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Stolen Kayaks

AlphaEcho

Paddler
Joined
Jan 24, 2010
Messages
190
Location
Quadra Island, BC
Please help me find my stolen kayaks.

Stolen April 2 from underground parking in Surrey, two kayaks. My brother's Necky and my Nimbus.

Necky Zoar Sport: white, black trim, roto-mold plastic from around 2011 (approx 15' boat) - Arc'teryx, NRS, and MEC stickers

Nimbus Lootas: red deck, white hull, black trim, kevlar and gelcoat from 2006 (18' 7") - keel strip, black patch on bow from repair, SKABC and BCMT stickers

My boat had 2 greenland paddles (which I made) on the deck and my Werner 2pc inside.

Please contact me if you see either of these posted for sale. I can also provide more photos if needed.

IMG_20180211_143000.jpg IMG_20180512_162616872.jpg
 
If there is a patch of bush or back alleys around you might want to check the locale .Thieves sometimes stash things not far from the crime site especially if they were on foot.
 
You wouldn’t have happened to record the serial number anywhere? The glass boats I’ve owned have the number inscribed in the deck and the Mariners have a sticker on the inside. If someone were to buy those boats and found either of those serial numbers disturbed, it would raise and eyebrow.
 
I have serials for both boats. I have posted my boats as stolen on Craigslist, Kijiji, and FB Marketplace. My ads have been reposted a number of places as well by paddling friends. I appreciate all the support from the community. It will make it that much harder for the thieves to make anything back from their effort. Even if my brother and I don't get our boats back, I hope it discourages future boat theft.

I got a tip my boats were spotted in Langley, so no dice for local bushes.

I know the thieves are aware of my ads because they called my cell, asked for a reward, and then hung up when I tried to arrange for a meet.

 
The glass boats I’ve owned have the number inscribed in the deck and the Mariners have a sticker on the inside. If someone were to buy those boats and found either of those serial numbers disturbed, it would raise and eyebrow.
The H.I.N. (Hull Identification Number) is supposed to be marked on the starboard side of the hull, aft. On Mariners, it's usually just below the seam tape a few inches from the stern. It's not very obvious, since it was scribed by hand but it is there. On some other glass boats it looks like the HIN was marked on a strip that was in the mold when the gelcoat was sprayed, so easier to see.
The HIN seems to be a NorthAmerican requirement; I had trouble getting a serial number out of NDK for a Romany we bought.
BTW Mariners usually had the HIN also written in large letters under the forward deck.

I hope AE finds those stolen boats!
 
Long ago in the hazy days of my youth, I worked at Western Canoeing (& Kayaking) in Abbotsford, BC. One of jobs assigned to me was to do the monthly inventory check of our stock. It was a LOT of boats: canoes, ww kayaks, sea kayaks, etc. I soon became familiar with the locations of the HINs and the coding systems they used.

For the record, boats manufactured here in North America will have a serial (or HIN) engraved, plated, or stamped on the stern. It can be either port cheek or starboard. It depends on the manufacturer. This fact is known and thieves will remove the serials if they can. To combat this, some boat builders will have an alternate location for the serial that is hidden or difficult to access and grind off. I know where the serials are for my Nimbus, but that's only because I asked. You should ask your boat builder where they have theirs -- or failing that, sharpie it yourself on the bulkhead behind your seat.

Do not post those locations here. (Some) thieves know how to read.
 
Can someone explain to me the business behind kayak theft? I can think of a bunch of things that would be easier to steal and resell than an 18’ fiberglass boat that will only attract limited interest in what is already a slow market.

Unless someone is stealing them in large numbers and shipping them by container to some distant locale where they won’t be noticed, I can’t see how it would make sense. Even then, I can’t see this business as scalable to justify moving the boats around much. I must be missing something...anyone?
 
@AM - I'm with you on that.

This is the key issue that is burning my shorts. There's just no margin in it. Can you imagine a kayak chop shop somewhere? No, I can't. Can you imagine a transport truck stuffed with stolen kayaks headed .. where? Oregon? Wisconsin? Maine? That's taking coal to a coal mine. Anywhere there's decent water to paddle, there's already a community there.

And now, under COVID-19 restrictions, who is buying boats???

Ugh. Just ugh.
 
Personally, it wouldn't make me feel any better to know that a kayak stolen from me was part of a bustling marketplace.

I think people overestimate the level of planning involved in most thefts. Probably more like "look!..kayaks..not locked...they cost a lot...let's take 'em...."
 
If I remember correct I have read this same crime report on this blog some years back - different location - different boats - same type of location in an open car parking.
If the thief really did called you, get the police involved. Your phone should have a record of the phone number that called.
Even try a reverse phone look up service.
The greater scam might not be your Kayak - watch for other scams now that somebody has your phone number.
maybe some form of : send me money and I will send back more money blah blah ---- Don't trust and any phone call or letter you get in the next year.
Keep up the pressure. Make then wish they never stole your Kayak.

Roy
 
I know the thieves are aware of my ads because they called my cell, asked for a reward, and then hung up when I tried to arrange for a meet.
Was this call a response from one of your 'stolen boats' ads?
It's entirely possible that it was just scammers, not the thieves..unless they offered some details not posted in the ad.
A phone number (778.....6) was posted in your ads.

Let us know how it goes with the police. My experience has been that the police aren't interested in investigating property crimes. If they find your boats 'by accident' they will get them back to you.
 
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In case it wasn't stated earlier, there was a truck stolen at the same time. From the security video, it appears the kayaks were grabbed opportunistically.

Yes, the caller indicated they had see the ad. I was trying to get them to confirm they had the boats while they were asking for money. Then they hung up. The phone number was marked No Caller ID, which means there's no option to call them back or trace the number myself. I'm sure if this was a more serious crime, the police might be able to get a warrant to get the cell service provider to give up the phone number. That's not going to happen.

As you say, property crime is not going to register with the police unless it's part of a larger pattern (car thieves and chop shops) or it's your insurance company applying pressure towards recovering stuff rather than pay out.

At best, what will happen is that some honest person, not in the community, will buy one of these boats. Then someone in the community will spot my boat or my brother's boat on the water and let that person know the boat was stolen.

Right now, these boats are a liability and a headache. Storing boats is a pain in the ass, even for legitimate owners. The thieves are going to try to get some value for their effort, sooner than later, or give up and dump them somewhere.
 
Stolen boats follow-up -- so thanks to an honest guy, I RECOVERED my brother's Necky today. You'll see in the photo below, right next to it, my old TRAK kayak, which was 'partially' stolen. They stole the 'skin', parts of the frame, and my float bags. They then sold the package to a guy in White Rock as "a hard shell kayak and an inflatable." His daughter smelled a rat and found my ad on Craigslist (see below), and they found me.

So, my brother is happy to get his boat back. I'm glad I got the pieces of my TRAK back, as I had already promised it to my son.

Still looking for my Nimbus. If you spot it posted anywhere, please let me know. I added a photo of the bow repair so it's clear this isn't a boat that will be easily missed.

 

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