Northwest Fishing Reports

My brother recently had his outboard stolen and by sheer luck he was able to spot it for sale on craigslist and get it back
I was involved in the process and after the outcome it dawned on me we should create a forum for this subject and better yet maybe a data base so local sportsman, sporting retailers, marina, repair shops etc so we could all be notified when items or incidents occur.
Retail folks would be able to check serial #'s, those of us who are honest and selling our property wont be at risk of spending our hard earned dollars on something a sheriff might show up one day and take away.
Best and most important we make it really really hard for these fricken low life $#%^^% %^*)#$ !@@#%$# to sell or get rid of their ill gotten gains.
I am sure that with all our big brains on this web site we could make this happen and even be ground breaking in expanding beyond out little world to other states heck even Canada lol.
Thoughts, suggestions?

Sounds like a good idea. Expanding it would be a whole other website though, which would be a neat idea. http://www.mystuffwasstolen.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On second thought, it's a really great idea and there is a neat website for this stuff right here - http://www.stolen911.com/index.php?region=state116" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Although getting folks to read it that are buying is another thing altogether.

when you guys went to get the outboard, were the cops called? did the cops show up? was this person arrested?
how did all that part pan out?

I am also interested to know what happened when you found your outboard.

The other thread with the info;

http://washingtonlakes.com/forum/viewto ... 77#p147077" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Somebody offered me a cheap 140hp 4 stroke Suzuki without serial number or any paperwork. She explains that they need money to pay mortgage payments that is why they need to sell it right away. I don't want to help thief or encourage any criminal activity because my outboard can be next if there is going be demand for cheap outboards. But, at the same time I can't offend honest people for selling cheap just because they are broke and desperately need money. What would you advise me to do? Also, I am thinking it is kind of impossible to steal a 140hp outboard because it is impossible to lift it by two people. Maybe it is not the case?

I would be very careful if the seller has no paperwork of any kind, service receipts, a bill of sale something.
The missing serial # would be a deal breaker for me because if it turns out the motor was stolen, if and when the police show up they confiscate it and you will be without a motor and the money you spent on it.

A motor that cant be identified in anyway even if it is not stolen, likely hasn't been taken care of properly.
I don't know one legitimate owner of an outboard, even just a little 9.9 that doesn't have receipts of some type.

Well... I bought a used boat once. The trailer and hull were all that were documented on the paperwork. The engine was not listed seperatly. Heck, it wasnt even listed at all. I will double check to see if the SN is on the boats registration but Im betting that it is not.

You might want to get more details but I wouldnt necessarily assume it was stolen. Ask them if they mind if you "have a cop buddy check it out" That will give you a HUGE indication as to their intent.

Thanks for a smart idea.

Be careful, There is NEVER a good reason to remove all the serial numbers. Ive seen large boats dumped after they were stolen/ stripped of electronics, gear, engines etc. If they ground off the numbers there is a strong chance that they did not disassemble the motor to remove the internal serial # stamps.

A good shop would know were to look internally

If this is an outboard... on older units there is only 1 place the SN is posted. Mine is on a tag plate on the transom mount. 2 pop rivets and it is gone. (Im not aware of any additional locations anyway)

Im interested in what you meant by "offered me a cheap 140hp 4 stroke Suzuki without serial number or any paperwork". Please elaborate the scenario.

But yes, be cautious. Good chance it may be stolen.

I was looking for Four Stroke outboard motor and they called me offering 2009 outboard for $3,300. I used the advice provided by Rich McVey. I asked them if it is OK if I will bring a cop buddy to check it out and they said that it is not starting and they dropped it to a scrap yard as junk.

Whoa... 2009 140hp... $3,300...

Yea, thats HUGE. A legit running unit would go for MUCH more. Very glad you didnt.

I would SO call the local PD and tell them what you know.

If the owner of the motor recorded the serial # and then reported the SN to the police when they reported it stolen, the police then automatically put that SN out to a data base to all marine repair shops.
All reputable mechanics and shops check the motor model and SN to make sure they are ordering the correct parts and repairing it correctly and as a by product are alerted if the motor is reported as stolen. A missing SN does not always mean a stolen product but it is a huge red flag.
Most outboard engines have a second SN somewhere on the motor block. The best way to find out if there is a secondary SN that you are not aware of is to contact the manufacturer of the motor.
In our case it was stamped into the freeze plug.
I have my outboards SN recorded but just in case it was stolen and the jerks removed both SN's I have taken an engraving pen and recorded my driver license # in a very inconspicuous place just as a little added insurance.

steelhead597 wrote:If the owner of the motor recorded the serial # and then reported the SN to the police when they reported it stolen, the police then automatically put that SN out to a data base to all marine repair shops.
All reputable mechanics and shops check the motor model and SN to make sure they are ordering the correct parts and repairing it correctly and as a by product are alerted if the motor is reported as stolen. A missing SN does not always mean a stolen product but it is a huge red flag.
Most outboard engines have a second SN somewhere on the motor block. The best way to find out if there is a secondary SN that you are not aware of is to contact the manufacturer of the motor.
In our case it was stamped into the freeze plug.
I have my outboards SN recorded but just in case it was stolen and the jerks removed both SN's I have taken an engraving pen and recorded my driver license # in a very inconspicuous place just as a little added insurance.

"engraving pen and recorded my driver license # in a very inconspicuous place just as a little added insurance" Is a good advise for all of us.

Rich McVey wrote:Whoa... 2009 140hp... $3,300...

Yea, thats HUGE. A legit running unit would go for MUCH more. Very glad you didnt.

I would SO call the local PD and tell them what you know.

I called, but they said they can do nothing without a report of a stolen property or serial number.

I could be wrong but if I owned a motor of that year size and model last thing I would do with it is take it to a scrap yard, I would likely part it out to maximize possible income. And then only if it was so internally damaged that repairing it would be more than the cost of replacing the motor all together. To be fair I have never taken anything to the scrap yard so I have no idea what $ could be made there, but I would be really surprised if it was any where close to parting it out or selling as is on Craigslist. An old saying comes to mind "If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck...

I don't think they went to scrap yard. It was a stolen motor and they didn't want me to come with a cop

romanfishing wrote:I don't think they went to scrap yard. It was a stolen motor and they didn't want me to cop with a cop

BINGO. Bet if you keep lookin, it will pop up again somewhere. Scrapped... lol.

oneshot wrote:when you guys went to get the outboard, were the cops called? did the cops show up? was this person arrested?
how did all that part pan out?

Also very interested, sucks that people would steal your stuff.