How do you lock your outboard to prevent theft ?

[Bob Lufkin]

Just purchased a new OB. What's the best way to prevent someone from taking it?

 

[Richard]

OB lock

Friends of ours use a piece of vinyl covered cable about 15' long with eyes crimped on both ends. This allows you to padlock it to the dinghy dock or to the boat when unattended. Size of the cable is up to you.

 

[steve c]

on my outboard i have

to square holes at the bottom of the motor mount so i found out that a 5/16 carrage bolt fits in that hole so i drilled 2 holes in my motor mount brackit put the 5/16 carrage bolts i made shure they were long bolts so after i tightend them down i bent the ends over so now if you want to steal my motor you will have to cut the bolts off and good luck becaus there is no room to cut them down side is i cant get my motor off i will have to cut the bolts out my self the motor will not !!!!! come off the mount un less they want to try and rip the hole thing off my boat!!!!

 

[Robet Bonney]

Cable

I used the same plastic coated cable that Richard mentioned on mine. The added benefit is that it will catch your outboard if it should somehow work loose from the bracket and decide to go for a swim.

 

[John renfro]

lock

hello bob, I have a 6 ½ hp o/b. I take it home with me but, I would cable and lock it down if I were leaving it.john

 

[Andy]

OB Lock - not a cable

I've used an OB lock that covers the two thumb bolts that secure the OB to the mounting board. I believe I bought it from West Marine. It is specifically made for this purpose but resembles a piece of channel iron that is permanently blocked at one end and a padlock secures the other. The device prevents anyone from unbolting the outboard from the mounting block. I've had it for years. Never lost a motor. If someone wanted to circumvent the lock, they would have use a hack saw to cut through it. It would take a while and would be pretty noisy and obvious. My concern with the cables is they are too easy to cut with bolt cutters.