Boat thefts are not common in Pennsylvania, but they can be costly for victims.

“Anytime someone buys a valuable item, they should seriously consider insurance,” said Jake Weiland, assistant manager at Moraine State Park. “That includes boats.”

The park was the site of two fishing boat thefts this year.

Boat insurance is not mandatory in the state, but it can be beneficial in aiding theft cases.

Weiland said the boat and trailer most recently stolen at the park, a 16-foot 2006 PolarKraft and a Lippert boat trailer, were insured by Travelers Insurance, which issued a $500 reward for information leading to the recovery of the vehicles.

That offer ultimately led to the arrest Jeffrey Mansfield, 35, and Rachelle Kane, 32, both of New Castle.

A surveillance photograph taken Sept. 21 at the park showed the duo allegedly hitching the trailer carrying the boat to a pickup truck. Weiland said a caller identified Mansfield to the insurance company.

The other boat stolen from the park was a 2009 Bass Tracker worth about $13,000, which was taken between Aug. 6 and Sept. 6. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is still investigating that case.

Weiland said the two cases are not thought to be connected.

Bob Warren, owner of a boat dealership bearing his name on Route 38 in Summit Township, said boat insurance is not expensive.

“Insurance is cheap,” he said. “It costs between $75 and $150 per year for full coverage. It's very affordable.”

Warren said the man whose boat was stolen at the park Sept. 21 is a customer of his.

“He was supposed to have (the boat) here for storage,” he said. “It's a shame what happened because he is a really nice guy and it was a nice boat.”

Weiland said the boat had been scrapped and was never returned to the owner.

While the boat was insured, Weiland said its owner made one crucial mistake that likely played a major role in the theft — the boat was not locked.

“These were crimes of opportunity,” Weiland said. “When a boat is not locked, there is a good chance it can be stolen.”

Neither trailer that was stolen was properly locked.

Having no lock allows anyone to drive off with it without looking suspicious, Weiland said.

“These boats were taken during daylight hours,” he added.

Warren said locks to cover the trailer coupler cost as little as $11.

“You need to put locks on your trailer,” he said. “Those boats are there for the picking.”

Weiland said the owners of both boats stolen made another mistake — they didn't report the thefts quickly.

“They took too long to report it,” he said, adding both boats stolen this year were not reported missing until about four to six weeks after the incidents. “People need to alert authorities as soon as they realize their boat is missing.”

Weiland said boat thefts are not common at the park, and none were reported in 2013.

However, there are some instances of accessories such as fishing equipment and life jackets being stolen from boats.

Again, Weiland said those thefts are more likely to occur when goods are not secured.

“People will leave them unlocked, in plain view,” he said. “Anyone walking by the boat can see them.”

Warren agreed boats are not stolen often.

“It's hard to get rid of a boat,” he said.

Regulations on boats make them difficult to sell if stolen.

Each boat has a 12-digit hull identification number that identifies it. All boats manufactured after 1972 are required to have the number displayed.

The number is included on the title and registration, which is renewed every two years.

However, motors and gas tanks are a more frequent target, Warren said.

“Someone stole a 20 horsepower motor from us earlier this year,” he said.

Trailers also have identification numbers that make them difficult to sell if stolen.

“There is a serial tag on them,” said Bill Whittenberger, an owner of Viking Trailers on Route 68 in Renfrew. The company manufactures trailers for a variety of uses, including boat towing.

However trailer tags can be more easily removed than hull numbers and are not as readily visible.

Whittenberger said the identification number is typically a heavy foil tag stuck to the frame. The foil tag will tear if someone attempts to peel it off to add it to another trailer, he said.

Like boat hull numbers, a trailer's identifying number is added to its title and its registration, which is renewed every three years.

Homemade trailers must pass a state inspection at which time they will be given a number.

Whittenberger agreed that locking a trailer is important in preventing thefts.

“Someone can steal (a trailer) with locks if he has a big bolt cutter,” Whittenberger said. “But you can't make it convenient for people to take your stuff.”

Whittenberger said he doesn't believe that boat and trailer thefts are a common crime in the county.

“We've only had one trailer stolen in the 30 years we've been here,” he said.

Eric Levis, a spokesman for the state Fish and Boat Commission, said there have been 14 boats reported stolen to the commission this year statewide.

He added 2,058 boats have been reported stolen since the state's tracking system was launched in the early 1990s.

Those numbers only account for thefts reported to the boat commission.

“There are likely cases where individuals report a stolen boat to the state police or their local municipal police and not to us,” Levis said.

The commission's law enforcement regional office in Meadville provided these tips for securing boats and valuable items:

Always lock boat trailers — either with a specific trailer lock or by securing a trailer to another object, like using a heavy duty chain around a tree.

If you plan to park the boat and trailer, do so in a secured parking area like those at marinas.

Even in a secured parking area, lock the boat and trailer.

Always remove valuables from the boat, so there's less of an incentive for someone to break in and steal items.

Register the boat, including kayaks and canoes. Registration helps to track a boat if it is stolen.