Personal Protection while on the hook

K

KDawg

New Member
Apr 9, 2010
17
Maryland, Chesapeake Bay
Boat Info
1999 240 Sundancer
Engines
5.7 EFI w/Alpha Gen 2
We recently purchased a 240 Sundancer and plan on spending nights on the hook and in marinas. We will mostly be around the Kent Island area but could end up anywhere from Chesapeake Beach up to the Sassafrass.
Would like to know if you guys up in this area carry personal protection (handgun) while spending the night on your boat and if anyone has had any threatening situations.
Thanks
 
Personally I do not carry. I have three kids. I would need to keep the gun with trigger lock here, clip there, key for the trigger lock somewhere else. Even doing this there is that chance of an accident.

Now let’s say a bad guy was trying to board our boat. I would need to say “Hey, can you give me a moment as I find the key for my trigger lock, get my gun, go get the clip and put it together.” Then if he has a gun I run the risk of a gun battle.

If the area is looking not family friendly / dangerous I’d leave the area early.
Normally there are two types of situations.

#1) People are drinking / being stupid and the situation deteriorates over a few hours. You can avoid this by leaving early when things start going downhill and loose that “I’ll show them” or “I have as much of a right to be here and say what I want as they do” attitude. Get your family out of this situation.

#2) A traditional robbery. This robber wants stuff. If there is action going on like lights on, obvious signs of people around and no obvious valuables sitting in sight they tend to move onto the next target most of the time. So keep lights on, leave low / no value things sitting out so it’s obvious people are onboard and put away things like that laptop / I-touch / camera / purse / bottles of liquor / etc.

#3) If you feel you need onboard defense I would suggest a fish bat or baseball bat.
 
Thanks
I read that thread yesterday. I was more curious about the local area. Seems that most of those posts were around Florida if I remember.
 
A Kahr K-9 works for me. Keep it in a water-tight Pelican case with several extra loaded clips. It's hid pretty well...... You never know, and then it's too late........
 
How many of you guys buy a lottery ticket?

You know the odds are strongly against you, but you buy a lottery ticket anyway hoping that you will hit the jackpot.

Well, the odds are against you in getting a violent encounter, buy one day you just may hit that lottery. Rule 1 in a gunfight: "Bring a gun".

I'm a huge fan of education when it comes to firearms, especially with children. Before my children could walk I was teaching them the Eddie Eagle rules about firearms: "Stop. Don't Touch. Leave The Area. Tell an adult". We moved on to Cooper's Rules when they were older. By demystifying guns at an early age and letting them check out my firearms whenever they wanted (under my direct supervision) my kids see firearms as just another tool.
 
Presentation said:
You can avoid this by leaving early when things start going downhill and loose that “I’ll show them” or “I have as much of a right to be here and say what I want as they do” attitude. Get your family out of this situation.
Click to expand...

IMHO, this is some of the best advice I've seen on this site.
 
I have been boating on the mid bay area for years and have never had any issues that would require using deadly force. common sense goes a long way and most of the time, if you make good decisions where you anchor out, you will never have a problem. I have not and do not know anyone who has ever had a problem anchoring out. the bigger danger is drunk boaters not paying attention to where they are going.
Central chesapeake area has proven to be a wonderful place for family getaways.
 
Ship Shape TV did a show on arming yourself on the water that aired this past week. The host, John Greviskis, was shown coming out of his little center console cuddy with his hat on backwards and holding a marinized shotgun, ready to shoot at pirates.

I thought it looked quite laughable.

That being said, if I was doing extended cruising outside of US or Canadian waters, I'd want to be armed too.

But, I still think Presentation's comments are the smartest advice on staying safe.
 
Very true. Although I'm not trying to open up this debate...

But if you happen to see the episode I mentioned, tell me it doesn't look comical...
 
thanks 33ec,
I have been boating around the Oxford, St. Michaels and Kent Island area since the 1970's also. My experience was always fishing on my center console Mako and never done any over nighting on the water. We just bought this 240 SD and are really enjoying it so far and are about ready to start doing over nights. Read on another thread about all the problems people have had elsewhere. Glad to hear things are pretty calm around our area.
 
I had a gentlemen try to get on our boat. No gun on board and my thought was I could easily beat him to the cooler and spray him with ketchup and mustard! The mustard in the eyes is kind of painful! My wife and daughter have mace now so we could easily throw those little bottles and hit him in the head after the mace runs out!
 
Carrying a gun is a lifestyle not to be taken casually, like boating. Do not carry a gun unless you have the permit, are capable and practiced in using it, and your family understands and respects the role of the gun in the household. If you have kids you need to educate your children in gun safety and even take them to the range to shoot and understand the consequences and power of the weapon. There should never be an allure or mystique about the gun. It should be considered a tool for the use of one who earns the right to carry it.

I carry every day. I have a variety of concealed handguns, holsters, and a case full of long guns. My family is used to my carry and still unable to spot my concealed weapon. Nobody knows I have a gun or two on me, but my family would be surprised if I don't have one (because I always do). When I boat, a gun is on the boat. Why wouldn't it be?
 
In my 30 years of cruising I have not had any trouble. Not even a remote reason to have a gun on board. That being said and since my good luck could have changed or may change at any time. My gun of choice is the Smith and Wesson 44 magnum with hollow point loads. If things are bad enough to pull a gun then you need to be ready to use it. If you must use the gun then you need one with stopping power.
 
I like two points I read in this thread.
One: The house has dangerous things that can hurt kids. Poison, drugs, matches, knives, power tools, among other things. You can hide the dangerous stuff from the kids and try to never expose them to dangerous "things" or you can educate your kids about these things, because at some point they will be exposed to them. Which is better?

Two: My boat never sank or even took on any water. I don't know a single person who had a boat that sank. I have not ever witnessed a sinking. But, I have 3 bilge pumps on my boat. Should I get rid of them?
 
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