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Posts: 8781
| Woke up about 2:00am to a sound I didn't recognize, sort of a muffled *FOOMP* kind of noise. When I heard it a second time I decided to investigate. As soon as I walked out of the bedroom I noticed that my living room was all lit up with this bright orange glow coming from outside. "HOLY $^#&ING #%^&!!"
That orange glow was coming from what was left of my buddy's Tuffy Rampage. Flames 20 feet in the air, everything from the bow to the transom was on fire. Called the fire department, and stupid as I am I did the next thing that came to mind -- ran outside, grabbed the hose, and started hosing. Needless to say, that did nothing except make more smoke and stink a lot. By the time the fire department was able to put the fire out there was nothing left except the hull.
It was then that we discovered that the kicker was missing, the transom saver was gone, and the skeg was resting on the driveway. There was only one bolt left holding the big motor on the transom.
We don't know if they torched it when they discovered they couldn't lift the big motor, or if the fire started when they cut the battery cable and the steering cables. On top of the boat being a total loss, my buddy's Tahoe (which was parked next to the boat) burned up too.
First week of June, no boat, no truck, all because some %^$&#&* decided its easier to steal stuff from someone else than it is to make an honest living...
Whoever it was obviously knew what they were doing, all the nuts, bolts, brackets and washers were gone. One more bolt and they'd have taken the big motor too.
I'm not a violent guy, but if I ever see that motor for sale, I'm going to buy it and use it to beat the guy who is selling it!
The moral of the story is never think your stuff is safe. We live in a nice neighborhood, we're 30 miles from the city. People don't lock their cars and they leave their doors open. Just goes to show it can happen anywhere.
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Posts: 434
Location: searchin for 50 | OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Posts: 691
Location: nationwide | WOWSER . . . .. unreal the ba!!s some people have.
Corey Meyer |
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Posts: 786
Location: Minnesota | That is why my entire property is wired with motion lights from every angle. A mouse can't enter my lot without half of my exterior lighting up like a Christmas tree. Was kind of anoying with animals at first but we just got better shades on the windows and now all is good.
Good luck with the insurance! I hope all goes well. |
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Posts: 1769
Location: Algonquin, ILL | I'm gald I keep my rig locked up in the Garage, Hope the Police find the Sphincters
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| Sorry to hear that Jeff, that really could have been much worse too if the fire had spread to the house. Stealing is one thing, but arson quite another |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I bet when they cut the cables, they shorted out the battery and flamed the rig. Thieves plain just suck. |
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Posts: 128
Location: ontario canada - Well Anderson Indiana now | Hey I'm sorry to hear about this, best of luck getting everything squared away. |
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Posts: 129
| what area are you from and what kind of motor was stolen? just in case they try to sell the kicker. |
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Posts: 8781
| We're in the SW suburbs of Chicago. I THINK this is it here: http://www.epinions.com/boat-Motors-All-Mariner_Four_Stroke_9_9 but I'd have to ask my buddy to be sure. I'm thinking now's probably not a good time to bring it up, though. |
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Posts: 1270
| That sucks! Not wanting to ru salt in a wound or anything but do you have any pictures? I have always wondered what a fiberglass boat looks like after a fire. |
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Posts: 8781
| "Dude, what are you doing?"
"I'm takin pictures of your boat so I can post 'em on the internet."
Somehow, I just don't see that going over very well right now... |
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| Which suburb, if you don't mind? |
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| Nice thing about insurance, now he can go out and get a new one...glad nobody got hurt.... |
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Posts: 814
| Sorry to hear about your buddy's loss man that sucks!!!!
Edited by mskyhntr 6/8/2007 9:53 PM
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Dang that sucks. |
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Posts: 367
Location: Chicago | Sorry to hear that. The one time I left my boat on the street before a trip I dont think I slept for more that 15 mins the whole night. Living in Chicago I have had plenty stolen. |
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Posts: 2112
Location: The Sportsman, home, or out on the water | Sucks butt, brother.
your buddy and you got a place in my boat whenever you need one, and anything that is not covered by insurance you can get at my discount through the shop, if that helps. best of luck to you guys. Jeff, you are a great guy, and your bud probably is too. let me know what i can do to help. |
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| I know big city cops usually have too much on their plate to worry about property crimes but did the police by chance check with the local ER's/Walkins? If they did start the fire accidentally there is the outside chance one of them got burned. |
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Posts: 108
Location: Crystal Lake,Illinois 60014 | Makes me sick to hear that!
I too live in a quiet burb, Im west of Chi-Town, but never do I once trust leaving my boat out.
I takes only 1 a**hole per city to do damage.
I wish all the best on moving forward with insurance claims etc... |
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Posts: 203
| esoxaddict you should probably get all the info you can and some pictures right now while it's in our minds.. The more people keeping an i out for the kicker and other stolen stuff, the quicker you get to beat some guy with a kicker motor. Just let your buddy know we all feel for his loss. I don't know what i'd do if I was boatless. goodluck
Bret |
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Posts: 117
| OMG THATS TRAGIC!!!best of luck in the future man... that story really makes me mad!!! i hope you think of some crafty ways of nailin the dude with that motor if you did find him sellin it!! It only takes one @$$ %$#@ to screw up things! |
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Posts: 3867
| "I'm not a violent guy, but if I ever see that motor for sale, I'm going to buy it and use it to beat the guy who is selling it!"
I appreciate your sense of humor about the deal, that's a funny line. But the rest of the story's a bummer. Here's a tale for you....
12 or so years ago, living on a small but developed lake in rural SW Michigan, we woke to find that thieves had somehow raided every fourth or fifth place (out of maybe 50 houses). The total amount, weight and mass of the stuff they stole was incredible. And they were thorough; they hit boats on the water, boats on driveways and stole stuff from garages. Again, I can't stress how much they stole. For example, about 15 small to medium (5-15hp) outboard motors were gone. Every single "recent-vintage" electric motor was gone, cables cut. A HUGE and complicated table-type saw was somehow silently lifted from a garage attached to the house. That big saw, alone, would not fit in an average pickup truck's bed. My boat lost big bass box, medium bass box, 4 rod/reel sets, electric motor, and the boat tool box. (They didn't want my old 18hp Evinrude.)
Now, here's the kicker to this story......about 3 years ago I met a girl who, it turns out, was dating one of the thieves at the time of the raid. And she told me everything. Here's the skinny...first, only three guys moved a zillion pounds of value a total of way too much distance in a single night. They used a heavy duty truck and a huge enclosed snowmobile trailer they stole the night before. They had fancy, silent dollies and they were fearless. Each guy carried a large-capacity semi-auto pistol. They made three trips between the lake and a local farm's great big pole barn where they stored the stuff for a few weeks. They stole a semi-truck to move everything at once from the pole barn to one guy who bought it all. The fence lived next to a big highway. Supported by a couple lookout vehicles with CB's, these guys actually drove the loaded semi off the highway shoulder, across the grass, thru a temp open area cut in the fence, thru the woods between the farm and the highway, accessing the farm property "from the back" and then, finnally into the fence's big barn. They sold the whole lot, everything they took, including the semi-truck, to this one dude. The three guys were never caught for that hiest, but two of the three are now serving long prison sentances for murdering a drug dealer woman (who wasn't suppose to be home when they hit her house for the drugs) and the third guy evaporated to who knows where.
What she told me. |
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Posts: 201
Location: Stevens Point | That sucks, I hope the theifs are caught.
I am sure matchfishing is last thing on your mind. If rules will permit it we can reschedule.
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Posts: 20218
Location: oswego, il | I know where jeff lives and that is a shock. Wow, I hope they catch the guys who did it. I hope everything is replaceable by insurance too. That just plain sucks. |
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Posts: 1887
Location: syracuse indiana | man jeff im sorry to hear about your buddys loss. man i would dieif my cresty burned up. now that its garage protected. i hope nothing like that evr happens here.. anyway i hope the best fpr your buddy and now he can get a new one...bill |
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a sight you never want to see