Safe
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That would be the first thing they'd steal. Ripping out whatever it's attached to as well.
There are so many hiding places on a sailboat, some that are so good you yourself don't even know they're there yet.
I've had my current boat 6 years. Been on it every weekend pretty much, plus cruising. Including cleaning, repairs, upgrades, maint, stowing gear, etc., and I've even taken the time more than once to think about where I might hide certain things. And I just recently discovered 2 spots I'd never realized before.
They are on either end of the port settee. The cabinets on the bottom are drawers, not cabinets like on the stbd side. Pull out the drawer on either end, and there's big space behind it. Knew that, but what only recently realized is that the spaces to the left of the left (aft) drawer, and right of the right (forward) drawer, are sealed with cabinet wood. I could build trap doors in there that even if you were looking wouldn't know they were doors, and accessible only if you pull the drawers out. And nobody would ever know.
I'll post pictures in a bit just for fun, as I know your boat is different, but maybe it will help analyze where on your boat you might have or be able to create a hiding place.
Edit: pics - the space between my foot and the drawer cavity. My foot is against the board that is the back of the chart table, which also encloses the aft of the hidden space below. There is a sealed board inside the drawer cavity that can be seen. I can convert it to a door with hidden hardware, allowing access to the space.
I'm sure there's a space somewhere on your boat that nobody would ever look at.
There are so many hiding places on a sailboat, some that are so good you yourself don't even know they're there yet.
I've had my current boat 6 years. Been on it every weekend pretty much, plus cruising. Including cleaning, repairs, upgrades, maint, stowing gear, etc., and I've even taken the time more than once to think about where I might hide certain things. And I just recently discovered 2 spots I'd never realized before.
They are on either end of the port settee. The cabinets on the bottom are drawers, not cabinets like on the stbd side. Pull out the drawer on either end, and there's big space behind it. Knew that, but what only recently realized is that the spaces to the left of the left (aft) drawer, and right of the right (forward) drawer, are sealed with cabinet wood. I could build trap doors in there that even if you were looking wouldn't know they were doors, and accessible only if you pull the drawers out. And nobody would ever know.
I'll post pictures in a bit just for fun, as I know your boat is different, but maybe it will help analyze where on your boat you might have or be able to create a hiding place.
Edit: pics - the space between my foot and the drawer cavity. My foot is against the board that is the back of the chart table, which also encloses the aft of the hidden space below. There is a sealed board inside the drawer cavity that can be seen. I can convert it to a door with hidden hardware, allowing access to the space.
I'm sure there's a space somewhere on your boat that nobody would ever look at.
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I have a safe onboard somewhere. It has my dawg's life jacket and our percolator. If I can just find the safe now.
A safe on a boat is just as useful as a safe in a home. "Hiding stuff," i.e., security via obscurity, can work, but is not a always good strategy. Protection of a small volume of stuff from moisture, fire, quick, 'casual' theft, curious hands, etc., is a good idea.
What size were you thinking?
What size were you thinking?
Owned a gun store for many years.
Used, sold, and delivered safes.
Safes trap moisture.
Especially fire resistant safes, for they have a heat seal around the door.
Every time you open the door, moisture in. Does not escape.
Temp changes then cause condensation on metal surfaces. IE guns in our case.
Remedy is a heated rod "dehumidifier" which tries to prevent condensation. Although they are 120v. Including desiccant in the safe a big help.
Either of these remedies can also be employed in a boat's hiding place.
To other poster: A safe in a home can be bolted to the floor, even concrete. Generally a home safe is also bigger and heavier. A safe on a boat will be small and light. You're not going to bolt it to the hull, so securing it will mean attaching it to cabinetry.
If a thief finds the safe, he will then know for certain that he has found valuables. And possibly do whatever it takes to get at them, especially if it seems immediately feasible, like ripping it out.
I'm not saying don't buy a safe
Just throwing in stuff for analysis.
Edit: If you can fit the safe in a hiding place then that of course would be fantastic.
Probably for the same reason people don't think of their whole house as a safe. It's very tough and expensive to make boat as secure as a safe may be. Plus, you may want to secure things from people you welcome into the boat, like kids, acquaintances, et.al.
I'm thinking that the safe idea is a good one until you really think about it.
If you have a fireproof waterproof safe, like the unlocked one I have in my home and something happens to the boat the safe is going to the bottom and perhaps lost for good. If the safe is visible, it advertises where the valuables are hidden and invites the thief to just grab the safe and run.
So what is the value of the valuables that you are trying to protect? Money is easy to hide outside of a safe. Some portable electronics? How valuable is your jewelry? Ship's papers? Don't you have a copy at home?
If I was inclined to sail to far off places where I might need more cash than credit cards, then I'd be likely to have several stashes of cash in the boat. Once the thiefs find one stash, they will probably stop searching and get off the boat.
The stuff you're trying to protect is only money or something that money can replace, we're not talking protecting life and limb.
If you have a fireproof waterproof safe, like the unlocked one I have in my home and something happens to the boat the safe is going to the bottom and perhaps lost for good. If the safe is visible, it advertises where the valuables are hidden and invites the thief to just grab the safe and run.
So what is the value of the valuables that you are trying to protect? Money is easy to hide outside of a safe. Some portable electronics? How valuable is your jewelry? Ship's papers? Don't you have a copy at home?
If I was inclined to sail to far off places where I might need more cash than credit cards, then I'd be likely to have several stashes of cash in the boat. Once the thiefs find one stash, they will probably stop searching and get off the boat.
The stuff you're trying to protect is only money or something that money can replace, we're not talking protecting life and limb.
Most boats are behind a locked gate in a marina. Most houses are not. Houses have a concrete floor you could secure it to. Theft from boats is usually stuff left outside the cabin like outboards. But the OP was about fire destruction of important papers. Just take a photo of anything so important or put in a small fireproof box.
For people coming on the boat, your usually there when they are so just keep anything like jewelry in a drawer in an area where guests do not go. Put a lock on it if you have criminal guests.
Also, I would not want a heavy safe flying around my cabin in a blow.
Bad idea for you, good for another. How about guns? In Massachusetts waters you're still bound by the safe storage law. And if you hide a gun and a kid finds it - oh, well!
This safe debate is as old as the hills. Safes are good for some, and not for others. My safe at home is pretty obvious, but it is impossible to move without professional help and/or very noisy demolition, and will certainly slow down thieves. The same can be said for boat safes.
I don't think the OP was asking if safes on a boat were a good idea, I think he was asking which safe.
I'm thinking drugs
How quickly can you get into a safe if you have to abandon it? As said, whatever is in there is going down to Davy Jones' locker.
How quickly can you get into a safe if you have to abandon it? As said, whatever is in there is going down to Davy Jones' locker.
The only gun that will ever be on my boat is a flare gun, so I don't have that concern.
Yea, that's the point, good for some, not for others.
Let's hope your grandkid doesn't find and fire that flare gun!