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islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4018 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/08/2018 : 14:02:20

Went to the boat today to start getting her ready for a May 2nd launch date. I wanted to replace the fuel and water lines on my 97 Honda. I was there last weekend just to check things but the weather here just won't warm up. I walked to the back of the boat and guess what, That's right NO ENGINE!!! The bastards got me. AUGG! Now I have been leaving it on the boat for the past 4 winters without a problem because that Honda is very heavy and i'm not getting any younger. I had 2 heavy chains with locks and a bar lock across the clamps but I guess that was no match for bolt cutters. Once again I can only blame myself. The Marina doesn't provide security and they state that in the contract. I could call Progressive but really what are they going to give me for a 97 (21yr old) motor, A few hundred? Then increase my premium? So to soothe my self blame I just ordered a brand new 2018 TOHATSU 9.8 HP MFS9.8BEFUL 25" shaft with electric start from Online outboards. At 92lbs it will be going home for the winter. Also it is an upgrade for me to have the 25" shaft over the Honda's 20" and the electric start so now the first mate can actually start it unlike the pull start on the Honda. Close to a thousand less than the comparable Honda. https://onlineoutboards.com/tohatsu-9-8-hp-outboards/tohatsu-9-8-hp-mfs9-8beful-outboard-motor-4805.html

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Bladeswell
Captain

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USA
490 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2018 : 14:14:09

Hi Scott,

Sorry for your loss. I guess it could happen to any of us at any time. You just never know. My 9.9 4 stroke has electric start but unless the engine has already been recently running and warmed up it won't start. I have deep cycle wet cell batteries and I am pretty sure that is the issue for me. So I would say look into dual purpose or better batteries unless you already have them. Maybe even a separate ,"Starting" battery. Good luck.

Bladeswell

C25 TR FK Hull #973 1979 L-Dinette. So.Cal.

C25BC
Navigator

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Canada
206 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2018 : 15:53:44

That's something that's on my mind evertime I head out to the marina , left mine out for the first winter this year . Sorry to hear about the theft , congrats on the new motor.

Angus
S.V.Tempus
#4748
1984 Catalina 25 SK/SR/Trad.

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

Members Avatar

USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2018 : 16:33:58

A straight deep cycle battery can provide more than enough amps to start our little outboards, usually about 35.. Don't lose the advantage of a true deep cycle for a dual purpose that is only necessary for big V-6 and V-8 engines. Difficult starting is usually overcome with a disassembly and cleaning of the carb and new plugs.

Dave B. aboard Pearl
1982 TR/SK/Trad. #3399
Lake Erie/Florida Panhandle

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2018 : 16:40:33

Nice way to soothe yourself! I'm not too worried about my Honda being lifted off... The more likely loss would be the big stainless prop.

Enjoy your new luxury kicker!

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4018 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2018 : 17:12:10

quote:
A straight deep cycle battery can provide more than enough amps to start our little outboards,

I agree Dave, Have you seen the size of a motorcycle battery? And they are starting 50-60 hp and with larger starter motors. I have one group 31 deep cycle, A short burst of 30 amps isn't going to hurt it, I hope. I guess I could always add another if needed but prefer not to. See how it goes.

quote:
Nice way to soothe yourself!

Yea Dave, Turns a sour day a little sweeter

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5358 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2018 : 17:28:31

Scott, I am really, really sorry to hear that. We get lulled into trusting human nature believing most people are honest, but all it takes is one jerk to ruin your day. I�m always worried about mine too, so at least I remove the prop.
My new marina has security cameras so if you needed to inspect the footage you could. Does your place have anything like that? Did you look on Craig�s List to see if any are suddenly for sale? I might not call my insurance but I�d definitely report it to the police and call your local TV news to let them know. They might just run the story.
Good luck with the new engine.

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Erik Cornelison
Navigator

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USA
194 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2018 : 17:46:44

Scott, sorrry about the theft.

Here's an outboard lock I just bought, has good reviews. Remember you can only slow them down....hopefully this slows them enough they go somewhere else.

http://rowkraft.com/shop/stazo-smartlock/

Erik Cornelison
6th Generation Professional Sailor, First Gen Submarine Sailor.
1986 Standard Rig SW. #5234

islander
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4018 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2018 : 17:55:23

Bruce, The fist thing I did was check Craigslist LI,NYC Westchester. Nothing. My son in-law is a Suffolk cop. He said that it would just be reported as minor theft, Not much of a priority. The marina does have some cameras but they might not be working in the area the boat is in due to a bulkhead replacement project. Also sitting and viewing a week's worth of footage would take days to do and if I got lucky with the video would it show a readable license plate that they didn't cover or would one of the pieces of construction equipment be blocking it. Although I would love to get my hands on them I don't know if it would be worth the effort. Wife just brought up a point, How would I show proof that it was my outboard if I did confront them. The motor came with the boat. Motors don't have registrations with my name and a VIN number for proof of ownership and since I didn't buy it new I don't have a bill of sale with my name and model/make # on it. Nothing to really prove that it is my motor.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Edited by - islander on 04/08/2018 18:16:28

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2018 : 19:35:56

There's a serial number--on the bill of sale for the motor and on the motor itself. If you didn't get the former from the seller, well...
But a better protection might be to paint the cowling visible orange. (Then you check for buyers of a new one.) But what would you do if you "got your hands on them"? It was probably two guys to lift it off... Good luck with them. Enjoy your new one and consider the whole thing a gift to your mate.

And Bruce, your little aluminum prop is worth a few bucks... My prop, in dollars, would be more like stealing your mainsail. But at least my motor isn't going anywhere!

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 04/08/2018 19:43:21

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3442 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2018 : 03:26:12

Scott,
Sorry regarding your stolen outboard. As others said, that is a concern that many of us have every time we go down to the boat and take a look to see if the outboard and everything else is still there. On a positive note, it was 21 years old and many have changed out their outboards before then, so you can just look at it as the timing for an upgrade, though, no one wants the decision made for them before they are ready. You also are still ahead of your launch date and so no impact there, at least for now.

One of the things I would consider, while it is common practice that a marina would not be responsible to safeguard against theft, there are some things that they do and you can do now that this has happened. Many thefts happen, waterside, with the theft occurring from the thief approaching in his boat and usually goes after easiest prey which would be boats that are furthest away from human life forms but I guess this occurred before your boat was launched for the season and many marinas allow free access to the boats in the yard. Still, it is a good time to look over the situation. Obviously, taking the outboard home for the season would be the easiest deterrent but if keeping the boat onboard, are there locations that would be potentially safer for winter storage - in the same yard or a different yard ?

For boats in the water, we do not have a lot of theft or very little that I hear of but of what I have heard of has been things like portable fuel tanks and I believe one outboard. These occurred on boats that were along the outer edge of our marina, adjacent to the outer main dock that is easiest access for visiting boats. Also, a very quiet area during mid-winter when less boaters come down to their boat. So, as tempting as it is to have a dock adjacent to the outer perimeter of the marina, I have not located there for because of easier thefts occurring from that location.

I always thought that perhaps utilizing a cover on a new outboard would provide two benefits, protecting the cowling finish from UV rays and also making a new outboard somewhat less visible and not stick out as a likely theft target. However, someone going to the trouble of going after your 21 year old outboard with chains and a channel lock on the handles......what hope do we have from an a potential theft ?

Larry
'89 Robin's Nest#5820, Potomac River/Quantico, Va
http://catalina25.homestead.com/olarryr.html

Edited by - OLarryR on 04/09/2018 03:27:09

islander
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4018 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2018 : 05:15:20

quote:
But a better protection might be to paint the cowling visible orange.

I more or less did. When I bought the boat the cowling paint wasn't in great shape so I repainted it then applied new decals that aren't Honda originals. Got them off of E-Bay so they are different. Mine now had a colored " Four" on the sides. Honda originals are just black. It also doesn't have the big 9.9 on the back but instead says Honda. Most people wouldn't know the difference in less it was pointed out. You can just see the colored FOUR in this photo. Oh yea it had a canvas cover on it so they got that too. If you have a channel lock over the clamps well this video shows how quick they get by that.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxPYvYgKdWY

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Edited by - islander on 04/09/2018 07:27:32

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2018 : 08:28:38

There is a lot of variety in motor locks. Heavier, two part systems are best, regardless of whether they have a recessed end lock or a central threaded lock cylinder. I have had both. I have also had both corrode corrode and require cutting off. A little pair of snips will not suffice. I ended up using a Dremel and a half dozen heavy duty cutting wheels. My larger grinder wouldn't fit in the space. $9.99 at Walmart isn't worth the time to put it on.

Dave B. aboard Pearl
1982 TR/SK/Trad. #3399
Lake Erie/Florida Panhandle

dasreboot
Admiral

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804 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2018 : 11:29:54

get a police report done. it is tax deductible next year.

Todd Lewis
Eowyn 87 TR/WK C25 #5656
ARWEN 84 TR/SK C25 #4031
www.mainsailsailingschool.com

bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1773 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2018 : 14:05:37

Scott:

Sorry for your loss. A concern at any yard, winter and summer -- and not much that anyone can do to be totally prepared against a thief. On the brighter side you will love your Tohatsu -- the shaft length and it is light, quiet engine. I remove mine each winter and at 92 lbs. it may seem heavy, but it's a lot lighter than the competition! It should hopefully last yo another 21 years!

Peter Bigelow
C-25 TR/FK #2092 Limerick
Rowayton, Ct
Port Captain: Rowayton/Norwalk/Darien CT

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2018 : 15:05:17

Sorry for the loss, Scott. I wish I had a 25" shaft

motor. I have a 1991 2-stroke. I hadn't ever thought about it being 27 years old until your post.

Seth
"Outlier" 1987 Catalina 25 SR/SK/Traditional Interior #5541
"Zoo" 1977 Morgan Out Island 30
"Nomad" 1980 Prindle 16
"Lost" 1988 Catalina Capri 14.2 (sold - yay!)
"Marine Tex 1" Unknown Origin POS 8' Fiberglass Dinghy
https://whichsailboat.com/2014/07/27/catalina-25-review/

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4018 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2018 : 08:55:16

quote:
My prop, in dollars, would be more like stealing your mainsail. But at least my motor isn't going anywhere!

Dave, I've been doing some research on motor theft and how to deter it the best you can. It seems that on the larger motors like yours we are thinking to small. They don't just take the props when its just a few bolts to take the entire lower unit.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

islander
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4018 Posts

Response Posted - 05/02/2018 : 06:00:06

Just a little update and my efforts to deter motor theft. New Tohatsu 9.8 is mounted, Wired up and test run. First impression is Nice motor! Best bang for the buck. 4 guage wire with a 60amp fuse is a safe bet for the electric start and charge circuit. Much lighter than the Honda so Putting it on and removal at the end of the season is very doable. Installed 4 lines of defense against theft. Heavy duty SS clamp lock, Through bolted the motor to the mount with 2 Bolt locks on both sides and heavy chain and lock. About the best I can do. The boat gets launched today so I will remove the chain but the other locks can stay.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5358 Posts

Response Posted - 05/02/2018 : 08:55:12

A top notch installation as usual. Best looking boat in the marina!

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

Members Avatar

814 Posts

Response Posted - 05/03/2018 : 16:33:29

Scott, as always, your boat looks fantastic! Nice job on the secure install.

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