It was one of two outboard engines reported stolen in the space of a week.
A yard off Leyland St was entered and a 10hp Johnson motor was taken along with a Yamaha TT90 off-road motorcycle.
Mr Burne said the motorcycle was later spotted for sale online.
Off-road machines were also the targets of thieves who broke into a property at Turner Place in Onekawa.
A rear door was smashed to gain entry and two quad bikes along with a pit-lane bike with the number 46 on it taken.
A 1954 primer grey-coloured Massey Ferguson tractor was the target during a break-in at a Mersey St commercial property, along with general items of office furniture while thieves made off with an unregistered white caravan they hitched up to from a yard in Cadbury Rd.