I haven't heard of any dinghies which were on the boat deck being stolen, but back a few years ago, when inflatables were "required" in Costa Rica on fishing boats, there were some stolen off the foredeck of sailboats and outboards taken from the cockpit. That is a lot different than steeling a dinghy off a boat deck of a trawler, where a crane davit has to be used. We tried to avoid areas where thieft was rampant, but as I noted not always successfully. We have carried "CounterAssult" bear spray in Canada, as well as Mexico without any question. In fact in one area in the Queen Charolettes in Canada, we were specifically instructed to have Bear spray--and kept the brochure. I agree that you should not confront an armed person with pepper spray. However the usual thief will be armed with a machette. No way you can tell if he has .38 or some other firearm. But in many countries side arms are not perticulary common. However, I would not recommend a 12 guage insert in a 25 mm Flare gun....Even the "Pirates Plague" 12 guage inserts are only for their very low load 12 guage blank or red pepper cartrage. I suspect that a police officer will not discern between a 12 guage slug and one of these light load shells. Plus all of these are single shots, and the one "success" they report disentegrated the flare gun.... Regards Bob Austin