pulsar dome damaged by thieves.

[Rusted]

Sorry to hear about this.

These barstewards are anything but dome-esticated!

GRP repairs are easy. External cosmetics sometimes less so.

Tons of advice available but let's see what damage has been done first.

Then we can move on from there.

What about insurance? Any hope there?

 

[Nigella Bryant]

1 hour ago, Rusted said:

Sorry to hear about this.

These barstewards are anything but dome-esticated!

GRP repairs are easy. External cosmetics sometimes less so.

Tons of advice available but let's see what damage has been done first.

Then we can move on from there.

What about insurance? Any hope there?

 

Yeah, have to wait and see. Other people are in the property now but said I could leave the dome there so I cancelled my insurance policy as all the telescope equipment was removed so can't go down that road, but thanks for the thought. All my building's and contents insurance plus telescope stuff are insured at my new address now. Didn't think someone would try and remove the dome part to be honest. Once it's all back here repaired and in place I'll definitely be making sure no one can lift it off again. 

[Ouroboros]

Oh dear! Sorry to hear that. It’s sometimes said that thieves might target a dome rather than a ROR observatory because one looks like it might contain expensive stuff and the other looks like a  shed.  I’ve never seen any statistical evidence on this claim though. Tea leaves are known to go for sheds anyway aren’t they? I understand lockdown has been a bit of a problem for burglar Bill because most houses are occupied much of the time. Sheds, outhouses and observatories are a possible secondary target I suppose. 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Ouroboros

[Astro-Geek]

I didn't want to possibly add to Nigella's distress by mentioning insurance, but as it has now come up I'll share my unexpected finding on the subject for my own circumstances.

When I recently acquired my long awaited ambition of a Skyshed Pod, I (luckilly) checked my home insurance policies to see if they needed extending in any way.

I was dismayed when I discovered that my new for old £75,000 home contents insurance didn't cover the obsy's contents satisfactorily.

Although the "outbuildings" contents cover was loudly proclaimed as unrestricted up to that full amount, there was a less visible clause that theft from outbuildings was only covered up to £3,000, and that was for the total contents of all the outbuildings, eg including the tools in the garage.  That is obviously way insufficient for almost any permanent obsy.  I therefore keep small portable valuable items like eyepieces and cameras in my house.

I tried an online quote from the specialist insurers Glover and Howe, but they wanted over £200 pa, which seems excessive, since my main house's £75,000 contents cover is £75. (I live in a very low risk postcode area, but apparently that isn't taken into account by G & H).

So, if anyone is (understandably) assuming that their home contents cover is adequate for the obsy's contents, it's well worth checking.........

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Astro-Geek

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Toe rags. Sorry Nigella, hopefully it's just a fist sized hole or similar which can be repaired. Dig some small holes filled with poo smeared punji sticks around the new installation. They don't like it up 'em!

 

[NiCo10]

Sorry to hear that.

Fibreglass is easy to repair though, if a little stinky (you should wear a mask anyway).

Just remember that if you have cracks, drill a small hole at the end of the crack to stop the cracks from expanding further.

[Nigella Bryant]

1 minute ago, NiCo10 said:

Sorry to hear that.

Fibreglass is easy to repair though, if a little stinky (you should wear a mask anyway).

Just remember that if you have cracks, drill a small hole at the end of the crack to stop the cracks from expanding further.

Thanks, appreciate your help. 

[Rob]

I would certainly suggest once moved to its new home. Buy some IP security cameras to look over it plus a notice somewhere very visible that claims CCTV. I know that does not help right now, but just for the future

Rob

[Nigella Bryant]

1 hour ago, Rob said:

I would certainly suggest once moved to its new home. Buy some IP security cameras to look over it plus a notice somewhere very visible that claims CCTV. I know that does not help right now, but just for the future

Rob

That's a good Idea Rob, thanks.

[Alan White]

Very sorry to read of this vandalism Nigella,
you have my heartfelt sympathies on this.

As others have said, Fibreglass is very repairable with some thought and care.
It can be repaired very well and made to not look bodged if some time and care is taken.
I know this first hand, as I have repaired a number of boats and kayaks over the years.

A line quoted on 'The Bluebird' rebuild after it was  recovered from Coniston, 'It Will Fix' and it has.

Oddly as Peter Drew said, as so very annoyed I feel with perpetrators of these crimes, 
oddly I do feel some sorrow for them being so desperate to need to do such a thing in the first place.

 

[richard ashbee]

Sorry to hear about this damage, is it covered on your insurance?. Looks like your move was just in time otherwise it could have been worse. Hope you get set up quickly

[sloz1664]

Hi Nigella, Sorry to hear of your demise. As a Pulsar owner I can understand your worries. Which Pulsar model have you got? As could point to method of repair/replace. I have the older mk one version and you cannot remove the dome without dismantling the rollers. The base and dome are complete structures and not sectional.

Steve

[Nigella Bryant]

2 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Very sorry to read of this vandalism Nigella,
you have my heartfelt sympathies on this.

As others have said, Fibreglass is very repairable with some thought and care.
It can be repaired very well and made to not look bodged if some time and care is taken.
I know this first hand, as I have repaired a number of boats and kayaks over the years.

A line quoted on 'The Bluebird' rebuild after it was  recovered from Coniston, 'It Will Fix' and it has.

Oddly as Peter Drew said, as so very annoyed I feel with perpetrators of these crimes, 
oddly I do feel some sorrow for them being so desperate to need to do such a thing in the first place.

 

Yeah, I agree Alan, I do feel sorry for them in as much as they don't know any different and probably drug related to support the habit.

[Nigella Bryant]

1 minute ago, sloz1664 said:

Hi Nigella, Sorry to hear of your demise. As a Pulsar owner I can understand your worries. Which Pulsar model have you got? As could point to method of repair/replace. I have the older mk one version and you cannot remove the dome without dismantling the rollers. The base and dome are complete structures and not sectional.

Steve

Hi, it's about 10yrs old. Walls are separate from dome. It's a 2.7m but despite the age was still good and serviceable. Wasn't going to replace it. It does need washing and rubbing down and recoating which I'm going to do before I put it in it's new position. So hopefully repair what needs repairing and a complete repaint anyway.

[Big Bang!]

5 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Yeah, I agree Alan, I do feel sorry for them in as much as they don't know any different and probably drug related to support the habit.

As one who has a role within the judiciary I can tell you you are absolutely spot-on. I see it all the time, theft to support a habit.  Were it down to me I would order compensation to the value of your loss because making a thief actually work to pay for what he has stolen/damaged brings home the cost of the error. 

Very sorry to hear this.

[Nigella Bryant]

3 hours ago, Big Bang! said:

As one who has a role within the judiciary I can tell you you are absolutely spot-on. I see it all the time, theft to support a habit.  Were it down to me I would order compensation to the value of your loss because making a thief actually work to pay for what he has stolen/damaged brings home the cost of the error. 

Very sorry to hear this.

Thanks, yeah I do feel sorry for them and agree they should be ordered to pay something, but again they don't have the money for compensation so probably end up £1 a month and even that wouldn't be paid. My son in law works in rehabilitation reaching course's to inmate's but often that doesn't work either.

[DaveL59]

5 hours ago, Rob said:

I would certainly suggest once moved to its new home. Buy some IP security cameras to look over it plus a notice somewhere very visible that claims CCTV. I know that does not help right now, but just for the future

Rob

I'd agree, just be sure you locate the cameras well so they can be used to give ID should it be needed, worth getting the type that are smart-IR as they meter the exposure and adjust the output so you can get some detail of the faces. Downside is they are on-camera so you then get the joys of spiders setting up camp on them to dine at the table you've laid out by attracting the wee flying bugs at night. You'll also need to consider the IR pollution to your imaging gear. Even with IR filters, if the beam is hitting the lens then it'll show a flare.

[Skipper Billy]

If you decide to repair it and need any advice then do let me know - we are wooden & fibreglass boat builders/repairers so we have some idea about what we are doing 😉  

We also have good trade contacts for materials dont be going and paying high street prices!!

Feel free to PM me rather than clutter up the thread. Happy to help in any way we can.

[Nigella Bryant]

28 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

If you decide to repair it and need any advice then do let me know - we are wooden & fibreglass boat builders/repairers so we have some idea about what we are doing 😉  

We also have good trade contacts for materials dont be going and paying high street prices!!

Feel free to PM me rather than clutter up the thread. Happy to help in any way we can.

Thanks so much Skipper Billy, will know tomorrow when collected, appreciate the help. Will be in touch when I know things better. Love this forum and all your helpful comments and offer's of help. The astronomical community is out of this world.

[Nigella Bryant]

Update, dome picked up. There are three rips in the fabric of the dome in three different places next to the wheels like the one pictured here. 

[carastro]

Looks like they tried to prise the dome off the walls.  looks as though this might be fixable.

Carole 

[Nigella Bryant]

52 minutes ago, carastro said:

Looks like they tried to prise the dome off the walls.  looks as though this might be fixable.

Carole 

Yeah, Carole, looks that way. 

[MarkAR]

Looks like a fairly easy repair. Rake out any loose stuff from the break and lay some fibreglass over the top. You can get patch kits from places like Halfords.

[Nigella Bryant]

50 minutes ago, MarkAR said:

Looks like a fairly easy repair. Rake out any loose stuff from the break and lay some fibreglass over the top. You can get patch kits from places like Halfords.

Yeah, looks simple to repair thankfully. 

[Astro-Geek]

Yes, really easy to repair, as long as you don't want "invisible mending" quality.

It just needs a band of two layers of fibreglass tape overlapping the crack on both sides, and it will be much stronger than original, forming a reinforced ridge.  If you lay the tape nice and straight it will look fine after it has been repainted

I'd go to a boat place rather than an auto spares and get an epoxy resin kit instead of polyester FG. It gives a much stronger bond to old fibreglass.

Clean it well with Acetone first (wear gloves), also obtainable from the boat place.

If it was me, I'd also reinforce any similar areas near the wheels even though they haven't been damaged.  Make it  as difficult as possible for the B******ds in case it happens again..  🤓