Two lower units stolen from boat motors

The Sheriff’s Office received two reports on Monday of the lower units being stolen from Yamaha motors in the Key Largo area.

A Key Largo man told deputies his boat was in the parking lot of the Caribbean Club where it was being worked on. He said the work had been completed on March 3rd at 9 p.m. When the victim showed up Monday morning, however, the lower unit from the Yamaha 250 hp motor had been stolen. The stolen item was valued at $5,000.

Another Key Largo man told deputies his friend stores his vessel at Key Largo Mini-Storage. The man said he was at the storage business to check on his own storage unit on 3/1 and looked at his friend’s vessel at that time, finding it intact. He returned to pay for his storage unit on Monday and found the lower unit from the boat’s Yamaha 225 hp engine missing. The stolen item was valued at $2,200.

Sheriff’s detectives will be investigating.

Preventing a crime from taking place is always a better option than investigating it afterward. Boat owners can help prevent these crimes. Here are a few tips to avoid having your engine’s lower unit stolen:

  • Disconnect the batteries to disable the trim/tilt function. Keep the engine down, touching the ground so the lower unit can’t be removed.
  • Install bolt locks on the engine or put extra-long engine bolts on and bend the ends.
  • Destroy the threads on one bolt so the nut can’t be removed.
  • Back the boat close to a house, wall, or other stationary objects.
  • Engrave your driver’s license number or make a distinctive marking on your valuable property for identification purposes.
  • Take pictures of and record serial numbers.
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