Don’t Let Thieves Steal Away with Your Recreational ‘Toys’
(ARA) - Anticipating a leisurely Sunday afternoon sail with his friend Jeff McCutcheon, Bob Boyhan was not pleased when he arrived at the Lido Isle marina in Southern California to find an empty boat slip instead of the 25-foot Cal sailboat he was expecting.

“It hadn’t even crossed our minds that someone would steal the boat, not with million-dollar yachts parked next to it. With a brand new, 9 1/2-horsepower outboard motor, it was only worth $5,000 to $6,000,” Boyhan says.

The brand-new Yamaha engine was what the thieves wanted. Police found the slightly damaged boat the following day, minus the engine. There was $3,000 in damage to the boat; the $2,400 engine was gone.

Boyhan’s tale is not unusual. In a 2001 survey by the Oregon State Marine Board, 2,979 board owners reported incidents of outboard motor theft in the preceding three years -- twice the 1,528 respondents who reported a stolen craft.

More recently, in January 2004, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reported that consumers lose an average of 775 watercraft each month, at a cost of more than $40 million per year. Detachable outboard motors “should be chained and locked to the boat,” the report advises. It also suggests equipping your watercraft with an alarm.

Boats aren’t the only recreational “toys” targeted by thieves. So are RVs, campers, boats, personal watercraft, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. The problem has become so widespread in Canada that last year the Royal Canadian Mounted Police created “the Recreational Products Theft Section” to combat what it describes as an epidemic.

James Cooper, CEO of Ultimate Security Systems Corp. (USSC), which manufactures and markets the Power Lock anti-theft device for trucks and automobiles, reports that one of his distributors in West Canada recently lost a bevy of ATVs and snowmobiles when thieves broke into one of his retail stores.

That theft, along with queries from manufacturers and other Power Lock customers, prompted USSC to design special versions of its anti-theft products for motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and watercraft. Power Lock attaches permanently to a vehicle’s starter motor and cannot be circumvented by cutting and jumping ignition wires, the “hot wiring” technique typically used by professional thieves.

“We’re reacting to what customers want,” Cooper says. ”We’ve had a tremendous amount of interest from Western Europe for a product appropriate for motorcycles.” ATVs and snowmobiles were added to the mix after the Canadian distributor called to ask whether Power Lock would work on those vehicles.

“Engineering something specifically for bikes and ATVs took some time,” Cooper recalls. “You have to take factors such as vibrations, different starter configurations and different current loads into account.” After one customer power-washed a motorcycle, flooding the system, USSC redesigned the device to waterproof the control module. Watercraft required still more modifications, including marine compliant cabling for all data lines and a special coating treatment for the patented solenoid module to protect the critical components from salt water. “There are environmental issues to consider with vehicles such as boats and bikes,” Cooper says. “The components are more exposed. It’s not like a car where the engine is safely protected under the hood.”

Cooper adds, “Based on what we’re hearing from customers, recreational vehicles are extremely vulnerable to thieves. It pays to look into a security system that will allow you to enjoy your ‘toys’ to the fullest this summer.”

For more information, contact USSC, 2082 Michelson Drive, Suite 100, Irvine, Calif. 92612; (800) 689-8004, or visit www.powerlock.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content