Boat Sabotage - ever had it?

[TREVELLY]

Strangest thing happened today - doing a little work on the boat to get it ready for an outing next weekend.

I noticed bungs were in and they usually aren't when parked. I tried to undo them and they were stuck - so I used large pliers to remove them.

Three compartments each separate had 50 to 100 litres of water in each and the bungs were glued in place.

The glue did not totally set in the thread so I could force the bungs out. What glue that had leaked out was solid and what was inside was jelly - it looked like Araldite - my guess.

No idea where it happened Wife is adamant it did not happen in location stored at home and only other place it has been was an overnight stay for 150hour service and expect it stored overnight within the workshop - will confirm with them tomorrow.

Hope the fuel is good. :(

[netmaker]

hey trev,
maybe you should dump that fuel just in case?

[TREVELLY]

Recon I will drain it and run it though one of those water trap funnels at the very least - but then again once it is in the motor.

Can't get at the fuel filler while stored at home with full covers on but if it happened at service place - no covers.

No happy - especially when you don't know what else could have happened.

[Jarrah Jack]

Very strange thing to do and probably premeditated seeing they would need the glue.

[NAGG]

why would someone do that ? - yes I've seen / heard things happen at ramps ..... pins removed from towbar lugs - hitches removed ....... even wheel nuts ( suffered that one) - malicious damage!
But this is something else ...... very strange

Chris

[dodgyone]

I'm guilty of a bit of saboutage particularly during fishing comps. Quite a few crews have discovered bananas stashed on board throughout the day.

[Steeler]

only when i bought my first and last Johnyrude.

[albey]

WTFs this world coming to?
Check your battery cells?
Bait tank overflow?
Lets know if you find out anything Trev.

[LittleSkipper]

Downright dangerous & plain stupid to be tampering with another persons property. Especially when it's peoples lives at risk.

[Sheik]

mate about 2 years ago I had both tyres and the spare on my boat punctured with either a knife or screwdriver while the boat was in the carport. We've put a fence in since then and Honey the Wonderdog, about 30kilos of ridgeback cross, should sort out any b#$@ tard who tries somethign like that again. Her favourite trick at the moment is letting the optus/telstra/meter readers in through the front gate with a wagging tail and then bailing them up once they're inside. Very funny although I don't think they see the humour!

[Feral]

I'm guilty of a bit of saboutage particularly during fishing comps. Quite a few crews have discovered bananas stashed on board throughout the day.

Might have been involved in a bit of that sort of skullduggery myself! ;)

Bloody poor form what these bludgers have done though.

[mal555]

A strange thing to happen Trevelly?!

The loosening of wheel nuts seem to be the most common and bloody dangerous way of tampering, and has happened to me a few years ago.
Got 20 K's down the road at night and the wheel stud holes were slogged out and the studs themselves were eroded away to half their normal diameter.
Another bloke wasn't so lucky after the same tampering on a single axel trailer, and lost the jetski into the ditch on the roadside. Luckily it didn't go the other way and collide with a car going in the opposite direction.

The b@st@rds need stringing up! I never leave a public ramp anymore without going around with the wheel brace to check the nuts.

[johncar]

It seems like a prank that some guys seem to think is funny, and I hope that is all is was and nothing malicious. I sleep better at night with the baby locked up in the shed and I won't leave my boat anywhere without assurances that it is locked and secured inside a building and even then it's a last resort if I can't take it home at night. For servicing etc I insist that I will be picking it up before they close up, no over night stays unless absolutely necessary.
Too may freaks out there just busting to destroy what we have worked hard for and care for.

Hope there are no more nasty issues to find Trevelly..

[TREVELLY]

Well it did kinda stuff up a good night of sleep as I dwelled on what else could have been done.

This morning I checked in the back of the boat hull to see if the wires were cut on the bilge - but no the bilge still worked.

I also looked onboard to see if any other places were filled and plugged shut, but the kill tank was all good. I will have a casual look under front bunks before next weekend, but recon they didn't climb onboard.

Anyway this week in the arvo I will syphon the fuel out through a water trap funnel into jerry cans. The fuel will not go back into boat regardless. If it looks clear then daughter gets lucky and scores about 100 litres for her mazda 323 cuz it isn't going into SWMBOs Rav either. If there is any sign of contamination I will dump it and just let you guys know if anything shows up through this week.

Hopefully only the bung issue - who ever did it would have to bring along a hose (if it was done at home) as well as the glue to do the job and fill the compartments through the bung hole as two compartments are otherwise completely sealed. I have a tap nearby but no hose.

I am going to install a security camera with motion sensor now.

Would like to have the option to have "honey the wonder dog" these are a great deterant.

Wheel nuts all seem good.

I think they were just hoping I launched the boat and it went straight to the bottom.

[cormorant]

Another wheelnut victim here. 2 removed either side - I don't get it? Now use a dab of nailpolish on them so I can see if they have been tampered with sort of like heavy vehicles use with the nut arrows.

Is the hull foam filled with polystyrene? When fuel touchs Pollystyrene it goes to a jellylike glue and hardens later. Any chance there was fuel in the bilge melting the styrene? I am never amazed by what I have seen in bilges over the years.

If it has been glued I just can't undestand what they were trying to achieve. Hope it was a genuine error at the shop??

[TREVELLY]

Cormorant the hull is not foam filled - empty aluminium welded plate hull.

Absolutely no doubt it was glue - what was inside the hull cap was jelly, what was outside solid resin and there was a heap of soft crumbly resin in the thread that I managed to remove with screw driver and electric wire brush on drill. I have enough experience with araldite to recon it was that too.

I do have lock nuts on all the wheels but that only guarantees one nut stays tight. The varnish is a good visual check. I recon I might use same for fuel cap - I am not thrilled with losing $150 worth of fuel - daughter doesn't mind though - if it is okay on inspection.

[Stuart]

A mates boat is left in the front yard and the house has no front fence or gate as most new houses do these days. He gets one mourning to go for a fish and finds some "A" hole has written all over his white gel coated cat with a black permanent marker pen. He spent days trying to get rid of the mess but it only faded it a bit. Once this crap is in the Gel coat thats it baby.

Stu

[Steve B]

My first ever trip to NT, in the mid 90's, we camped at browns crossing on Daly River, and got to the campground around 9pm. We set up a fair way away from other camps, and started a quiet generator behind a tree away from everyone (unfortunately we had to use it to re-cool fridges/freezers after 12 hours straight without power)

Next day we put the boat on the water...very nervous about crocs being my first time. About 20 min in, the skipper reckons the boat is sluggish, wont get out of the hole. Checked under the deck, and we were filling with water. headed into ramp as fast as we could (by now couldn't plane)....pulled the boat out....and someone had drilled about 1/4 inch hole in the hull during the night.

Some nice nomads met us at the ramp...they were coming to find us on the water, because one of the other campers (apparently NT locals) told them "Those boys will have a suprise soon after they get on the water for starting the generator last night"....thankfully out of concern, they wanted to find us, and let us know. The culprits had packed up and left before we could find them. Unfortunatley, the nice nomads didn't realise the magnatude of the 'suprise' and didn't get number plates of the #######s.

Cheers Steve

PS for the record, yes its annoying when gennys go at night...if we could have avoided it we would have...and we went and appologised to the other 6 or so camps...none even realised it was running.

[indy]

That would have to be the weirdest thing i have ever heard trev, don't no why someone would wont to do that only thing i could thing of that maybe you have upset someone some how but still very very weird.

[Blusta]

Came home one night from fishing and my boat wouldn't load properly. Put boat back in water and checked trailer. Some .... had bent a steel bar that holds a slide bar for my tinny to rest on back at 90 degrees so it was pointing into the sky and couldn't lay horizontally. Now these holders are solid steel bars about 2 cm each side of the square section. I don't know how it was done. Crow Bar? May be someone used a bull bar to push it? Now I do a trailer walk around before loading the boat. Small minds of small people.

[Angla]

Eggs are a bitch to get of gel coat too. One of my neighbours doesn't like it when I park in on the road for a bit. Must have lots of eggs too.

Hope the bung and water is the only inconvenience you got

Cheers
Chris

[TREVELLY]

Hi Pete, I hear what you are saying - but for our street it is a quiet dead end where everyone gets on well, kids play in the street.

I have taken several of the guys out fishing and we all watch out for each other here.

We do have some more remote people walking by on their way to the park - I recon we are looking at quite possibly some older kids just jealous.

This is assuming it was done at our house and not at the boat service place.

Anyway - will fit cameras and hopefully it will just fade away over time.

Steve - sinking in a croc river - oooooh - that gives you shivers.

Permanently marking gelcoat on a boat too with obscenities - I have half expected kids to egg the boat - daughters car was egged once after a teenagers party other end of street - yes small minds. The boat cover i think helps keep the boat safe in many ways.

I did plan the house to have access to back yard for boat when i built - but got it wrong - pool took more space than initially thought.

[mustang5]

I dunno.... Dont see there point in what they did..

Nobody at the shop accidently decided to have the "wrong" hull pressure tested or anything like that did they???

How anyone would have the nerve to fill a boat and glue the bungs in is beyond me. The time it would have taken would deter anyone from the thought surely???

[cormorant]

Cormorant the hull is not foam filled - empty aluminium welded plate hull.

Absolutely no doubt it was glue - what was inside the hull cap was jelly, what was outside solid resin and there was a heap of soft crumbly resin in the thread that I managed to remove with screw driver and electric wire brush on drill. I have enough experience with araldite to recon it was that too.

I do have lock nuts on all the wheels but that only guarantees one nut stays tight. The varnish is a good visual check. I recon I might use same for fuel cap - I am not thrilled with losing $150 worth of fuel - daughter doesn't mind though - if it is okay on inspection.


Yeah - I was sort of thinking someone helpful may have put a couple of liters of fuel in a rot holder and then filled up the water tank in the other rod holder ha ha. Pretty sad quality of vandals these days who can't even mix araldite so it will cure!!!::) Still doesn't make sense. Hope a innocent explaination comes to light.

As for those grafitti markers ( they have no other use in life) call the local council or graffiti removers as they have wipes that have pretty strong solvents. Warning it can spread it as much as remove it. Some of the smash repairers and paintless dent removal guys have em as well as it is a common vandal attack on cars. Shannon lush always has the low down on different dyes and solvents used in th better marker pens. Polish and seal after teh solvent evaporates.

Have seen many smart and dumb things done to disable boats but don't really want to detail them as it will be a vandals guide of how to screw up someones property and cause a nightmare.

There are plenty of cheap self contained motion activated infared cameras that are tiny now avaliable and can be mounted anywhere outward facing window, even in the rear window looking at trailer at the ramp to at least see who these idiots are. Couple of more fancy ones which can dial mobile an even send a "snap" when triggered so you can tell if it is a pigeon or a mongrel around your property - cheap to run as they just take a $10 a month sim card.

As a joke we have done some classics - 6 blokes lifting mates trailer onto his basket roofrack when he is out, revenge for me coming back to find my trailer still hitched up but upturned. Big difference to a prank carefully done to vandalism and pretty obvious so you don't exactly drive off. Funny thing is at the ramp doing those no other person came over to ask what was going on!!!!!:o Thankfully a truce was called.

Penalty does not fit the crime and touchig a minor if you catch em is a definate no no. We locally had a grafitti issue - used a camera and caught the darlings on film 4 times including mumsys car. Police wern't interested so we took it to several headmasters till we got one who recognised the students. Strange the parents reaction ( just a one off- not my kid) until they realised the video existed and if they didn't fix up their kids so we were happy then it would affect their private schooling and police would take action via a headmaster who was well pissed especially when we said we would put photos direct into the paper. Soft parents are half the problem.

[TREVELLY]

The boat place say no chance at their place as during the day too obvious and at night locked inside where there is no hose anyway - then no opportunity and no one has reason too in their employment. We spoke of it in good terms as information sharing not accusing anyone.

That means someone at our house would have to be there for probably about 20 minutes and bring glue and bring a hose with rags to seal it at the bungs. A first for this street - won't happen again unseen.

Weird yes.

Perhaps young simple minds thinking it would sink at launch and wouldn't that be funny.

Can't think of any vendetar.

Security camera is going in!

[lucee81]

Yeah - I was sort of thinking someone helpful may have put a couple of liters of fuel in a rot holder and then filled up the water tank in the other rod holdsr ha ha.

As for those grafitti markers ( they have no other use in life) call the local council or graffiti removers as they have wipes that have pretty strong solvents. Warning it can spread it as much as remove it. Some of the smash repairers and paintless dent removal guys have em as well as it is a common vandal attachk on cars.


There are 2 options to remove the marker paint/pen the first being a wipe from swarfega (was suprega) these remove paint from your hands and should not affect the gel coat but stil lremove the marks and also a Timbermate product called Graffiti off (this is a non caustic product) and does not affect the colour bond fences so it should also not affect the gel coat or colour of your boat.
If your a looking for something a bit more aggressive we used to use brake cleaner and this does clean off graffiti pretty quickly but may cause some damage to your boat.. It is good for other uses like wood fences etc..

Lucas

[Dignity]

They are bloody mongrels, I wish I could use stronger terms, not enough artificial reefs out there yet I reckon. I have suffered from the hitch pin removed from the tow ball hitch, gouges in the gel coat and cigarette lighters used on the gelcoat, I have moved from that location and things are better now except for the low lifes who tried to get in through the back door over the weekend. Lots of wasted time by me, the police and repairers and the insurers.

[Fed]

Rain water or salt water, go and fix your leaks Trev.