boat security

2021 Trends for Fishing, Boating, and Safety

December 31, 2020 By DeDee

While most of us are anxious to put the year 2020 behind us, it has been a stellar year for the fishing industry. More fishing licenses were sold than ever before. More children and women learned how to fish or got better at it. In a year where there wasn’t much to do, fishing became one of the premier social distancing sports.

So, the question is, what will 2021 and beyond bring?

By all indications, there will be growth and awareness in all areas, including safety. Here is what the experts from MarketWatch, Linchpin, and Wired2Fish have to say.

Fishing Facts

North America has the highest demand for fishing equipment (37%), followed by Europe, China, and Japan.
Freshwater fishing accounts for over 64% of all fishing in the world.
Fishing equipment worldwide sales are expected to be the equivalent of USD 13.4 billion by the end of 2021 and USD 16.7 billion by the end of 2026, which is an annual growth of 3.1 percent.

2021 Boating Trends

Fishing boats make up the largest percentage of all boat sales and are expected to grow 2 percent over 2019 sales in 2021, making the number of fishing boats sold worldwide at 285,900. Breaking this down further means 782 boats sold per day, or one boat sold every other minute.
The average boat cost in 2019 was $146,900; however, that includes everything from yachts to entry-level motorboats. New bass boats typically run from $30,000 to $69,000.
Marine fuel will be safer in 2021 because sulfur emissions will be capped at .5 percent of total exhaust volume.
Renewable diesel fuel is 100% renewable as it is made from vegetable oils, and it will dominate the marine fuel market.

Safety Statistics

2021 is expected to be 3-5% safer than in 2020.
Drownings are the number one cause of boating deaths because boaters do not wear floatation devices. The death rate could go down by 150-180 individuals if everyone wore a floatation device.
One hundred seventy deaths are due to head injuries due to propeller strikes. Often there is alcohol involved in these deaths as well.
The number one cause of boating accidents are two boats colliding. While injuries often occur from these collisions, death does not.
Saturdays between 2:30 and 4:30 pm are the most unsafe boating day and periods.

2021 Trends Summary

Since COVID-19 will be with us through at least the first half of 2021, fishing is expected to continue to grow as a sport. More boats will be sold with environmental fuel, suitable for everyone and everything (including the fish). Safety and security need to be on everyone’s mind, both in the boat in the water or when the boat is parked in your driveway or outside your motel room.

Happy New Year

Your boat is more than a hobby. It’s an expression of who you are. And you want to keep it secure. We understand. We’ve been helping boaters keep their boats safe and achieve greater peace of mind for 35+ years. Let us know how we can help you.

The Key Captain Is A State Of The Art Electronic Locking System Ideal For Bass Boats and Other Fishing Boats. If You Need Someone To Walk You Through The Options, call us at 1-440-899-9820. Or let us know if you’d like to have it installed on a new boat or retrofitted onto your boat through a dealer near you.

How to Secure Your Bass Boat in 8 Easy Steps

January 27, 2020 By DeDee

Whether you’re headed to a tournament, vacation, or even a day trip of fishing, it’s essential to keep your boat and equipment always secure. It’s especially true if you’re carrying hundreds, if not thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment on board.

While working with professional anglers in the past, along with our own experience, we garnered eight great ideas about keeping your bass boat safe at all times – here they are.

An Eight Point Secure Your Bass Boat Checklist

Before Your Trip

Make sure your boat insurance is up to date.
Your insurance should cover not only the boat but also all the contents on the vessel and the trailer. If you have recently purchased a new boat and new equipment, send an email or stop by your agent’s office to share with them the changes.
Inventory all your equipment.
Put together an Excel spreadsheet of all your equipment, including its make, model, and the date you purchased it. Take a photo of the more expensive stuff (that will be covered under insurance). Send the spreadsheet and photos to your agent and keep a copy on the cloud.
While inventorying, label your gear.
Write your name and phone number on every piece of tackle and electronic gear in waterproof ink. Throw away broken equipment: sell or giveaway your duplicate gear. Check our list about the top 10 things you should have on your boat to ensure you aren’t missing critical equipment.
Inspect your boat and trailer.
A day or so before your trip, check the trailer lights, turn signals, and tire pressure. Please make sure they are all in the best working order. Once the boat is on the trailer, ensure it’s snug against the jack stand roller. Inspect, and potentially replace the transom-tie down straps if they are too worn.
When booking your hotel or motel, make sure they have adequate parking for your truck and trailer.
You’ll also want to check on lighting and onsite security. The last thing you’ll want after a long day on the water to come back to the venue to find you need to park your boat in a remote, unlit part of the parking lot. Also, get recommendations from other fishers who have stayed or are staying in your area.

When on The Water

You finally arrived and launched your boat in the water. It’s still important to be vigilant about security. Here are more tips by bass anglers.

If you must leave your boat for a short time, ask someone to watch it.
It doesn’t matter if you have to use the restroom, return an urgent call, or get something out of your car; leaving your boat for 10-15 minutes is enough time for a thief to steal your equipment. Find a friend and establish a buddy system, so you can trade off watching each other’s boats when you need it.
Get in the habit of locking up your compartments.
With The Key Captain, you can remotely lock and unlock all compartments from 50-100 feet away with your waterproof key fob. With our flushed locking system, you won’t trip on the locks as you’re fish on the deck of the boat.

Before Heading to the Hotel or Motel

Cover your boat with a tight-fitting tarp.
Adding one more layer for potential thieves to get through can be a real deterrent to stopping them.

Sarasota Quality Products Can Help Secure Your Bass Boat

With the press of a button, our time saving remote control system can lock and unlock compartment latches, turn on and off deck and cabin lights, and trim up and down your boat engine while trailering. Call us today at 440-899-9820 to learn more about our Key Captain and catalog of products.

Keep Your Valuables Safe with a Remote Boat Locking System

October 22, 2018 By Jim Schilens

Is your boat less than 26 feet?

Does it have outboard motor power and rest on a trailer?

If you said yes, beware – you could be a target for theft. A newly released study that looked at five years of BoatUS Marine Insurance claims files shows that 75 percent of all boats stolen matched this description.

According to Bass Angler Magazine:

With the long winter lay-up period nearing, BoatUS has five tips to make your boat harder to steal.

Just one lock? Try another, and another. You simply can’t have enough. The whole goal is to make someone else’s boat more attractive than yours, so the more locks a thief sees – on the trailer tongue, outboard engine, or used with chain around the trailer wheels – the better the chance he’ll move on.
Don’t leave the key on a stored boat. Never assume your key’s hiding place is so good that thieves won’t find it. Remember, that’s what these people do for a living.
Make the trailer impossible to move. A removable tongue hitch, or, better yet, removing the trailer tires if the boat’s going into long-term storage turns your rig into 1-ton dead weight. The little things can help, too, such as not parking your boat in the driveway with the hitch facing the street. Consider using removable trailer lights – with most thieves working the nightshift, they want to avoid attracting the attention an unlit trailer would cause.
Don’t stick out. You may want to think twice about hanging a “for sale” sign on the side of your boat. Use a full winter cover to hide attention-getting, splashy graphics. Store all valuables, removable electronics and paperwork at home during the off-season.
Check out new anti-theft technologies. Devices that send alerts to your cell phone, take photos/video, provide tracking, or kill the motor if your boat moves from its virtual boundary can stop a theft in its tracks. Once a boat is gone, the BoatUS study finds that only one in 10 vessels are ever fully recovered.

Nothing is foolproof, but here is an example of newer technology that can make it more difficult for expert thieves to rip you off.

Our patented Key Captain Boat Remote Locking System protects valuables inside your boat’s compartments with just one click using our remote, waterproof key fob. It allows you to lock all boat compartments simultaneously.

And it works the same as your vehicle remote key fob that locks and unlocks doors. Store your rods and electronics in boat compartments and you’ve made it more difficult for an ill-intention passer-by to steal from you.

Kevin VanDam: Key Captain Video Testimonial

December 8, 2017 By Jim Schilens

In the world of professional bass fishing, Kevin VanDam is at the pinnacle and arguably the best in the world. KVD has 4 Bassmaster Classic wins and 7 Angler of the Year titles to his name.

In this video, Kevin VanDam talks about how the Key Captain makes his life easier, and helps him save the time and hassle of locking and unlocking all the compartments on his boat.

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Shaw Grigsby: Key Captain Video Testimonial

December 8, 2017 By Jim Schilens

Shaw Grigsby stands tied at fourth on the active list of B.A.S.S. winners, he’s among a select group to top $2 million in Bassmaster earnings.

In this video, Shaw Grigsby talks about how the Key Captain makes his life easier, and helps him save the time and hassle of locking and unlocking all the compartments on his boat.

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