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Dock / Lift Security


Levi900RR

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Hey All,

I'm moving this week. Across town to a neibourghood that has a "private" beach. I will be able to put in a dock / covered boat lift. The beach is about 1/4 mile walk from my house and down a pretty good size bank. None of the houses has a direct line of sight to the beach.

There is not a ton of action down there but I am a little worried about people using / wrecking the dock and boat.

Any ideas of how to keep the boat safe? Or is it even worth keeping it down there? The ramp is about a 2 mile drive. I like the idea of walking down and cranking the boat in for an early morning set or a sundown cruise without having to deal with trailering etc... BUT I also dont want to be worrying about the boat all day and night.

Thanks!

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Well, for starters, you need a golf cart:

Then, I'd say you need you need to remove all gear nightly...but that's easy, cuz you just load it all up on the golf cart. Pack up boards, vests, ropes, etc. You should be able to devise a simple lock system for the wheel on the lift to keep it from cranking the boat down. Remove stereo faceplate, and install a lock on the storage lid behind the spotters seat. Cover the boat each night. You should be good!

A lot of people have your type of set up, and the biggest things are batteries and stereo's (and gear) that comes up missing. Your other concern will be knuckleheads shooting off fireworks at night and ambers putting little holes in your canopy.

I used to life on the lake, but now it's our second house, and the boat is unattended on a lift for a week or two at a time. So I've been thinking of this stuff too, and will be taking similar measures. I will also be installing a sub soon, and am toying with a simple way to make that removable will all the other gear.

post-8942-070962100 1297776531_thumb.jpg

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Well, for starters, you need a golf cart:

Then, I'd say you need you need to remove all gear nightly...but that's easy, cuz you just load it all up on the golf cart. Pack up boards, vests, ropes, etc. You should be able to devise a simple lock system for the wheel on the lift to keep it from cranking the boat down. Remove stereo faceplate, and install a lock on the storage lid behind the spotters seat. Cover the boat each night. You should be good!

A lot of people have your type of set up, and the biggest things are batteries and stereo's (and gear) that comes up missing. Your other concern will be knuckleheads shooting off fireworks at night and ambers putting little holes in your canopy.

I used to life on the lake, but now it's our second house, and the boat is unattended on a lift for a week or two at a time. So I've been thinking of this stuff too, and will be taking similar measures. I will also be installing a sub soon, and am toying with a simple way to make that removable will all the other gear.

Excelent tips, I was thinking about installing a big lockable dock box for less desirable items like life vests etc...

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Excelent tips, I was thinking about installing a big lockable dock box for less desirable items like life vests etc...

Yeah I have one of those too, mostly for kid toys. Life vests will get nasty in there.

If you are getting a covered lift, you still want to put your boat cover on too, if you don't mind spending the extra time. I can't tell you how many times I've seen (from my living room) guys fishing, and cast to drop the lure right next to the lift, only to have it go inside my boat. Then their first thought is "Oh S***", and they quickly yank it back out. Also keeping it covered is another good theft deterrent, instead of someone seeing your set up. And lastly you'll be surprised at how filthy a boat gets left uncovered, even though you have a canopy.

Congrats on the new place, and have fun moving! Make a party out of it and it goes a whole lot better. 2 guys inside the house with shoes off, a couple guys outside with shoes on bringing stuff to the door, the women inside telling you what goes where, someone ordering pizza & handing out beers.

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Yeah I have one of those too, mostly for kid toys. Life vests will get nasty in there.

If you are getting a covered lift, you still want to put your boat cover on too, if you don't mind spending the extra time. I can't tell you how many times I've seen (from my living room) guys fishing, and cast to drop the lure right next to the lift, only to have it go inside my boat. Then their first thought is "Oh S***", and they quickly yank it back out. Also keeping it covered is another good theft deterrent, instead of someone seeing your set up. And lastly you'll be surprised at how filthy a boat gets left uncovered, even though you have a canopy.

Congrats on the new place, and have fun moving! Make a party out of it and it goes a whole lot better. 2 guys inside the house with shoes off, a couple guys outside with shoes on bringing stuff to the door, the women inside telling you what goes where, someone ordering pizza & handing out beers.

Im trying to make it fun... In the end it will be great, right now I I dont know how but my closing ended up this Thursday, its a little harded to get buddies to help during the week. I have a few hard cores that will be helping / drinking :rofl:

I totally plan on using the Evo under the canopy. I was trying to figure out a way to add a small lock to the cover just to make it that much harder to get into the boat.

Im also thinking about having sides made for the lift so I can lock zippers.

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I've been thinking of adding a motion sensor light, that I can turn off in some discrete location for the nights I am hanging out, but have it active all other times. Wonder if the light would come on all the time because of water motion from wakes/wind ?

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Lock the cover? If someone wants in, they'll get in - don't make them have to cut your nice evo cover to do it.

-Chris

I agree. I had a convertible Triumph TR7, and a Fiat Spyder, and a Jeep CJ-7 soft top. I never locked the doors, cuz I figured if I did not only would the stuff inside be stolen either way, but I'd also have a top to fix.

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I have kept my boats moored at a private beach for the last 12 or 13 yrs. I remove anything of value, foils, my personal ski gear, stereo faceplate, etc. I lock up a few things in the rear, extra vests, swimming noodles, bumpers, etc. And leave towels, boat blankets, spot light, anchor & batteries under the seats. Never had a problem.... even when other boats on the dock were cleaned out.

I do have a bicycle lock & will lock my SkySkis to the tower if we're going somewhere & will be back later.

I've debated on a motion light. The HOA we currently live in has tried it, but they just get broken out at some point. I've also thought about a webcam of some kind. It's a about a hundred yards from the beach to the nearest house with wifi so it is possible.

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I have kept my boats moored at a private beach for the last 12 or 13 yrs. I remove anything of value, foils, my personal ski gear, stereo faceplate, etc. I lock up a few things in the rear, extra vests, swimming noodles, bumpers, etc. And leave towels, boat blankets, spot light, anchor & batteries under the seats. Never had a problem.... even when other boats on the dock were cleaned out.

I do have a bicycle lock & will lock my SkySkis to the tower if we're going somewhere & will be back later.

I've debated on a motion light. The HOA we currently live in has tried it, but they just get broken out at some point. I've also thought about a webcam of some kind. It's a about a hundred yards from the beach to the nearest house with wifi so it is possible.

I like that webcam thing... I was also thinking game camera. When something walks in front of it, snaps a pic. Battery operated.

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I like that webcam thing... I was also thinking game camera. When something walks in front of it, snaps a pic. Battery operated.

If you can silent the "shudder" noise, and make it use something other than a flash (night vision? Infrared?), then it could work. Otherwise, I'd be willing to bet a game camera would be found & destroyed. A webcam could be installed up high, out of sight, with a full view of the slips. The issue will be recognizing anyone in the image. Resolution in the dark is not going to be great. Might just be good enough to warn you that you need to go down there to scare them off.

We have 16 slips on our dock now days, at least 4 or 5 of which are used by neighbors like myself who own pretty nice boats. We kinda look out for each other & call each other if we see anything out of the ordinary, eg; prowlers, loose mooring lines, covers pooling up, etc.

Oh yea, and the golf cart is an absolute necessity. I have an old Marathon like MB's too. Has a gear basket, SkySki rack, & paddleboard rack on it. Working on upgrading the engine & suspension now..... slowly turning it into an ATV. :crazy:

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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Not sure if it's possible, but I always thought the perfect on the lake solution would be a dry dock with some sort of sliding trailer set-up that would allow you to crank the boat up into a small garage built on the shore. Most places probably wouldn't allow you to build a garage on the shore unless it's your lot.

You could always cancel your closing and go with this place. Thumbup.gif

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Not sure if it's possible, but I always thought the perfect on the lake solution would be a dry dock with some sort of sliding trailer set-up that would allow you to crank the boat up into a small garage built on the shore. Most places probably wouldn't allow you to build a garage on the shore unless it's your lot.

You could always cancel your closing and go with this place. Thumbup.gif

Yeah, I dont think they will let me build a shed on the beach :crazy: It would be cool though...

I think Im just gonna go with the covered boatlift with some canvas / sunbrella sides and hope for the best. Ill lock the lift in the upmost position and remove anything too valuable.

I also going to add a hidden battery shutoff so not just anyone can start / jump start the boat.

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Yeah, I dont think they will let me build a shed on the beach :crazy: It would be cool though...

I think Im just gonna go with the covered boatlift with some canvas / sunbrella sides and hope for the best. Ill lock the lift in the upmost position and remove anything too valuable.

I also going to add a hidden battery shutoff so not just anyone can start / jump start the boat.

That sounds like a good plan. I'm jealous. I wish i could home from work and just walk down to the boat for a set. Cry.gif

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That sounds like a good plan. I'm jealous. I wish i could home from work and just walk down to the boat for a set. Cry.gif

I'm pretty excited, this is as close to lake front as I will ever get. Unless the powerball comes through!

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It definitely takes a lot of the work out of using the boat. We have shared waterfront now, 53 homes that share a 300' private beach, docks, ramp, etc. There are like 5 or 6 neighborhoods like it on our lake with similar access, some with docks, some with a beach, some with a ramp, but it's rare to have it all. Our house is like 2 blocks from the water.

The last place I had was a condo on Lake Sammamish. 83 owners that shared a 300' private beach, docks, ramp, etc. My place was about a block up the hill.

Shared waterfront is the bomb. Home values are usually similar to homes without private access, and you don't pay property tax on the waterfront (ours is setup as a "not for profit"). It's not unusual for us to go hit the boat to just booze cruise around the lake for dinner, or maybe take a 30 min ride..... definitely not something I do when the boat isn't sitting on the water, ready to ride. We have been known to get a set in over the lunch break or before work too. :yahoo:

As for building on the shore, the county doesn't allow us to do ANYTHING within 50' of the high water mark, not even plant grass (although ours is a sandy beach so it doesn't really matter). But a boat house would be out of the question. There are places around though, some use old railroad track rails & the boat is kept on a dolly. Their usually older places that are grandfathered in. And a lot of times their too small for a 98" wide boat with a tower on it. Occasionally the state or county will attempt to "inspire" the homeowner to remove the old rusty rails from the water somehow (reduce their taxes or something). I always thought it would be stupid simple to use a trailer as a dolly, and maybe a winch to put it in & out. Instead of rails, you'd just pave the ramp down to the water. I saw a waterfront house with a drive thru garage setup like this some time ago.

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There are two excellent watersports areas in Columbus. They are both on the Scioto River where it is dammed up for the raw water intakes for the water treatment plants. There are a lot of really good wakeboarders and skiers on the water, and almost every boat is a MALIBU!!! :clap:

I have been dreaming of finding something on the water, but the riverfront housing is out of reach for most people including myself. A decent house (around 2,000 sf) will go for between $400,000 and $500,000 all day long, and these are the smaller houses!

For those of you who are on nice lakes that are close to where you work are lucky!! There aren't too many NICE lakes in Ohio, most are 8 feet deep on average and are LOADED with I/O's tubing all day long :Doh: We make do with what we have though!

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I am on the lake and can see the lift it still won't stop the theft. The problem on the lake are few and far between. The two times I know of the boats hit were hit from a small boat on the lake. Not from people on docks or walking. I also take my big buck items off the boat if I am not using them. I also cover my boat on the covered lift. It keeps the boat clean and I think slows theft. Way to many boats that are much easier to get into. I also crank it as hi as I can so you can not see in it and its hard to get into. It does get easy after time. I keep everything insured and sleep well.

P.S. you can't beat a boat on a lift!!!!!

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It definitely takes a lot of the work out of using the boat. We have shared waterfront now, 53 homes that share a 300' private beach, docks, ramp, etc. There are like 5 or 6 neighborhoods like it on our lake with similar access, some with docks, some with a beach, some with a ramp, but it's rare to have it all. Our house is like 2 blocks from the water.

The last place I had was a condo on Lake Sammamish. 83 owners that shared a 300' private beach, docks, ramp, etc. My place was about a block up the hill.

Shared waterfront is the bomb. Home values are usually similar to homes without private access, and you don't pay property tax on the waterfront (ours is setup as a "not for profit"). It's not unusual for us to go hit the boat to just booze cruise around the lake for dinner, or maybe take a 30 min ride..... definitely not something I do when the boat isn't sitting on the water, ready to ride. We have been known to get a set in over the lunch break or before work too. :yahoo:

As for building on the shore, the county doesn't allow us to do ANYTHING within 50' of the high water mark, not even plant grass (although ours is a sandy beach so it doesn't really matter). But a boat house would be out of the question. There are places around though, some use old railroad track rails & the boat is kept on a dolly. Their usually older places that are grandfathered in. And a lot of times their too small for a 98" wide boat with a tower on it. Occasionally the state or county will attempt to "inspire" the homeowner to remove the old rusty rails from the water somehow (reduce their taxes or something). I always thought it would be stupid simple to use a trailer as a dolly, and maybe a winch to put it in & out. Instead of rails, you'd just pave the ramp down to the water. I saw a waterfront house with a drive thru garage setup like this some time ago.

That's exactly what I was thinking if I ever got some sort of lakeside property. You could even use you existing trailer and have a door on the non-lake side to back up to and tow it out at the end of the season. Thumbup.gif

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Yeah, I dont think they will let me build a shed on the beach :crazy: It would be cool though...

I think Im just gonna go with the covered boatlift with some canvas / sunbrella sides and hope for the best. Ill lock the lift in the upmost position and remove anything too valuable.

I also going to add a hidden battery shutoff so not just anyone can start / jump start the boat.

A couple of other thoughts are a really loud motion sensor or IR sensor that will go off if someone gets in your boat. If it's loud enough you would hear it from the house, or your neighbors would, and also potentially scare someone off before they went to town. Obviously getting the right set up is important to limit or eliminate false alarms. The other alternative is a silent alarm, but then you better be quick to the dock.

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My situation is a little different ... I live right on the lake and for me with was worth the piece of mind to put in a Viper alarm and it works well on the lift as well as when I have the boat in the driveway. Would you be able to hear the alarm where you live? If you had false alarm work it tick off your neighbors?

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My situation is a little different ... I live right on the lake and for me with was worth the piece of mind to put in a Viper alarm and it works well on the lift as well as when I have the boat in the driveway. Would you be able to hear the alarm where you live? If you had false alarm work it tick off your neighbors?

Here is a pic of where the house is and where the boat will sit. Its quite a ways... I have been looking for an alarm that would shoot me a txt message if it went off.

post-7837-091488000 1297861519_thumb.jpg

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The nice thing about having a lift is you will do some sets on the water, then come in and put the boat on the lift and crank it up just high enough so it's out of the water. Takes 30 seconds. I do this a LOT. With the boathouse and rails, it's not so easy. Then you can hang out and listen to the radio, grab some chow/beers on the dock, swim a little, kids play in the sand, etc. And all that time your boat is out of the water and not getting dirty or bounced around. Someone will run the golf cart back to the house for some supplies (salsa/dry towels/potty break), then come back in 20 minutes hang around for a bit, then back out you go.

You're gonna love it! You will probably find that you put fewer hours on the boat, but they will be quality hours.

Edited by Michigan boarder
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I think you are spending a little too much time worrying about this. Weather you live on the lake 50ft from your boat or 5 miles from your boat the boat is always vulnerable when you are not home. The best advice that I have and several others have given is to leave nothing in the boat and keep it covered. We live on the lake and still empty our boat every time we use it. The advantage of doing so I it also helps keep your boat fresh and dry as there will not be a bunch of wet gear and lifejackets to mold up. I also choose to not lock the storage compartment that houses my amps because I would rather replace a $400 amp than have my upholstery destroyed by someone trying to tear it open.

Also, better than any alarm, get to know the retired people that live lakeside near where you'll keep your boat. Ask them to keep an eye on it for you. I can tell you that they'd love to keep an eye on it for you, they have nothing else to do.

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