The heist of an $11,000 boat hoist has put a damper on the Lake Country Board and Ski Club.
The Basta model 6048sp hoist, with a load capacity of 6,000 pounds, was stolen either Tuesday or Wednesday night from the shore of the club’s clubhouse, located at the northwest corner of Wood Lake, kitty-corner to Gatzke’s Orchards in Oyama.
“The lift was on the shore and I think somebody backed a trailer up,” said Darrell Roper, club secretary.
“It’s very heavy, and probably would have taken at least four people. If it was one person, they would have had to have a crane with their vehicle.”
Roper described the hoist as like a galvanized steel frame with four pads on the bottom. It’s used to lift boats from the water and keep them hoisted overnight.
“You need something to put the boat on, that’s what the hoist is for,” said Roper.
“It’s not safe to leave a boat just tied up on an anchor. If the wind comes up and the weather gets bad, the boat’s in jeopardy. And we can’t tie it to our dock because it’s just a floating dock.”
The hoist is made by Basta and had the phone number 1-888-GO-BASTA in blue written on the side.
An extension of the hoist is a hydraulic battery pack, complete with a little hydraulic motor, that operates the lift. Roper isn’t sure if thieves got the pack as it was in the clubhouse.
“I think they tried to break in because the push button code device has been broken,” he said.
“I don’t think they got in but I don’t know for sure.”
To replace the hoist new will cost the club $11,000, money it doesn’t have. The theft also puts in jeopardy programs the club runs in the summer in conjunction with Greater Vernon Parks and Recreation.
“It’s a huge setback,” said Roper. “We’re hoping someone might see it in a yard or in a field or something.”
Anybody with any information on the theft or the whereabouts of the hoist is asked to call the Lake Country RCMP at 1-250-766-2288, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
