Personal security on board

[Boatsb]

In the 80's off the bahamas we fired a shot as warning. Small boat approaches without lights and a bunch of people on board. ddint let them get close enough to see how many but the idea was to keep them away and avoid the confrontation.

10 ga is loud by the way

 

[rwappleton]

Just to be clear We are trained and I am a firearms instructor. We do have a plan just like the MOB drill I am sure you did last week.

As for the other things I am a sissy when it comes to weather where I might need those things. I plan far enough ahead so as not to get caught out in it. Been out here almost 40 years and have not been caught yet (key word).

Yes I do wear my PFD unless I am at the dock or on the hook.

I have two blow boat friends who have been robbed at gunpoint. Both in the Bahamas. One in the
last 5 years. They prefer single boats in secluded coves. It does not happen often but it DOES happen.

I have been approached and when I was visible to them with a weapon (not threatening them) they left and did not come back. Coincidence maybe but I think not.

Peter asked for opinions. I gave him mine. If yours differs please let Peter know.

 

[Vincentc]

I am pro choice regarding your decision to be armed or not.
I chose a 20ga "youth model" pump which stows easily aboard, and works well shooting skeet off the cabin top.

I have also had good luck hitting wasps at 20ft plus with aerosol wasp killer. I wonder how wasp spray to the face of an intruder would would work for supplemental security?

Regards

 

[luckydave215]

I have had the experience of person or persons unknown climbing aboard the boat at night in a crowded well lit marina. We have a theft problem in San Diego, the thieves get around the locked marina gates by using paddle boards or surfboards.
They sure run fast when they hear the unmistakeable sound inside the boat of the action being worked on a 12 gauge pump.....firing isn't required

 

[saltshaker]

Can anyone cite an incident in the past 10 years where a cruising boat needed firearms on board in the areas contemplated? It has never occurred to me to have a gun on board for defensive reasons. I am comfortable with guns, enjoy them for sport, but I don't duck hunt or skeet shoot off my Hatt. Like Woody Hayes (or was it Darryl Royal?) said about passing the football and why he avoided it. Guns in the hands of people who are not well trained and practiced... there are three things that can happen and two of them are bad.

I take it you armed and dangerous folks wear a PFD and a helmet all the time you are on board? Do you have jacklines installed and harnesses? Much, MUCH more likely you will die or be injured for lack of having one of those on. It's funny how people obsess about trying to protect themselves against issues with an infinitesimal chance of happening, and only marginally mitigating (if not exacerbating) those issues at that.

One man's opinion.

I'm not a big fan of guns but I'm less a fan of being vulnerable. One of my closest friends spends 9-10 months a year cruising. He spends a lot of time cruising between Fl and Turks and Caicos. He has told me of a few instances when he needed to pull out his shotgun to make it known that he was armed. Each instance involved a suspicious boat that was approaching or following him after altering course more than once. Each time the suspect boat veered off after getting close enough to take a look. I've also heard of others who've had similar or worse experiences. I'd prefer to not be in a situation that required the use of a firearm just like I'd prefer not to need to use any of my fire and safety equipment on board. For either emergency, you need to be prepared to protect you boat and more importantly, your crew and passengers.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

The Mossberg Mariner is an excellent choice. It comes with an 18.5" barrel and a pistol grip and its all stainless. Perfect 12ga for the boat.

 

[MikeP]

When we're on the boat there is a 12Ga Mossberg Mariner on the boat. When we're not; it's not. IMO a short (but legal length) pump shotgun is the best defensive weapon around.

FWIW - Per a cop friend the shotgun should NOT have a pistol grip in lieu of a standard stock for "first impression" reasons re law enforcement should you actually have to use it. The pistol grip option makes you look more like someone who "wants" to use the gun instead of someone who was simply trying to protect self/family!

 

[Canuck Dennis]

Us non residents are not allowed firearms in the US, so I bought a 1700 ft/sec air rifle with scope, looks real mean from 50 ft away and would inflict real pain between the eyes...never have had it out of the closet.

 

[OBXTucker]

I just picked this up earlier in the week. It's my new Signaling Device.

 

[OBXTucker]

Re: Personal security

12 gauge flare pistol with 00 shotgun shell works very well at close range. SO doesn't see it as a gun.

Once you modify a flare gun with a Round designed to inflict bodily harm, the flare gun becomes a destructive device (DD) in the eyes of the ATF. And one will have to modify a modern day flare pistol. 12 gauge ammo doesn't fit.

That said, you've lost your mind to even consider firing 00 Buck out of any flare gun. It will fire once...maybe twice. But it WILL explode on you! Check the web....

 

[Pascal]

"I have two blow boat friends who have been robbed at gunpoint. Both in the Bahamas. One in the
last 5 years. They prefer single boats in secluded coves. It does not happen often but it DOES happen."

Where in the Bahamas?

 

[holtcl]

This is part of my security system. He's on "deck patrol."

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[the kuz]

When we first started cruising the east coast and Chesapeake we were not comfortable anchoring alone in isolated areas. I would take along a Remminton 12 GA pump with #2 magnums and a few "pumpkin balls" for longer ranges. Never needed them in 30 plus years and now rarely carry firearms on board. Wife qualified "expert" with service 45, and is quite comfortable with handguns, but I agree with those who say that the unmistakable sound of pump shotgun chambering a round is a very effective detterent - plus it is a weapon "visitors" can see from a distance.

Like the issue of firearms as home protection, it depends on where you. Some locations you can sleep well with your doors unlocked. Others you need to worry about home intruders and protect yourself with strong doors/deadbolts, home secrity systems/alarms and firearms. We check out crime stats as part of any long cruise planning to unknown areas, and ask locals (marina staffs, etc.) about any trouble spots to avoid when anchoring or walking about ashore. We get more warnings than you might expect.

That said, if we were to cruise Carribean and/or anywhere near Mexico/Central America, we would travel well armed at least until we got a good sence of where it is safe and where it may not be safe. But that is just our caution until we learn more - you should use the advice of the forum members who have spent a lot of time at those OCONUS destinations. Best rule as far as I'm concerned is to travel with other boats and avoid known problem areas. We go through that same thought process when selecting cruising stops/marinas in the US as well. Very few stops in CONUS that I would be concerned about now that we have cruised most of the east coast.

My 2 cents. Bob K

 

[magnawake]

A friend of mine was boarded in the middle of the night at the down town Wilmington, NC city dock. It's a place with lots of activity (night life), restuarants, bars, things to do. My friend pulled his gun and yelled at the guy "stop or I'll shoot". The guy promptly stumbled off the boat. Turns out, he was just drunk. But, what was he gonna do once on board? I can see this turning bad quickly. You never know what a drunk will do. At least this ended up with no loss of life. I guess the statement " stop or I'll shoot" got his attention.

 

[rwappleton]

Pascal,

The exact location escapes me and I know this is a large area but the best I can do is between Cat and Staniel. My personal encounter was more than 10 years ago and was within 20 miles north of Staniel. North of Markus's place. Is he still there?

I was on a 27' John Allmand. I spent alot of time in those waters from the late 70's to 2000 on several different boats.

Russ Appleton

 

[rwappleton]

I used to fly owners into Staniel often. Been there in a Falcon 50. Love them Falcon's!!!!

 

[Avenger]

Buy the 12 ga. Mossberg and tell the admiral it's a flare gun. I'm sure she'll be comfortable with having a flare gun onboard. Easy Peasy.

 

[Angela]

Can anyone cite an incident in the past 10 years where a cruising boat needed firearms on board in the areas contemplated?

I suspect the crew of the Joe Cool (I think was the name) out of Miami Beach would have wanted to have been armed the day they were executed on the boat just a few years ago. That situation wasn't a traditional "pirate" event, but rather they were hijacked by the charterers who then executed them at sea and stole the boat, so they were already unknowingly in deep doo-doo before they left the dock. While I don't know whether there were arms on the boat or not, but if there weren't any, then they really had no chance of survival. At the same time, having arms on the boat would not necessarily guaranteed their survival, but they might would have had a change and gone down fighting/firing instead. Point is - yes, there is that very kind of bad stuff around here.

 

[Canuck Dennis]

So here is a conundrum here at our Marina in downtown Vancouver we had a break in at the Marina office late one evening I stepped outside our boat with a 12ga flare gun, pointed it at the guy with the computer in his hands and told him, stop or I will fire, he calmly looked at me and just walked on up the ramp and into the darkness , if that happened in the US, would he have been shot ?

 

[dottieshusband]

I want to ditto the Rossi Circuit Judge in stainless as being the perfect weapon aboard. It's bright and highly visable, fires a variety of 410 loads, including flare, and 45's. With a 5 cylinder revolving chamber, you can load a light pellet, slug, 2 45's, and a flare, without having to reload. Very reasonably priced..my second choice would be a winchester 870 in chrome, or if you a fellow ex military type, you can't beat dancing with the one the one that you brung... Current bad press not withstanding.