.

The burglar alarm is tricky to install and temperamental in use and its necessity and advisability depends on the relative dangers where you leave the boat.

In my case, the marina has night security patrols and almost never has break-ins, except for one forray of stereo burglars to rip off all the expensive high powered sound systems out of the wakeboard and ski boats. Came in by boat. Never caught.

There is perhaps a very small outside chance someone who really wanted a C-Dory coluld come in and steal the entire boat, but they'd have to have a suitable trailer and take it out of the local area to use or sell it. Would take some planning and organization. Most local rip-off artists are crank-heads and can't think that far ahead.

Locking loose things up inside the cabin and covering them up out of view eliminates most "crimes of opportunity" from non-professionals (fellow boaters).

In marinas where there are live-aboards, making friends with them so they will casually watch your boat and recognize strangers would be invaluable. The same for fellow berthers with occasional usage, but to a sopmewhat lesser degree.

Pay for the insurance and realize you can not only replace anything but use the opportunity to upgrade your boat and / or equiment.

Life's to much fun with a C-Dory to lay awake at night and worry about something you can't entirely control. Dream instead, if you will, of how you'd replace the gear that some idiot made your insurance company pay for. (Get your deductable in an acceptable range to make this work, of course!)

Joe.
 
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