Boat Stolen - 2011 Yamaha 242 Limited S - MUST READ

[Deuces WIld]

Went to use my boat yesterday on one of the hottest days of the summer....and it was GONE!$%@&! I last saw my boat a month ago. We were away for 4th July week at the beach and then the weather on weekends has been crappy when we've been available. I suspect the theft happened 2-3 weeks ago. More on that in a minute

For the last six years I've stored my boat in a fenced, locked lot at Pohick Bay Regional Park in Lorton, VA on the Potomac River. I've owned the boat since new, I had to drive all the way to Minnesota in May 2011 to get $5,000 off list, nearest dealer to DC at the time who would provide any discount. I have countless, priceless family memories on this boat over the last 12 years. I only had about 250 hours on the engines and have worked really hard to take care of it using the guidance on this and the other forum. I lurked on the other forum for 3 years before I pulled the trigger, hell I bought this boat because of many of you who comprise the best boating community on the planet. For the first time in 36 years, I do not own a boat. I am crushed.

Yes, I have insurance. If I fixed everything on my list and spit polished everything, the boat would sell for around $30k. It's insured for a little more than that. My older son took me out last night to console me and he said Dad you just sold your boat for top dollar and you didn't have to polish or fix anything. The trouble is I didn't want to sell my boat anytime soon and to find anything else I actually want is going to cost a LOT MORE than my insurance settlement. I just paid off the loan on this thing a couple years ago.

Today, I'm mostly angry. Angry at Pohick Park (more on that in a minute) and angry at how stupid easy it is to get away with stealing a boat. The hull ID number is etched in the fiberglass on a Yamaha. The engines have a serial number, but it doesn't match the hull ID. How many of us have a picture of our engine Serial numbers (I certainly don't). A thief can easily etch a new Hull ID and change the model year in the last 2 digits to the end of the model run to make a boat worth even more money. Many states will issue a new title for a lost title and when they check the stolen boat database, of course the fictitious hull ID won't pop any warnings.

Let's try to catch these scumbags anyway. If you have been looking for a Yamaha 242 Limited S in the mid-Atlantic, built before the keel rudder steering upgrades, my boat has a couple one-of-a kind features that nobody else has.

- I have a home made mount for a solar panel on the tower (see picture)
- I took out all the carpets, patched the snap holes, but only finished installing the largest 2 pieces of Marine Mat inside the cockpit. I had not removed the rear deck OEM mats that have mostly turned to dust (anybody want to buy a partial set of Marine Mat that I no longer need?)
- There are two cuts, 2-3 inches long on the port bow seat back near the windshield. I ordered a replacement cushion in February and it still has not arrived. No way this can be fixed any more than the glue I already used
- I installed a 2x8x16' gangplank on the port side of the trailer to make hand loading easier
- I pulled wires for tower speakers, zip tied to the outside of the tower and removed the dead tower speakers this spring. The wires are still there hanging at the ends.
- There are three batteries on board, mounted to a plywood plank with a chrome handle and wire to both a solar charger and a triple battery plug-in charger.

If you've seen any of these features/defects, please call or text me at 202-246-8444.

More on the theft. Back in May of this year I met a guy at the Pohick ramp who had a brand new 242 Limited. He shared that he just bought it to replace the same model that was STOLEN FROM POHICK BAY STORAGE LAST YEAR. He said it cost him a fortune, because the insurance on his old boat only covered the used value and to replace it is so much more expensive now. The Park Manager never told anybody about the theft. At first, when i met with the Park leadership to report my theft yesterday, they said nothing had ever been stolen. Later, they admitted that a boat had been stolen from my lot last year. It had to be this same 242.

I learned yesterday that "2-3 weeks ago" somebody cut the lock to my storage lot at Pohick Bay. How hard would it have been to call the 100 boat owners in my lot so we could go check on our boats? I learned that Pohick has no cameras on their lots that we all pay a collective fee to store millions of $$$ of our stuff, even after a boat was stolen last year. Pohick does have a camera on the park entrance, but they only store the video for a rolling 7 days. They did not think to SAVE THE VIDEO from the night where the lock was cut, in case anything was stolen from the same lot where a boat was stolen last year. The Park Manager went sent an Assistant Manager off to check the video for my boat leaving, which likely happened a week before they deleted the rolling 7 days of video. Does anybody know a good attorney to explore a negligence case?

So I knew about the earlier theft from my ramp conversation back in May. I looked at every type of boat trailer lock I could find and NONE of them could not be defeated in minutes with either a battery metal grinder or a crowbar. There are YouTube videos on how to do it for every type of lock. I bought a couple extra Apple AirTags to hide on my boat, but guess what, they were in my bag to hide them when I found my boat was stolen yesterday.

Please learn from my misfortune and take action. Take pics of your engine serial numbers. Hide some Airtags and set a a GeoFence to give you an alert. Maybe buy a GPS tracker service. Boat people are honest and would never touch somebody else's boat. These are scumbags who are emboldened by our current lack of consequences. It's stupid easy to fence a stolen boat, especially one that sells as fast as ours.

Last pic is one of my most cherished memories. Watching my teens grow to be young men on my Yamaha, sharing my love for the water passed down from my father, I have tears in my eyes trying to type this.

-Gene

 

[Coult45]

Terrible. I hope you beat the odds and somehow get that boat back.

 

[Babin Farms]

Dang man, sorry for your loss. Hopefully it gets found.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Sorry to hear about your boat being stolen. Seeing how there was another boat stolen very similar to yours by the way, this place is not the place to store your boat. No camera’s? A padlock to secure the lot instead of a key pad? The first thing I thought was inside job.

Cutting right to the chase. Your son is correct, you just got a new boat being that you were smart enough and willing to pay the higher insurance cost to get the top amount of insurance pay out. Yes, you should be freaking pissed, pissed at the thieves not anyone else. And yes, totally sucks that it is going to cost you more money, but that is the nature of thievery, they should be hung for stealing a mans ride just like horse thieves used to be, it would be a deterrent to some,, but would guarantee that the thief would not steal anything else.

Again, cutting right to the chase. You explained how these thieves can change the numbers etc to make it so it can be sold without raising any alarms. Seems to me your time would be better spent to start looking for a new boat and making plans to get a new one, Yamaha currently has a summer special 5% financing for a limited time, if you were going to get another Yamaha. Your time, and the quality of your life will be better spent by finding and getting a new boat, and especially finding a better storage facility that has up to date security on its facility.

Spending your time doing anything else allows these rat bastards to take even more from you. Do you really want to spend a bunch of time trying to sue the storage lot instead of getting a new boat and getting on the water? I wouldn’t.

Karma is a bitch, and it will catch up to these people sooner or later.

Start searching today for a new boat.

 

[Deuces WIld]

FSH210

Thank you and others for your responses. Your advice is wise, it's just gonna take me a minute to process through being furious.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

FSH210

Thank you and others for your responses. Your advice is wise, it's just gonna take me a minute to process through being furious.

And you have every right to be freaking white hot!!!!!! These douchebags will get their comeuppance, you may never see it, but I’m confident they will.

I‘m just passing on wise advice given to me by a very wise person who is no longer here but his lessons are.

Start looking at new boats! I know you loved your yamaha you can get another one, or, depending on where you boat, maybe its time for an upgrade… there are no Uhauls following the hearse to the graveyard. Go on boat test and boating magazine and look at all the tests and such, there are a lot of great boats out there.

 

[Deuces WIld]

I started looking at boat reviews again last night. I do that anyway throughout the winter to get me through to the next boating season. I found it therapeutic to start dreaming again about an upgrade.

"There are no Uhauls following the hearse to the grave"

This quote will help me focus my life in many ways, thank you!

 

[Ronnie]

Gene @Deuces WIld , I have a lot of empathy for you because back around 2009 my boat, trailer and truck were stolen from in front of my house. Briefly stated, even if your boat is found only partially stripped you probably won’t want it back.

My insurance company paid me out six weeks after it was reported stolen. It was found parked on a residential street a week after I got the insurance settlement check. The thieves took the tower and decals off the boat. They also painted the trailer. When I went to the impound yard to see it, I didn’t know I was standing next to it when I asked the manager where it was. The thieves stripped it of the loose stuff (stereo, speakers, tubes, vests, etc. even took one of the captains chairs) but never got it in the water (they didn’t have the keys) the engine was still in the hull. I could have bought the boat and trailer back for $5k and probably got it back to the way it was for another $5k but I would have always been concerned about what if anything was done to the engine or fuel in the tank, everytime I would look at the boat it would remind me of what happened, plus I got a better boat (my first yamaha) out of it, so chalked it up to everything happens for a reason.

Like you, I wanted the thieves to be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I checked Craigslist every day for my missing gear. Printed up flyers and took them to my local dealer and pwc shops. In retrospect all of that was a waste of time. The guys were eventually caught and pleaded guilty in court. A few months ago I received two damages checks from the thieves, the first and only payments from a court settlement that happened over 10 years ago.

As others have stated, you are better off spending your time looking for your next boat while you wait on the insurance payment. I recommend that you reconsider the insurance coverage you buy for that boat as well. Thankfully I had stated value coverage not market value coverage. Coverage for personal effects was limited to $1,500 (I lost most of that on vests alone), so now I buy the anglers (fisherman’s) coverage to supplement. I would also try and get the storage place to cover all out of pocket expenses like the deductibles, my time on the phone and on site. Whether they do or don’t I would let as many other renters know what happened. Finally consider how you are going to secure your next boat. Nothing (legal) will stop a determined thief But I think the key is making your boat harder to steal than those sitting next to it (hitch locks and wheel boots), removing the folding tongue pin or locking it in the folded position can go a long way.

Good luck with this. You can’t do anything more about the stolen boat but you can control what happens to you next where boating is concerned. I don’t know about your area, but used boat prices usually go down here at the end of the season / late September.

 

[davel501]

Today, I'm mostly angry. Angry at Pohick Park (more on that in a minute) and angry at how stupid easy it is to get away with stealing a boat. The hull ID number is etched in the fiberglass on a Yamaha. The engines have a serial number, but it doesn't match the hull ID. How many of us have a picture of our engine Serial numbers (I certainly don't). A thief can easily etch a new Hull ID and change the model year in the last 2 digits to the end of the model run to make a boat worth even more money. Many states will issue a new title for a lost title and when they check the stolen boat database, of course the fictitious hull ID won't pop any warnings.

Most manufacturers create what is referred to as a birth certificate for each item that they build. Any serial numbers for components put on your boat when it was built should be listed on that birth certificate. I know of car manufacturers that can even tell you what each bolt on a vehicle was torqued to. It would be worth a call to Yamaha to see what info they have.

 

[Deuces WIld]

Thank you Ronnie:

The previous boat stolen last year from the same storage lot was a Yamaha 242. I believe it was the same thieves and that they specifically targeted another Yamaha 242. There were two boats right near mine that were far more valuable (2-3x) and also not locked, but they stole mine instead. Either they already knew what to do and felt comfortable, or this is part of a larger conspiracy because our boats are so popular and sell so easily.

I have a lot to think about for the next boat including what type of boating, where to boat, where to store and how to secure. Most of the devices I've seen are no match for a mini-grinder provided 2-3 minutes alone. Removing the tongue pin and taking the thing home would have worked amazingly well! That thought never occurred to me. I wish I had hid a couple Apple AirTags on board and set up a GeoFence. Knowing me, I would have been tempted to track it myself and that's a recipe for disaster.

I'm slowly coming around to the idea that the Boating Gods are telling me it's past due time to Upgrade and I now have a sympathy card to get a purchase past the "Executive Review Board".

 

[Ronnie]

When I put on my little used conspiracy theory hat, I start to think maybe this was an inside job. If all renters have to leave a set of keys at the property such keys would be easy to copy. Is it purely coincidence that they didn’t save the video from the days before and after the lock was broken? It seems like the storage managers would have at the very least sent someone over to do an inventory check/boat count.

as for the air tags, I have them in my boat and two Waverunners. A lot less expensive than the cloud security service e I was buying for my boat. Do they help? Yes and no. The police here in the SF Bay Area don’t do a great job of pursuing property crimes so giving them the location of your property may be useless. I have a friend that lost her air tagged keys a few weeks ago. She tracked them to a nearby home, when she rang the doorbell the person who answered played dumb and claimed I’m front of several of her guests that she only spoke Spanish. When my friend and her big husband rang the doorbell a few minutes later the person who answered the door, again, changed their tune and in English said her bother found them., here they are.

 

[OCMD]

Just some atty advice. Basically, you have been made whole -legally speaking - by your insurance company (even though we know you have not been made whole all things considered) so they now have your rights to go after who they believe is responsible. Which if the storage lot? They will not bother as not cost effective and tough to prove. They paid out and have moved on, sorry to say in this situation.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Thank you Ronnie:

The previous boat stolen last year from the same storage lot was a Yamaha 242. I believe it was the same thieves and that they specifically targeted another Yamaha 242. There were two boats right near mine that were far more valuable (2-3x) and also not locked, but they stole mine instead. Either they already knew what to do and felt comfortable, or this is part of a larger conspiracy because our boats are so popular and sell so easily.

I have a lot to think about for the next boat including what type of boating, where to boat, where to store and how to secure. Most of the devices I've seen are no match for a mini-grinder provided 2-3 minutes alone. Removing the tongue pin and taking the thing home would have worked amazingly well! That thought never occurred to me. I wish I had hid a couple Apple AirTags on board and set up a GeoFence. Knowing me, I would have been tempted to track it myself and that's a recipe for disaster.

I'm slowly coming around to the idea that the Boating Gods are telling me it's past due time to Upgrade and I now have a sympathy card to get a purchase past the "Executive Review Board".

So now you will be able to have DW II.

Tracking your boat yourself and confronting the thieves yourself is an absolute RX for disaster. Not that the bastards would get their comeuppance, but because you being in the right would be prosecuted for being in the right.

Part of my ritual each time I park my boat is to remove the swing tongue pin and fold it back, locking it back is an even better idea. But, as you say not much can stand in the way of a mini grinder with a cut off wheel. But you know what the mini grinder does? It makes a lot of noise.

So as you surmise, the boating gods are telling its time to upgrade!

The basics questions are as you said;
-What are you going to use the boat for?
-How many people are going to go out with you? (be honest with yourself here)
-Where are you going to use the boat? (If it was me and I lived by the ocean I’d be seriously thinking about a GW/BW/Everglades/Pursuit etc.. something in the fear no evil category for big water and off shore adventures and maybe overnighting with the “executive board”) Have you ever thought about doing some or all of the Great Loop? Look up the Trent Severn Waterway…

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

I have GPS trackers I got on Amazon for $25. $100 for the year for 10 minute updates. Worth every penny.

The trailer tongue pin is a good idea. Also it is a good idea to upgrade to the ARK trailer jack with the removable trailer jack handle. A boot like they use in NYC would work wonders too.

At the end of the day, if they want your boat they will take it. But if your the hardest boat to steal - odds are they will move for an easier target.

 

[zpaul]

That is a bummer!
Agree with others - look on a bright side and get a new boat.

Now I am considering getting AirTags at minimum with geo fencing.

What others are using for GPS trackers?

 

[drewkaree]

Part of my ritual each time I park my boat is to remove the swing tongue pin and fold it back, locking it back is an even better idea. But, as you say not much can stand in the way of a mini grinder with a cut off wheel. But you know what the mini grinder does? It makes a lot of noise.

I have GPS trackers I got on Amazon for $25. $100 for the year for 10 minute updates. Worth every penny.

The trailer tongue pin is a good idea. Also it is a good idea to upgrade to the ARK trailer jack with the removable trailer jack handle. A boot like they use in NYC would work wonders too.

At the end of the day, if they want your boat they will take it. But if your the hardest boat to steal - odds are they will move for an easier target.

Now that you have this experience under your belt, this can be used for an even better experience with your new boat, and these two points by @FSH 210 Sport & @adrianp89 are great to consider. To go along with @FSH 210 Sport's idea of pulling the swing tongue pin, locking it back isn't necessary, just throw a padlock through the empty hole where the pin was. Like @adrianp89 says, a determined thief WILL get what they want, but the harder you make it, the more likely they are to move on to the person who HASN'T had your experience.

Pull the pin, throw a simple lock in the hole, add a tongue lock, if you wish, buy or create a removable trailer jack handle, and when you're done for the day, I believe lowering it as far as possible is the better route so you would need to lift the trailer up to get it on a hitch if they ever get that far, but others may prefer as high as possible. I do have the ARK trailer jack that @adrianp89 is talking about, and I can raise it higher than any typical tow vehicle is set up for, but higher still seems less secure to me.

If you want a boot for the tire, I have one in case I'm headed somewhere I might want to use it, @HangOutdoors has one as well, IIRC...these are all little PITA's for thieves to make your new boat look like the one that simply won't be worth the trouble to try this again.

What kind of boat are you contemplating for your new ride?

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

That is a bummer!
Agree with others - look on a bright side and get a new boat.

Now I am considering getting AirTags at minimum with geo fencing.

What others are using for GPS trackers?

Amazon.com

 

[Thermobrett]

I have GPS trackers I got on Amazon for $25. $100 for the year for 10 minute updates. Worth every penny.

The trailer tongue pin is a good idea. Also it is a good idea to upgrade to the ARK trailer jack with the removable trailer jack handle. A boot like they use in NYC would work wonders too.

At the end of the day, if they want your boat they will take it. But if your the hardest boat to steal - odds are they will move for an easier target.

I have a trailer pin lock and also a trailer tongue lock that locks the tongue latch closed. IMO, it’s double redundant and may deter the thieves. If they really want it, they will still take it. My boat is not common in the area so it would be easily identifiable

 

[Julian]

Bummer big time....but I've often wondered about many of these boat storage lots and how easy it would be to just drive in and hook up a boat and drive off.

Multiple locks and remove the pin from the swing away hitch might dissuade them from your boat to an easier target.

 

[tpspeier]

This situation really stinks. Folks trying to do the right thing spend way too much time dealing with criminals who just make life difficult.

As for tracking, I use this product on our Waverunners and boat:

https://landairsea.com/products/landairsea-54

I originally bought these for safety purposes. Our kids and guests often take the Waverunners out on the lake which covers about 35 miles with several coves and creeks. I bought these to be able to track someone in the event they ran into trouble and didn't get home at the expected/reasonable time (cell service around the lake is very spotty). Years ago, one of our neighbors' teens had their jet ski break down on him when he was out riding and they had no idea where he was at sunset and he wasn't back. We helped look for him -- eventually found the ski moored to a dock and the people there were nice enough to drive him home. Since then, I wanted to be able to track our in case something happened.

I spent a lot of time looking into options and picked this one. I wanted something that could be hard wired to the battery, is waterproof, has decent app support, and doesn't cost a ton for service (OBD2-based GPS trackers for cars are far cheaper than these devices).

We have shore power on our boathouse so we are able to keep all of our watercraft on chargers, but there have been times when the Waverunners have sat unplugged for a couple weeks with the LandAirSea device set for 3-minute updates and neither the device's battery nor the Waverunner battery was drained. The device has a power savings feature in that it won't upload to the Cloud if the unit hasn't moved, so that saves a lot of energy.

We've been please with the device going on about two years now.