tell me how you secure your outboards

[plazmore]

i just had my battery and all fishing gear stolen out of my boat, right under my nose. my outboard is next i am sure...can buy alot of crack with an outboard...my cousin got his stolen right under his bedroom window, which was open...<br /><br />i would like to hear how you all like to protect your outboard from being stolen. from what i can gather, there are lots of choices, but not much will stop a determined thief. <br /><br />a freind had his 200hp merc stolen from behind a security gate at a shipyard. the lock was 5/8" at the shank, but was cut like butter...

 

[Ron G]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

Dam crack or crank heads.i dont know what to tell ya except fire off some rounds every now and again.Welcome to iboats!

 

[crab bait]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

this is what i did..<br /><br />i bore an extra motor mounting bolt hole ( so if'n you need say 4 holes & 4 bolts,, now you have 5 )..<br /><br />i always bore out to a size hole that matches K&B brass tubing.. ( K & B tubing at good hardware an hobby shops ..extremely thin walled an tons of sizes up to 3/4 " )<br /><br />cut to lenght an epoxied in/thru transom.. <br /><br />that way,, the transom is sealed from rot..<br /><br />in the 5th hole ,, i install a tongue hitch " bar-bell " lock.. put/add nuts/or metal sleeve to take-up any shaft slack/slop as so to thrwart hacksaw..

 

[Navigator]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

You may want to simply bolt a piece of steel over the engine mounting bolts so they cant be removed.<br />Or install a car alarm with motion sensore under the cowling. Noise is always a great deterent.<br /><br />As for protecting the entire boat from theft, you could always get one of those wheel clamps that the parking police always use. They clamp over a tire and prohibit it from rolling. They're not all that expensive when you consider what they are protecting.<br /><br />What I do when I'm moored overnight at a campsite is to tilt the engine all the way out of the water. I then slide one of those kryptonite Bicycle U-Locks around the tilt hinge. In essence, it prohibits the engine from being tilted back into the water. If they want the boat, then they have to row it or tow it. Never had a problem yet <br /><br />Nav

 

[sergioy]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

Note to self, " never move to Mukiteo, WA."

 

[one more cast]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

Just luck I guess. but who would wan't to steal a couple of outboards from the '80's anyway. If I catch someone trying there WILL be shots fired.

 

[plazmore]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

i just went target shooting for the first time in years, and came home with the target, showing six shots to the head, and six more to the torso...maybe i should hang it on the boat somewhere as a visual deterent... <br /><br />beware of owner with an attitude....i just wish i could catch em, just one time...<br /><br />and thanks for the input!

 

[Holdimhook]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

A determined thief is hard to thwart. Locks usually don't even slow them down. That being said, mine is in a fenced back yard secured by a big black dog, an insurance policy, and Smith and Wesson!

 

[dtherrien]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

Something else you can try ....an outdoors digital camera...the type you use for wildlife-hunting. Cabelas or bass pro have many diff. models to chose from. I use them at work(residental contractor), one camera in the front and one in the back of the house.You set them up so that anything that crosses the beam...it wikk take the picture....mount it where nobody can get to it.

 

[amirm]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

Originally posted by water_surge:<br /> Note to self, " never move to Mukiteo, WA."

No need for the note as there is no "Mukiteo" in WA . There is a Mukilteo though and it is a lovely place on Puget Sound. I usually take the ferry from there to go to Whidbey Island.<br /><br />Anyway, back to the topic, I use one of those bar locks for my trolling Yamaha OB. No protection for the main engine. But, I store the boat at the Oak Harbor Marina parking lot which only has a chain-link fence that seperates it from the marine base with more guns than all of you combined . So far so good....<br /><br />Amir

 

[roscoe]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

I live in a neighborhood where all my neighbors have much better toys to steal. They leave my junk alone.

 

[Triton II]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

We have a system here called "datadots" which helps trace stolen goods... they have spread to the USA look at:<br /> http://www.datadotusa.com/index.htm

 

[peterc38]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

Sorry to hear about your loss. I think that as your friend experienced, even with an adequate lock, if they want it bad enough, its gone. I live in a real low crime area. I've read that Maine has the highest rate of gun ownership in the country, so maybe thieves think twice around here. I worry most about my 14 ft aluminum boat with a honda 20 on it, just because it seems like it would be easiest to steal. I also have:<br /><br />1.) locks<br />2.) guns<br />3.) 2 Great Danes with the run of the property<br />4.) insurance<br /><br />so far so good anway

 

[plazmore]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

i think perhaps the best thing is to move farther away from the methlabs and crack addicts, and put up a fence to keep em out...but really the only answer is to do my best to secure my lil boat, and to have insurance to take care of it if lost...what about the commercial motor locks i have seen? are any of them foolproof? thanks for all the input!

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: tell me how you secure your outboards

Where I used to live, I had a neighbor 2 doors down that had a way. He was an elderly gentleman and was reputed to imbibe to excess occassionally. Two to three times a year, in the middle of the night, he would walk out and pull off several rounds with his .38. Since no one saw him, there was nothing the police would do. He gained the reputation of being unstable, however, he never had any trouble with thefts.