Prevent Dinghy Motor theft

jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,934
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
CarlN said:
one year I forgot and it corroded locked
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Try this product... Corrosion Block.

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I have been using it since 2016 On my boat parts. I have used an inexpensive Master lock on my lazerette. First year it started to rust after 60 days exposed to the marine air. Now I spray it inside and out once a year. Have had the same lock exposed 24/7 365 and works like new. Key slips in and out. Tumblers open and close like magic.
 
RoyS

RoyS

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Jun 3, 2012
1,742
Hunter 33 Steamboat Wharf, Hull, MA
You could paint it an ugly color. Back when I started working in construction everyone had a chain and a padlock to secure their ladders on the job overnight. I purchased a wooden four foot step ladder (standard in those days) and immediately painted it baby blue. Never locked it. I still have that ladder fifty years later. Still ugly BTW.
 
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DArcy

DArcy

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Feb 11, 2017
1,768
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
I used to work in a bike shop, guys there painted multi-thousand dollar bikes with horrible rattle can paint jobs. They didn't get stolen after that.
We also used to say all bikes weigh 50 lbs. A 10 lb bike needs a 40 lb lock, 30 lb bike needs a 20 lb lock... a 50 lb bike doesn't need a lock.
 
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chuckwayne

chuckwayne

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Mar 20, 2004
1,746
Hunter 356 and 216 Portland, ME
dlochner said:
Thieves are looking for the quick easy grab and get away. Think smash and dash jewelry robberies. All that needs to be done is to slow them down. I had one motor stolen, they didn't take time to disconnect the fuel line, just cut it with a knife.

Thieves also want to be quiet, hitting the handles to break them makes noise.

As mentioned earlier, leaving them on the dinghy and not having the dinghy well secured or lifted out of the water is an invitation. A thief glides up to the dinghy, cuts the painter and tows the dinghy to another location and takes the motor off. If the boat is at anchor or on a mooring, just drift down wind before starting the motor to make a quick getaway.
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Dave is right! a friend of mine had his brand new dinghy and motor taken off a manned restaurant dock! the thieves just walked onto the dock like they had eaten in the restaurant and were going back to their boat. Since then, i have a regular painter AND a coiled steel cable with a padlock on the bow eye of my dink
 
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S

scuba201

.
Aug 22, 2019
59
n/a n/a Galveston
jon hansen said:
i never leave the engine on the dingy, ever. always put it away.
never lost one yet
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Yes, this is what I was asking about, secured to the back of the sailboat not on my dinghy. The sailboat has a pedestal for t eh outboard when not on the dinghy.
 
Charlie Jones s/v Tehani

Charlie Jones s/v Tehani

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Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
CarlN said:
I did fail to tie it up right a few times and it drifted off on it's own. I think a lot of the "dinghy thefts" are that...
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Yep- I lost one like that and never found it . Also had one come loose while I was alone aboard. Fortunately someone saw and retrieved
 
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DArcy

DArcy

.
Feb 11, 2017
1,768
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
Charlie Jones s/v Tehani said:
Yep- I lost one like that and never found it . Also had one come loose while I was alone aboard. Fortunately someone saw and retrieved
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I lost a dinghy once in the middle of Georgian Bay. It was a windless day and I could just see it on the horizon when I noticed so we turned around recovered it easily. Another time crossing Georgian Bay we found a dinghy floating on it's own. A call on the VHF found the rightful owner.
 
C

colemj

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Jul 13, 2004
530
Dolphin Catamaran Dolphin 460 Mystic, CT
scuba201 said:
Yes, this is what I was asking about, secured to the back of the sailboat not on my dinghy. The sailboat has a pedestal for t eh outboard when not on the dinghy.
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In that case, I would drill a hole through the mount to match the outboard bolt hole(s) and put a security bolt through it. No thief is going to want to spend a lot of time at a boat with the proper tool working on that bolt. It should only take a minute for you to get it off/on.

Mark
 
TheCruisingExperience

TheCruisingExperience

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Dec 26, 2019
21
Oyster 62 & Oyster 53 Caribbean, Greece
We use an enormous 3/4 inch thick cable with an equally imposing lock to attach the Highfield dinghy with 40hp outboard to the mothership at night. While at the dinghy dock, a smaller cable is used. No issues of thefts around Guadeloupe or Antigua, but we lock up mostly because everyone else does around here and so we don’t want to be the lowest hanging fruit. In the Mediterranean, we have never once locked the dinghy over the past nine years, nobody does and no reports of any being stolen.

My gut feeling is that most are not stolen, but rather not tied up securely and drift away. More than once we’ve found a loose line or untied cleat knot in the morning, but the cable and stern line held the dinghy fast to the side of mothership.
 
sail sfbay

sail sfbay

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Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
scuba201 said:
How do you folks keep your outboards from being stolen? Any way to lock it to the boat?
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I lock the Torqeedo motor with a combo cable lock to the rail and remove / stow the battery and control arm. Since the control arm cannot be purchased separately(I believe) stealing the motor without it would be useless.
 
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