GPS Tracker?

[dscsk8er55]

My story is -
I recently got my 07 Speedster 150 stolen. I have just got it back in my possesion and would like to do whatever i can to keep that from happening again. Turns out the boat was only ~10 miles away from my house almost the whole month and half that it was missing.

I wanted to put lojack on it but was informed that they don't offer it for boats but they did offer GPS tracking so that at least i could find it within a 10ft radius. So I though I would check with you guys and see if any of you use a GPS tracking device and which one.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[kustomkarl]

With a boat you need to prevent it from being taken in the first place...not track it down after it's gone. If a boat is stolen it would take any one with a living mind about 2 hours to strip your boat and sell the parts. It's best to do prevention rather find the bones later. Maybe a thick chain on the trailer or a lock for the garage...Don't waste your time on a GPS tracking for a boat, unless you want to find out where your navigating to.

Karl

 

[dscsk8er55]

With a boat you need to prevent it from being taken in the first place...not track it down after it's gone. If a boat is stolen it would take any one with a living mind about 2 hours to strip your boat and sell the parts. It's best to do prevention rather find the bones later. Maybe a thick chain on the trailer or a lock for the garage...Don't waste your time on a GPS tracking for a boat, unless you want to find out where your navigating to.

Karl

I understand what you are saying but I guess I got lucky. I had it stolen and gone for 45 days. Then they tried to move it to the Cayman Islands and got caught there. I would just like to have a bit more piece of mind.

 

[kustomkarl]

Try to think of you seadoo as a valuable item that can't be replaced. Then look at where you keep it, and figure what you can do to keep it secure. Give your surroundings a good look over and figure what it would take to get your hands on it if you were the thief...Then make some changes.

Karl

 

[tresvatos1]

I think that's a neat idea at anyy rate .. I 'll do some research to see whats available. what about those watches that parents can put on their kids. wouldn't that do the same thing as long as it was hidden and batteries are good.

 

[dscsk8er55]

I think that's a neat idea at anyy rate .. I 'll do some research to see whats available. what about those watches that parents can put on their kids. wouldn't that do the same thing as long as it was hidden and batteries are good.

There are a TON of them out there. Even some made for boats but I wanted to see if anyone had used any of them. They have cool stuff where they will send a SMS to your phone when it moves out of a given boundary that you setup online and stuff like that.

here is one with a 6month battery.

http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/covert-tracking-gps-battery.html

 

[timmyboy76]

insurance

thats cool and everything, but, what about hit'n up ur insurance provider. Have you done the math, to see what works better. A$00 buks for something they can still have enuf time, to do damage on, vs. replacing it/get'n it fixed with a minimal/not much, deductable...my 2 cents.:cheers:

 

[RichC]

Glad you got your boat back.
Do they hang thieves in the Caymans?

 

[seadoosnipe]

At&t.....?

You want the cheapest way out?.....

Get yourself a cell phone for you and your wife from AT&T. Then, when you come in and your going to be in for the weekend, hide one of those phones, with the ringer turned off of course, in a nice, inconspicous place of the boat. Then, if someone takes it, activate the AT&T GPS tracking.

Yep, AT&T now has GPS tracking available with their phones. I think it's an extra $5 or $10 bucks a month.

I know it's available, I just got it on my phone. Go to the website, you can read all about it. I also just read where Garmin and TomTom are getting a bit bummed because the stand alone GPS's are soon to be a thing of the past, since the cell phones use the same technology with the satellites that use the global positioning system............

 

[Cerberus]

There are a TON of them out there. Even some made for boats but I wanted to see if anyone had used any of them. They have cool stuff where they will send a SMS to your phone when it moves out of a given boundary that you setup online and stuff like that.

here is one with a 6month battery.

http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/covert-tracking-gps-battery.html

Watch that advertising swerve. That is Six months of STANDBY power and is 5 days continuous broadcast (according to c-net)

So to make this worth it, i think you would have to buy the case, a usb cable, drill a hole, insert usb cable. Epoxy the cable (for moisture resistance), mount the item somewhere in view of sky, run the usb to the boat power and make sure the battery does not run down. Doable but probably more work then you were thinking.

Cerb

 

[dscsk8er55]

Watch that advertising swerve. That is Six months of STANDBY power and is 5 days continuous broadcast (according to c-net)

So to make this worth it, i think you would have to buy the case, a usb cable, drill a hole, insert usb cable. Epoxy the cable (for moisture resistance), mount the item somewhere in view of sky, run the usb to the boat power and make sure the battery does not run down. Doable but probably more work then you were thinking.

Cerb

Good catch Cerb, I know it is a bit of work. I think I am just going to go with the route of stuff I have in hand. So I have a 2-way motorcycle alarm that I had on my ZX6R that I am going to install. It was tilt and proximity sensors. I just need something to deture I guess b/c if they get it again I know I won't be as lucky and it will most likely be stripped in no time. And I am not liking the 15-50 bucks a month for subscription on most of these things.

Thanks guys for the replies. I can't wait to get my registration to take the boat out again and put this like wakeskate machine to WORK!!!

 

[Mueller]

Take a look at Zoombak

I own a zoombak device, cost $99 and then about $12 a month for the service. It is a GPS locator with a web mapping tool. You can find it within about 15 feet. It can be hooked up permanently to a 12v car, so a boat is no different. If not permanently mounted, then is holds a charge for about three days. I actually move it betweem my car an my teenagers when I want to know where they are going. you can also set a perimeter and it will alert your cell if it moves beyond the border.

It can be purchased at Radio Shack and Bestbuy. It does work, less than lojack, and can be used for more than just the boat.

Or as was said before, buy a big chain, your choice.