Dinghy security

[b-rad]

Planing my first crusing trip in a few months and this is one thing that I have been trying to figure out. When you take your dingy ashore do you lock it? What do you use, Do you lock it everywhere ? When you pull up on the empty beach and go for a walk do you pull the dingy up to a tree and lock it? What about dingy docks? Im sure my lil zodiac with a 3.5 hp isnt a theives first choice, It will keep me from swiming back to the boat.
Thanks

Brad

[Greg S]

Much, much easier to lock it all the time than to guess when it's OK not to. Only rarely do I find locations where I feel comfortable not locking it up.

[Jim Cate]

G'Day B-Rad,

The Arabs (I think) say "trust in Allah, but tie your camel to a tree". A similar line of reasoning goes with dinks. When in what we perceive as high risk areas, we lock the dink to something solid, and we use 3/16" HT chain. Commonly used life-line covered stainless wire is too easy to cut with tools that you can hide in your pants pockets.

This can be a pita, but (as we found out in Hobart a few years ago) to not lock up invites an expensive lesson in human behavior. A pity, but part of modern cruising. Actually, the Hiscocks had a dinghy pinched in Hobart a long time ago... I shoulda paid more attention to their writings!

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Towlers Bay, NSW, Oz

[SailFastTri]

We use a Kryptonite Kryptoflex Cable 20 or 30`. It comes with crimped eyes at each end and we add a Sesamee combination lock at each end. One end gets locked to both motor mount screws (locked together so they can't be turned) and the other end gets locked to something ashore.

Yes someone with the right tools can compromise our security, but it will not be a crime of convenience. Hopefully they will pick lower-hanging fruit.

An open beach with no structure to lock up to near the water is a problem. I have no solution to that, If you're with another boat it would be good to lock multiple dinghies together on the beach.

[foamcore]

I have found that a funky, dirty dink with a beat up looking motor seems go a long way towards security. My beat up hard dink with old Seagull didn't attract much attention.

[downunder]

Yeah

nobody, nobody in their right mind would try to pinch a Seagull outboard.

[markpierce]

The best advice is "don't get off the boat" so there isn't a risk of dinhy loss. There are tigers "out there" If there is a risk of dinghy loss, keep the dinghy in constant sight.

[foamcore]

Ya, it was a constant source of frustration but mostly it worked and it stayed around, that and the El Toro hull I called a tender! It's gone, sold now I'll be on the look out for something similar for my next trip this spring.

[foamcore]

The don't use it or keep watch over it school is kind of defating the purpose of a tender, I think

[lorenzo123]

Anchored many times at Clipper Cove in SF Bay, just under the Bay Bridge; would row to shore and take the bus into SF. On advice from the locals, would always lock my dink with heavy chain to a post, and also hide the oars. Nontheless, returned once to find my padlock snapped and the dink not as I'd left it. It seems that some youngsters wandered over to the beach and fancied a boatride. They had brought bolt cutters! Another boater had seen them heading out for their joyride and called SFPD Marine, which, fortunately, had a station there. No harm was done (other than one ruined padlock). The kids, not meaning any real harm, had only wanted to go out in a boat--who can blame them? Unfortunately, the prevaling wind nudged them out into the channel and without oars, no way back. SFPD returned the dink to the beach, and the kids to their parents, but I always paused on how 8 year olds thought ahead to bring bolt cutters.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by lorenzo123

Anchored many times at Clipper Cove in SF Bay, just under the Bay Bridge; would row to shore and take the bus into SF. On advice from the locals, would always lock my dink with heavy chain to a post, and also hide the oars. Nontheless, returned once to find my padlock snapped and the dink not as I'd left it. It seems that some youngsters wandered over to the beach and fancied a boatride. They had brought bolt cutters! Another boater had seen them heading out for their joyride and called SFPD Marine, which, fortunately, had a station there. No harm was done (other than one ruined padlock). The kids, not meaning any real harm, had only wanted to go out in a boat--who can blame them? Unfortunately, the prevaling wind nudged them out into the channel and without oars, no way back. SFPD returned the dink to the beach, and the kids to their parents, but I always paused on how 8 year olds thought ahead to bring bolt cutters.

hard to beleave any 8 year old could do this, maybe 12 years olds -What about some kind of tracking device that could be installed under the engine cover- anyone doing this?

[Coachbolt61]

There was an idea I saw seemed to make sense. Those screw on bung hole covers. One in the transom. One in the front of the rear seat. When you leave the dinghy take both covers. If they want to take it they will definitely get wet feet before they get two feet of the shore. Smiles.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by Coachbolt61

There was an idea I saw seemed to make sense. Those screw on bung hole covers. One in the transom. One in the front of the rear seat. When you leave the dinghy take both covers. If they want to take it they will definitely get wet feet before they get two feet of the shore. Smiles.

thats only gonna work in a hard dink-most folks have inflatables

[capngeo]

In Key West the dinghys stay in the water at the city dinghy dock, so the screw in plug won't work there either..

I subscribe to the POS (piece of ****) dinghy theory... Brand new dink and motor, I glued a few big patches over nonexistent leaks, sprayed the motor with flat gray primer after whacking it with a chain a bit. Stencil and spray painted my reg number in 6" tall letters down the side of the tube.

[boatman61]

I use 20ft small SS chain and 2 padlocks... use one to make an eye through the D rings at the bow... the other end I wrap tightly round a cleat/bollard/tree... whatever.. and secure with other padlock... only takes a coupla minutes outa your day and can save you hours of frustration and possibly your boat if there's a dragging situation and your dinghys gone....
No deterrant to the Pro... but they're usually after the 'safe' targets at night swinging off your stern...