Tisbury police arrested two Bridgewater men this week for attempting to steal a 1,000-pound lead sailboat keel.

Corey M. Dechaine, 19 and James Carroll McFarland, 21, were apprehended in broad daylight on Monday on property off Oak Hill Road used by Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway for the storage of boat parts.

Boatyard owner Ross Gannon said he was visiting the off-site storage space on an errand when he discovered two men exiting the property in their blue pickup truck. Mr. Gannon said he asked the men what they were doing. “I asked them if they needed some help. I was told, ‘No we made a wrong turn,’” he recalled.

A short time later Mr. Gannon found an assembly of tools and extension chord and a large piece of lead that had been partially cut and moved across the property. Mr. Gannon said the lead was the keel to a boat which was in storage. He also noted that someone had attempted to cut the lead with a Sawzall, a reciprocating saw that had been left nearby.

Mr. Gannon left the property to call the police. When they arrived on the scene, they found the two men attempting to load the heavy piece of lead into the back of their truck.

Both men were arraigned in Edgartown district court on Monday afternoon and charged with larceny over $250.