Electronics Security

[gim]

Do most of you boat owners leave your expensive, highly valued electronics in your boat when not in use or do you remove them?  I've heard stories of electronics being snatched out of boats during broad daylight in a public setting.  I believe there is an E-lock out there that comes with a fitted key that will deter thieves that can be used if you have a RAM mount or similar.  What about the flush-mount electronics that are now built into a lot of consoles?  Do ya'll just leave them there or remove them when not in use?

[Further North]

I wire the knobs that hold my electronics to the mounts directly to the starting battery...I'm the only one who knows where the kill switch is...

I'm kidding....I never leave the electronics in the boat when I'm traveling.  I modified a gun case to hold them, egg crate foam cut out to the shape of the units.  Cost about $100, works great.

[Catch 22]

I take my unit off everytime. I keep it in a metal ammo box mounted  to the floor of my truck, in a theft proof  manner. A good lock makes it unworthy of  the time to defeat it .Its good for other valuables too.

I  leave nothing of value in my boat when traveling. 

[Glenn]

I always take mine off, place them in old, beat up backpacks, and keep them locked up in the truck when traveling, or in the garage at home. In addition, all my gear - including life vests- are stowed away and compartments locked if I'm going to be out-of-sight of my boat...always.  And when I'm staying overnight at a campground, in addition to the above, I also put the cover on and tie the straps down in a unique way that is time consuming and frustrating to untie in the dark....plus I have a battery operated baby monitor in my boat that I use as a poor-man's alarm.

May sound like overkill, but I've never had an issue in over 40 years, and I intend to keep it that way.

[Further North]

There's this option, but it's rough on the equipment:

 

[WIGuide]

I'm sure the locks work, but I'd rather just take mine off. Both my units are on ram mounts  so removal easy. I'll leave the ram and brackets on and I put both units in a tool case that came with the pluck-able foam inserts. Not only does it prevent them from getting swiped, they don't get bounced around as much as if I left them on the boat.

People who have them flush mounted don't have a choice, they stay in the boat. I know at least with Lowrance units, the face plate comes off and it's screwed into the mounting surface. It'd take far too long to remove them every time. 

[gim]

So with a flush mount at the console, if its difficult and time consuming to remove, leaving it on there for a short period of time is probably OK?  Can someone just come in there with a screwdriver and wedge it out?