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f you have an outboard motor on your boat, especially a relatively small one of 2 to 6 HP, you may want to take special care to lock it up. Oriental’s Interim Police Chief Dwaine Moore says that two Honda 2HP motors were stolen from sailboats near Whittaker Creek this week.

A motorless transom. A Honda 2HP outboard was stolen from the sailboat, Nevermoore, on the hours before morning on July 5.

Officer Moore is urging other residents and boat owners to make sure they have a solid lock on their outboard motors.

“Everybody has this idea that this is Mayberry,” he says, “but we’ve got people looking for small boat items.” There have been reports of several similar thefts in the past year. The smaller items are easier to take away, and easier to sell later.

Thefts Near The Water

The thefts this week happened in the night or early morning hours after July 4. Both motors were stolen from small sailboats that were very close to the water. One Honda 2HP was stolen from Nevermoore, a racing sailboat on a trailer a few steps from a Whittaker Creek canal. The other, a long-shaft Honda 2HP, had been on a sailboat that Terry and Art Halpren kept on the lawn of their yard – again, right next to Whittaker Creek.

A motor was taken from this boat, stored in the Halpren’s backyard on Whittaker Creek. This one did have a small lock on it, but Officer Moore says it was easily cut with a boltcutter. Terri Halpren says the serial number is BZBF2314902. If you have any leads, call Dwaine Moore at 675-1859.

Moore, who is Oriental’s interim police chief, says he thinks the thefts were done by the same people, and that more than one person was involved. He says they likely approached the sailboats by dinghy, made quick work of undoing the motor mounts and took off with the motors.

Taking Steps To Thwart Thieves

Moore suggests three things for those who own an outboard (and the same can apply to other valuable items.) To keep it from being stolen, he says, “make sure you get a lock that makes it very difficult for a perpetrator to take that property.”

A motor with a strong lock to keep it on the boat — and keep it from becoming low-hanging fruit for thieves.

By which he means, something that it would take a hacksaw to cut through. Using a hacksaw takes time, it’s noisy, and would attract attention, all of them things that Moore says thieves want to avoid.

He has two more tips that could be helpful in the event an item is stolen. First he says, keep a record of the serial number. (Having a photograph in the records could also help.) Also, put something identifying the object as yours in a spot that’s not readily obvious. A sticker near a carbuerator, or a name engraved near the inner workings of the motor. Those are things the police can use later to determine who owns the item, if it’s found.

But to avoid that in the first place, Moore recommends a lock that would make would-be thieves decide your motor isn’t worth the effort. “You make it easy for them, they’re going to take it away.” Even, sadly, in a town that gets compared to Mayberry.

Officer Dwaine Moore near the sailboat Nevermoore, whose outboard motor was stolen. He says that putting strong locks on motors, something that would take a lot of effort to remove, would deter future thefts.

Other Crimes: Two Break-Ins

Oriental’s police officer is also working on another pair of crimes: break-ins that occurred in the early morning hours of Friday June 22 at the offices of Garland Fulcher Seafood Company and, across South Water Street, at M&M’s Restaurant. Nothing was taken from the first break-in, but at M&M’s the cash register – with $94 in it – and bottles of liquor were stolen.

In that case, the replacement of the cash register turns out to be far costlier than the amount of money taken. Moore says he advises business owners to leave their cash register drawers visibly open so thieves won’t steal them.

Anyone with tips about the break-ins — the bottles of liquor may be traceable because of the distinct NC Revenue stamps on them — may call Dwaine Moore at 675-1859.

Posted Saturday July 7, 2012 by Melinda Penkava

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