Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss vandals

OK so, someone around here is trespassing and vandalizing other people’s property, namely ours.

We happened to be out most of yesterday, came back in the late afternoon, and discovered this morning.

This was our pond boat that was stored at the upper end of the pond above the high water mark. Someone deliberately pushed it through the spillway or carried it and threw it over the spillway. I have some large concrete rubble on top of the dam……these nice people then threw chunks of concrete down on the boat smashing it beyond use.

I don’t think it was younger kids because some of those concrete blocks are really heavy.

Nevertheless, lets just say they are lucky I wasn’t home.

A police report has been filed, and i am watching...

Gotta love people who have nothing better to do with their time than to destroy other people's property... Sounds like something the 16-22 YOA class would be doing. Sorry for the loss!

I got mad when I caught someone fishing. I cant imagine how mad you are when they destoyed your boat. Don't you wish you knew who it was so you could return the favor. I would put some trail cams up around the pond and see if you could get a pic of someone if they come back.

That is messed up. I keep my eyes open like a hawk for my people's property and ponds. One time this kid who did not look like he belonged started fishing in one of my gated community ponds. I was finding 40 bottles, drug paraphenalia, a lot of stuff I never saw before. So I decided to check him out. I became his buddy, got all of his info and passed it along to the HOA. Unknown to me there had also been property damage, vandalism and theft. Gated communities in El Dorado Hills just don't have that. He was some oxycontin drug dealer. Got the gate code from the gas man. Needless to say the gas man was read the riot act. The drug dealer was reported to the cops, who had an outstanding warrant and was well known to them. The key to any pond is vigilance. Have everyone who uses it keep thier eyes peeled. How secure is your pond if I may ask?

It can always be worse, but man...that is low. Very low.
Sorry, Dave.

(deserves 3 mad's)

(and one more)

Wow DIED - I'm sorry. Feel good you didn't happen upon the losers in the act - you'd have an enitirely new issue with which to deal.

I'm trying to find some silver lining here...maybe Mrs. DIED can see fit to give you the allowance to buy a new boat? One with a force field, ideally, when you're away.

As a high school teacher and coach, I see teenagers at their best and their worst. This is the worst. It is senseless and sad. I am sorry for your situation. I hope you can come to some resolution.

I might be able to repair that boat, looks like a riveted aluminum. I have three small jobs in El Dorado Monday. I'll give you Pond Boss member discount, materials only. I'm up there all the time as I have a couple of ongoing large accounts as well. My criminal vandalized our Pelican paddle boat also.

Dave I'll bet your blood pressure went thru the roof, it's the same old story of lazy people who are jealous of what someone else has, their prime candidates for the nanny state.
Not sure if it would help but maybe some hidden game cameras and lots of warning surveillance signs.

Dave:

I'm 'bout as mad as you are. I don't have any tolerance for people like that. That boat looks like it's pretty well bashed in on the top and the bottom. That's just senseless destruction. What's it going to take, chaining up stuff on your own property?

A friend that is an absentee landowner had his ATV and garden tractor stolen out of his locked ocean going cargo container that he uses as a locked storage shed.

The neighbors here look out for each other. Fer instance, when I came home from my WY hunting trip, it was dark out. I pulled the car around behind the stable to unload the cooler into the deep freeze. My neighbors wife saw the headlights go around the building and turn off. That's not normal, so she told her husband. He and a buddy came over to check things out, both armed. I thanked him for coming over, and gave them some deer sticks for an evening snack.

I still get surprised how much I get pissed when I hear stuff like this that happens to PB family.

Time to get ugly, DIED!

Dave,

I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope you catch them.

I had something happen to me to show you show stupid people can be. Nothing near as bad as you but still senseless. I was living on a lake at the time while my house was being built. I looked out side and some kids were bashing my plastic minnow bucket against the seawall. They're lucky they ran faster than I did. I would have bashed their heads against the seawall!

Brutal, just brutal! I cannot believe what some 'people' will do for fun. Sickening.

You need to be extra vigilant now Dave as I would guarantee they will be back. I am sure they are very 'proud' of their handiwork.

Unfortunately Pottsy I'm not sure Dave lives there. I wish I lived in the area. I'd love to set up a stake out. If the boat was beyond repair I'd put it back in the original place and use it as bait.

Maybe Tom G would help you set a booby trap.

Oh,you can be sure and count me in.People like that make me sick.

Oh, man, Dave, I am so sorry that you had that kind of nonsense happen. It makes me sick to read about it and see the damage they did. Unreal. I hope you catch them and that they get hammered. Please keep us posted.

I'm not familiar with your setup, but do you live where your pond is, or is your home elsewhere? If you live there, that is some amazing ballsy action for these idiots to literally come into your backyard and pull something like this.

Good luck nailing the jerks.

Someone needs a really good scare like a couple of my elementary school friends got at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina during the Vietnam era. There was a mock V.C. village on the post for training and my two friends wondered into the area out of curiosity. It was a dangerous place complete with mock booby traps and pits so it was a big no no to be there. I'm not even sure how they got in. Anyway, whoever the guy was that ran it (I think he was Vietnamese) decided to scare the hell out of them so they would never come back. By the time it was over my friends were sure they had been to Vietnam in a combat zone and been captured by a real Viet Cong. Needless to say they never went back and I'm sure their dads who were in Special Forces like my dad was, make life miserable for them too.

Wow Dave, that is terrible. Time for some strategically placed game cameras. Greg Grimes has some very reasonable cameras. I'm going to buy a couple from him before our post 04/15 trip. Sounds like you need a couple as well.

That one rock looks fairly big, that took some serious effort on someone's part.

Ditto!

If you catch them maybe they should go swimming in yer pond....with the big rock.

i like that terminology cj....the 16-22 YOA class......but maybe should be called the "16-22 SOB class"......SOB standing for "short on brains" or whatever else you can imagine it stands for.....

thanks so much for the repsonses everyone. let me just say you guys have given me some good ideas to try out, just in case those yahoos know i post here. BTW, great story esshup.

i posted this on my OTHER forum, and have to say those guys are fantastic just like you guys are. my blood is still boiling, but having this outlet actually helps, calmer heads will prevail.

in fact, a couple local guys on my OTHER forum have graciously offered replacement boats, makes me feel guilty i posted anything...i'm gonna see if its fixable first.

another good thing to come out of this is renewed relationships with some of the closer neighbors, and we are all more vigilent today.

this was definitely not an honorable end for this little jon boat thats provided alot of good times for me and its previous owner who had it 40+ years.

todd, i live here, and in fact 95% of the time i know exactly whats going on here cause i work from home, so either they were watching and knew when i left, or they just got real lucky. i dont have a "routine" of when i go out or come back, so if they decide to make this their playground, i'll catch up to them at some point.

i'll send you a pm pond frog.

Good luck, Dave. Maybe consider hanging a steel plate at the end of the pond as a shooting target - when the SOBs show up, making that sucker ring from your front porch would likely have a deterrent effect!

Have to do some pond work up there, leaving within an hour or so, whenever my little helper wakes up. Have some serious mosquitoes this year because of heavy rains, first in fours years. Going to start gambusia in fire ponds and maybe provide them to horse owners with throughs. I think I can repair that boat, I have done it before and am currently working on a canoe. I do have all of the tools. I could try it onsite or bring it home, whatever you are more comfrotable with. I would not let the vandals end it's useful life. It's a nice little boat and can we fix it? Yes we can! At least give it our best effort. I always have some good stuff, FLA LMB, El Dorado county acclimated lilies, gambusia. I'll take care of you well since you are a beloved forum member. Very good to get neighbors involved. The more sets of eyes watching the better. For every jackass out there thats does stuff like that there are 100 people who will step up and help you out. Don't let it get to you Dave, don't give those clowns the satisfaction.

pm sent pond frog....sorry for delay, busy morning.

i'll be here and would be great to meet you.

todd, maybe that will be a fitting use of the jon boat if it is not fixable.