A Friendly Word to the Wise

Had an email from a friend this afternoon, in which he told me about something that happened to a mutual acquaintance of ours yesterday. Seems this acquaintance had launched his boat at Pungo Ferry for a relaxing day of crappie fishing, only to return and find his Ford pickup missing a catalytic converter, with a replacement cost in the vicinity of $3,000. I'd have to say that was a pretty expensive fishing day, no matter how many fish he may have caught.

According to my friend, "His truck sounded like a vehicle at the dragstrip with open headers when he fired it up." Both he and I share the common belief that Pungo Ferry and West Neck Marina alike are especially ripe for the kind of thing that happened yesterday, since neither facility has anyone "guarding the henhouse," so to speak. And with extremely limited movement in or out of either facility this time of year, I would suggest you're taking your chances at either site.

I would imagine that most folks who live in this area are well aware that catalytic-converter thefts in Hampton Roads are nothing new. They've been in the news, off and on, for a long spell.

According to a report I read from this past August, there is an anti-theft device available that appears to be effective. A "cat shield," as it's called, simply bolts over the converter (as seen in above photo). Trucks and SUVs appear to be primary targets for thieves because they are higher off the ground and therefore make it easier to steal a catalytic converter. The fact that some trucks have two converters only make them an even bigger target.

Said one shop owner who replaces catalytic converters, "You don't have to have a jack to steal one. You can just roll under there with your battery-powered saw and cut it off. If you roll under there and see the cable-type array that goes around the converter, though, I think the thief likely will roll back out and hit somebody else."

Virginia law changed this past March, regarding penalties for catalytic-converter theft. A conviction is now a felony, instead of a misdemeanor. More documentation also is required in order to sell the part for scrap.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, "Reported catalytic-converter thefts increased 325 percent between 2019 and 2020. The reason for stolen converters is the explanation behind any theft--money. The rhodium, palladium and platinum used in these parts are valuable...rhodium alone can go for as much as $20,000 per ounce." Need I say more???