I live in Minnesota and I run an Aire 15R6 raft that I normally keep inflated
on a trailer when not in use. Two weeks ago, I brought the trailer into the
industrial park where my company is officed to work on a floor repair. I
disconnected all of the straps holding the raft to the trailer, unzipped the
floor and removed the aircell. The folks at Aire graciously offered to repair
the floor (still under their 10 year warranty - now that is service). The floor
was packed and shipped off to Aire and everything was loosely placed back in
the raft until the repair was complete.

Coming into work last week, I cruised behind my building to check on the raft.
To my amazement, it was gone! Trailer and all. I was absolutely dumbfounded.
Who would steal such a thing? At first, you think it is a prank. Some buddy
who wants to get a rise out of you. Finally, the reality sinks in and you
realize it is just theft, pure and simple. I called the police and reported it
as stolen. And then the insurance company.

Listening to myself describing it to the officer, I begin to laugh. This thing
was a giant Blue Albatross. How would you move it? The trailer lights were in
a state of chronic repair, always attracting the potential police pull over.
When I drive it down the freeway on a outing, it looks ridiculous. Even on
the local waters, the beast sticks out like a sore thumb. Oversized and under
rivered. Not your everyday kind of boat. Stealing a raft would be like
stealing a hot air balloon. Where would you use it? Who would pilot the
craft? It made no sense. And anyone using it would be in for a real surprise
when they discovered it lacked a floor! At least a bucket boat is sealed.

The police did not offer to file a full theft report until I mentioned that
both the trailer and the boat were currently registered and licensed. I gave
them the Minnesota Watercraft ID number, but indicated that the decals were not
permanently attached to the raft because they did not stick well with the PVC
material. Correctly or not, I was informed that they did not need to be
attached - only registered - for a theft report to be filed.

And this is ironic part: I have always advocated boat registration. And used
the low theft/high recovery rates in to justify the cost. Cheap insurance.
Boats are simply not stolen here. Nearly every cabin in this state of 10,000+
lakes has a canoe and/or some other type of watercraft stored, most unattended
and unsecured. I own 7 registered watercraft, but the only one that has ever
been under lock and key was the raft, and that using only a trailer lock.
Maybe the trailer made it too attractive.

Property can be replaced. The real loss is getting clubbed by your own values
and losing a little more faith in humanity.


Epilogue:

The raft was recovered. The morons who stole it simply hooked up and drove off
without securing it to the trailer. On the first hard right turn, the raft must
have slipped off of the trailer, for at 3 am, the police were called to remove
a raft and trailer abandoned in the middle of an intersection less than a mile
away. The raft and trailer were already sitting in the impound lot when I
filed my theft report. After paying $150 dollars for towing, storage, and
administrative fees, I recovered my raft.

In one sense, I should feel lucky that the thieves who attempted to steal my
raft picked the wrong time to make off with it. If it had been secured to the
trailer, no telling where ts would be now. They appeared to be professionals
in that they did remove the trialer registration stickers. Something I would
have never thought of. I have to believe it was being observed before it was
taken.

The insurance company called back and offered only 1/3 of the replacement
value, mumbling something about high deductibles on both the trailer and the
raft. Makes you wonder if you shouldn't submit test cases to your insurance
company to quote on before you renew your policy.

I would be interested in reading about anyone elses experiences with theft -
especially those in involved in law enforcement and the insurance loss claims.














Blakely LaCroix
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
RBP Clique member # 86.

The best adventure is yet to come.

Blakely LaCroix wrote:

Coming into work last week, I cruised behind my building to check on the raft.
To my amazement, it was gone! Trailer and all.

Blakely, I'm glad you got it back.

My experience with theft, police and insurance companies is that
insuring something against theft that you can afford to replace out of
your own wallet doesn't make much sense.

I spent a long time dealing with several insurance companies when my car
and a car of my boss was broken into. Although I have yet to have a
boat stolen from me, I have calculated that the replacement value is
less than what is needed in energy to get a small fraction of that value
from the insurance. The fine print seems to be the worst part: oh, but
didn't you read article so and so where it clearly states that you need
to do so and so when you file the report. Doh!

I still keep my year around travel insurance, but I don't even bother
trying to insure anything in or on my car (the car and its occupants is
insured all risk though). I'll take out the radio and make sure I don't
have a new spare wheel, the kayaks I either stuff inside the car or I
lock them with steel cables to the bolted on roofrack rails. Besides, I
have them marked in several ways (including ingraving and paint-filling
my name and e-mail address in the deck, inside of the hull and under the
seat) and I tend to pick kayak models and colours that aren't that
common around here.

--
Wilko van den Bergh Wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.
http://wilko.webzone.ru/

Thieves have tried several times to steal my Wavesport Forplay c-1, twice
stopped by cables (they took the straps off, but didn't get the boat). Once I
dropped it at the putin, and went to park the car, and thieves were interupted
by other paddlers.

What idiot would steal a c-1? Even here in rural Montana I'm locking things up.

Dennis