Best lock for dinghy and outboard?

[epiic]

I recently purchased a brand new dinghy and outboard (Zodiac Cadet 310 RIB / Mercury 9.9hp 4-stroke) and I want to prevent it from being stolen.

What do you guys recommend?

I was told aircraft cable is tough to cut with bolt-cutters...

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by epiic

I recently purchased a brand new dinghy and outboard (Zodiac Cadet 310 RIB / Mercury 9.9hp 4-stroke) and I want to prevent it from being stolen.

What do you guys recommend?

I was told aircraft cable is tough to cut with bolt-cutters...

===

What I do with our dinghy is to run a length of good quality stainless steel cable from one end of the dinghy to the other, starting with the outboard engine, continuing through the fuel tanks, out through the bow eye, and finally to a strong point on shore where it is padlocked. It doesn't have to be perfect but it needs to be highly visible and arguably better than the other dinghys on the same dock. We've never had a problem (knock on wood) even after two winters in the Carib and countless miles through the Bahamas and eastern US.

[msponer]

Definitely run the cable through the gas tank. We didn't at first, until our tank was stolen (in the French side of St Martin).

Also, make the cable long enough that the dinghy can float a polite distance away from the dock. About 6', which leaves room for other people to come alongside the dock. This also helps with tides. There are disabled and elderly cruisers who don't find it easy (or in my daughter's case, possible) to climb over a dinghy that is short tied right up to a crowded dock.

And no matter how hard core you go with locking your dinghy, there have been rounds of thefts in the Caribbean where hydraulic cutters were used. They cut chain to get big outboards as they were locked to the boat overnight.

So I feel there's good reasons to have a little 2hp engine to use in sketchy places. The commute usually isn't far in places where you are locking your dinghy (-- towns with docks), and small outboards are much less of a target.

[chouliha]

Originally Posted by epiic

I recently purchased a brand new dinghy and outboard (Zodiac Cadet 310 RIB / Mercury 9.9hp 4-stroke) and I want to prevent it from being stolen.

What do you guys recommend?

I was told aircraft cable is tough to cut with bolt-cutters...

We have had excellent results using this European solid SS lock
stanzo out board lock in the last 11 years of cruising. Purchased it thru Sailors Solutions online.

http://www.sailorssolutions.com/inde...ls&Item=lock01

Good luck with your choice

Chuck

[capt-couillon]

Can't "Prevent" it, best you can hope for is to reduce the risk. All of the above suggestions reduce the risk, but there is another one that also helps.

Shiny is nice, but never wear a Rolex on the bad side of town... Just sayin.

Add a number of non-functional patches to your shiny new inflatable (curl up the edges on a few...
Mist the tubes and deck with a little water based latex enamel (flat black)
Rub it in good with a damp cloth.
Point is to make her look old and tired... Once had a buddy who spent 2 whole days covering his dink and seats with hand painted bird poo. Nobody EVER touched that one.

Scuff the engine cowl up with some 80# paper and scrape off them shiny new stickers. Repaint (with a brush) the ugliest color you can come up with (pea green?) Repeat "old and ill cared for trick). Same thing on your shiny new tank...

What you have now is a brand new dinghy and motor that looks like s**t.
Hard on the sensibilities, but when the gypsies are walking the dock looking to steal, you will be (hopefully) way down the list

[Sailorman Ed]

After a lot of reading, I bought a Stanzo lock from Sailor Solutions as well.
Also have a long SS cable, a cruddy dingy (I like the hand painted bird poop) and I plan to make the nice engine cowling look terrible.

Been watching for a small outboard too.

[mikeeeee]

get a good quality stainless cable to thread everything through.

buy a high quality pair of handcuffs.

great visible deterrent.

[sailon46]

Originally Posted by epiic

I recently purchased a brand new dinghy and outboard (Zodiac Cadet 310 RIB / Mercury 9.9hp 4-stroke) and I want to prevent it from being stolen.

What do you guys recommend?

I was told aircraft cable is tough to cut with bolt-cutters...

I had a cruddy dingy and a brand new Tohatsu 9.9 stolen at Road Town Anguila
bolt cutters used. I caught a guy in Carriacou trying to use bolt cutters on my replacement dingy and Tohatsu 9.9. Since these incidents I have become very insecure about the dingy situation so I lift her out of the water with a halyard.
Its part of the Caribb experience I guess. Found another piece of info while in Nevis. There is a guy there that buys most of the stolen dingies so if you have lost one that is where yours is probably.

[a64pilot]

Aircraft SS control cable is near as I can tell identical to un-coated lifeline cable.
Don't waste your money on airplane parts.
Not all control cables are SS, the SS ones in an aircraft that doesn't need the corrosion protection, are inferior in strength and do not last as long, but there is nothing special about aircraft cable, good bolt cutters will go through it like butter.

[Tugwit]

I use a couple of long shackle Corbin Sesamee padlocks to secure the dink:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...4YPBXDQ80JTX63
One is run through the outboard clamp handles (and is also used to lock the outboard to the pushpit when off the dink). The other is used to secure the dinghy to the dock using a long cable.
These locks are brass (which resists corrosion) with a resettable combination (no misplaced keys). Knowing the combo, you can unlock these locks in the dark by feel.
Nothing is perfect security, but locks do make it more difficult to make off with a dinghy, and hopefully thieves will choose an easier target.

[luckychucky]

Locks keep honest people honest.

[Mainstay]

DockNLock - Home of Boat Security Products

Very good and affordable...

[Amapola]

We anchor out and always bring the dink on board at night. When going ashore, we use a cable & lock like others have posted.

[Peter200]

Always lock the engine, tank and dink with good stainless cable and a Yale padlock but somebody stole my new outboard throttle extension arm in St Marteen at the yacht club dink dock - Now have a gun rack fitted to the dink no troubles since

[Dave22q]

A large, unfriendly dog !!! Guaranteed to work except when it doesn't. :>)