Anti-theft devices for your outboard....
- Thread starter yugnoir
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I use a BFC
BIG FREAKING CHAIN that you need 3' bolt cutters on BUT a battery grinder could still cut it in about 5 seconds .
BIG FREAKING CHAIN that you need 3' bolt cutters on BUT a battery grinder could still cut it in about 5 seconds .
That's a good question. I have mine in mast up storage and I worry about it all the time, despite the bad paint job.
I wonder if taking the handles off, that are mounting handles off that are split pinned on, would slow them down?
I have a 1/4'' cable on it now with a lock that has rusted shut that only slows me down.
I wonder if taking the handles off, that are mounting handles off that are split pinned on, would slow them down?
I have a 1/4'' cable on it now with a lock that has rusted shut that only slows me down.
Careful how you lock it as well.. We had someone go through the marina late at night in a bateaux. They simply drove up to the stern of a sailboat, and with a battery powered wrench, quickly un-bolted the mounting pad on many motor brackets and made off with the motor and the chain or screw locks and the mounting pad. Takes about a minute or less .. Chain should go to something substantial like a pulpit stanchion.
Someone hit my marina where boats were on trailers. The only ones they couldn't get were the ones with the lock-type bolt heads on the McG's. They got my Honda 7.5 which only ran 20 seconds before I had to squeeze the primer bulb again. For sure, put a chain around something that can not be unbolted and stolen along with the motor. Maybe an eye bolt ot u-bolt in the transom?
Our storage yard is suppose to replace the chain link fence with a higher one that, again, will only prevent my 200# 60 yr old carcass from getting in when I forget my card key. I've seen the girls at our school go over a 12' fence like Navy Seals.
An auto alarm might also protect the cabin and laz from entry.
An auto alarm might also protect the cabin and laz from entry.
I often worried about my motors(1st a 2.2hp then a merc 4hp) being stolen and for a while installed and uninstalled each use. this got to be a real drag and i started looking at the larger boats to find that they were using a motor lock (availabe at west marine) that slips over the long thumbscrews and has a padlock slip in that shows hardly any of the lock to be hacked at or pried at.
Of course, any anti-theft device will only work if the thief is not determined to have YOUR item, and any battery powered recip. saw will slice through the adjustable motor mounts or even the turnscrews themselves in a few minutes.:cussing:
Of course, any anti-theft device will only work if the thief is not determined to have YOUR item, and any battery powered recip. saw will slice through the adjustable motor mounts or even the turnscrews themselves in a few minutes.:cussing:
That works if you can spend your life in the boat. How about a GPS child locator?
The downside of these I found is that one tends to forget about it and the lock, which gets hit with water all the time when the engine is in the down position, quickly freezes up and then YOU have to play thief to cut it off yourself! I went to chain, then plastic covered wire with Nicro press loops at the ends. No matter what you do, a well organized and equipped thief is gonna cut through almost anything that is of reasonable weight and heft without being obvious overkill. The weak link in the chain (pardon the pun) is the hasp of the lock, which bolt cutters will make into butter in a few seconds. Almost a given: grin & bear it, that's what insurance is for, but doesn't make any of us feel any better. There is simply no way to stop it, other than stopping the entrance of the thieves.
Here's a good lock for an outboard. Really tough to cut through, and really simple to install. It's a little pricey, but probably a lot cheaper than your deductible... 
Photo courtesy of Sailor Solutions, click to see product page there.
Photo courtesy of Sailor Solutions, click to see product page there.
I can buy a used 9.9 two stroke with good compression for a few hundred dollars. Spend a weeks worth of evenings tearing down and rebuilding and have a motor that starts every time for several years at least. I bought an evinrude electric start long shaft in 1999 and it's still great. I would be pissed but not broke if someone made off with it. I know 4 strokes are more efficient et cetera but $2000 will buy me gas for 15 years.
There are so many new 4 strokes around me that my motor would be the last choice for a thief.
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All that does is force them to use vise grips to turn the clamping bolts. You really need a lock of some sort.
Locks like these don't work well for dinghy motors, since they usually require the clamps to be adjustable so that they motor can be moved from the dinghy to be stored on the mother ship. These are really designed for permanently mounted outboards that are bolted in place.
Found it on Ebay for $14 with shipping. Only had a few minutes to buy. If it works great if not it will be back on Ebay. I keep my boat in mast up storage and there is constantly a number of homeless people hawking boat parts. To them if it isn't locked down it is fair game.
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