HELP!--24' Tomcat stolen and recovered. Need photos.

Hayseed

I'm looking for some assistance from fellow 24' Tomcat owners.

My boat was stolen in early December and was in the process of being stripped before the thieves were interrupted. They cut the entire dash out with a Sawzall (hydraulic steering, nav electronics, all gauges, switches, fuses and wiring). In order to reconstruct it I need photos of the front and rear of the dash, and of the switch panel behind the motor controls. Readable pix would be best, especially the panel behind the motor controls (so the purpose of the switches can be read).

All and any help is appreciated! Thanks...

Hayseed
Olympia, WA
email: wmhays at gmail dot com

smckean (Tosca) · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 8:17 pm Post subject:

I'm crying!

CPlay · Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2022 8:21 am Post subject:

That's horrible. How frustrating. I will take some pics today and send straight to your email. I don't have a photo album on this site. Unfortunately, my wiring is a bit of a rats nest and not labeled but I have the front side of the switch panel labeled with the functions. James of Molly Brown told me he has all his wiring neatly labeled. He might be able to provide more helpful wiring pics. Instead of totally duplicating the original dash arrangement it might be fun to redesign to your liking. I am curious of the circumstances of the theft and recovery. It might be educational.
-Jeff-

ssobol · Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2022 12:20 pm Post subject:

hardee · Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2022 2:28 pm Post subject:

Bill, My apologies. I had not looked at the Brat Map for a pretty long time. I checked it just the other night and WOW. It is acting way weird and different for sure. Sorry for the bad direction.

Looks like this will be the best place to get the help yuo are looking for and with current owners.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

Molly Brown · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2022 6:15 am Post subject:

Sorry to hear about the damage to your boat. I guess one good thing is they didn't take a chainsaw to the transom for the motors.
Unfortunately Jeff misunderstood. My wiring is labeled but far from neat. The TC24 is tough wiring wise compared to other boats since the back of the helm is recessed in. I will send you a couple of pics to your email but I seriously doubt it will be of much help. This will be a perfect opportunity to redo it right.
Good luck,

James

starcrafttom · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2022 3:47 pm Post subject:

Sorry to hear about your pain. Just wanted to ask how did they get to it? in the drive way or storage area? How did the cops locate the boat? Were they charged? How many minutes did it take for them to be released?

Hayseed · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2022 10:25 pm Post subject:

To answer the question of the circumstances around the theft of my Tomcat 24...

The boat was in an RV storage lot about 2 miles from my house. Eight-foot fence topped with coiled razor wire. Locking gate on wheels. The thieves stole a U-Haul van before attending to my boat, used the van to ram the gate open, and towed the boat to a remote shellfish farm (geoduck clams, for those who know what they are) about 7 miles away to strip it.

I was in Mexico on vacation when the RV lot attendant, who lives on site, called in the morning to say the boat had been stolen. Over the next few hours I was back and forth with a county sheriff's detective who took down the relevant information and filed it with the local, state and national theft databases.

That afternoon, another county sheriff's detective called to say the U-Haul van and boat had been found. Apparently the shellfish-lot owner showed up to get ready for a low-tide harvest that night, interrupting the thieves. I called a neighbor who went up to the site and towed the boat back to the RV lot.

I'm in the process now of having a fiberglass guy reconstruct the dash, after which I'll have a reputable marine-electronics outfit in Portland, OR (Rodgers Marine Electronics) reconstruct the wiring, switches, nav electronics, etc. I also used the 'opportunity' to repower the boat with 115 Mercurys (more powerful and lighter than the original Honda 90s), and the dealer (Stevens Marine) will also install new hydraulic steering.

It'll essentially be a new boat, with the attendant new-boat cost.

Thanks to all those who sent photos of the front and back of their Tomcat 24 dashboards. Rodgers Marine Electronics says those pix will be quite useful.

Hayseed

Wood Zeppelin · Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2022 3:39 am Post subject: Sorry to hear

Sorry to hear, yet it seems you've handled it well.

If it's of an any help - for reference - there is a Tomcat parked in a boat lot on hwy 522 just northeast of the 405 interchange.

starcrafttom · Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2022 11:45 am Post subject:

Well that is a very brazen act. Guy on site and they drove the truck thru the gate. Very lucky that did not got for the motors first. As others have said they use a chain saw for that and just cut out the transom. See you on the water.

akwagon · Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2022 5:13 pm Post subject:

How’d you get new motors so fast?

Hayseed · Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 1:11 pm Post subject:

Dealer in Portland had two 2021 Merc 115s, extra long shaft with the beefier Command Thrust lower unit (same as on the 150) sitting in boxes. Perfect motors looking for a boat needing to be repowered. It was their immediate availability that tipped me into stepping up. They effectively doubled the cost of resurrecting the boat, but its value also increased commensurately.

hardee · Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 5:30 pm Post subject:

Glad to hear that it is coming together so quickly for you. I know that is a relative term, but it could have been W A Y longer, and it will be really nice when it is finished and you are back enjoying it.

Rodger's will treat you well.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon