How to secure dinghy and outboard overnight and during storage?

[Cool Hand Luke]

How do you guys secure the dinghy outboard engine? I'm looking to put a chain around the knobs that secure the engine to the dinghy.

What have you found to be the best solutions while going out on land for the day/night or even while leaving the dinghy in the water overnight while sleeping.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

[JPA Cate]

Some people hoist the dinghy (make up a bridle and use a spinnaker halyard for the process), then chain it to the boat. It is then both hard to get at, and if they cut the line, the chain rattling wakes you, and the dinghy is still chained to the boat. If you chain up the dinghy, but leave it in the water, that will usually work--at least where we've been-- but the dinghy bottom stays cleaner if you hoist it.

Some boats fit davits astern and hoist the dinghy every night; we've not wanted to add the weight aft that that would represent, however, the strategy seems to work well for folks who have thought it out and engineered it well. I can't think of anyone off hand who used davits for the dinghy who bothers to lock it or chain it to the boat. It may be area dependent. Some areas are more theft prone than others, and the before Christmas season is a high theft time some places.

Ann



Ann

[RickG]

We put an ABUS padlock through the eyes of the the transom mount screws. We attach one end of a security cable to/through the outboard and the other end runs through the handle of the fuel tank and has another ABUS padlock for locking around boat or dock. We get all of our ABUS padlocks keyed the same.

Cheers, RickG

[iancoombe]

We use a tube lock which covers the mounting bolts. Sometimes when it tied ashore we reverse the fuel line that way it will run for a little bit then stop, our hope is that it won't be discovered.
Cheers

[brianlara 3]

Originally Posted by RickG

We put an ABUS padlock through the eyes of the the transom mount screws. We attach one end of a security cable to/through the outboard and the other end runs through the handle of the fuel tank and has another ABUS padlock for locking around boat or dock. We get all of our ABUS padlocks keyed the same.

Cheers, RickG

My dink sits p/s aft at the boarding ladder with 2 fenders & is tethered to the bow.
I also use Abus locks, good kit.
But instead of a cable I use 3/8" chain, ten feet is locked to toe rail, the other end to the motor.
Half of the chain is in the drink which acts as a spring for Lombards bow waves.
Growth requires a monthly bottom scrub on a beach.
Boat to small to fit dink on deck.
Will probably get a full inflatable prior to crossing Bass Strait. Hard RIB floor is nice for standing but a nuisance otherwise.

[keepondancin]

"We put an ABUS padlock through the eyes of the the transom mount screws."

Several years ago, while my boat was on it's mooring, I secured my 15 two stroke Yamaha on the rail mount that way. One night, some one broke both the screw handles and took the motor. I now use a tube lock over the screws, and a chain through the grab handle and around the pushpit.

While cruising, I would lift with a halyard at night.

[brianlara 3]

I had an 8ft RIB and Honda 5, both less than 6 months old, stolen one night. It was about 3 years ago. Not insured, seriously p....d !!
So now, anything with a body mass of more than 5lbs which comes within ear shot of my possessions, gets sprayed with seriously nasty stuff. It's a solid stream effective range of 12 ft (with no wind - into 10 kts wind 2 metres. It's pressure pack, it's legal to have and carry, can be bought in Automotive spare parts shops. Of course, if one was to wander down the street spraying it wherever.....expect the long arm of the law. Put a can of it on the table at McDonalds.....not offensive in any way & in that situation police have no jurisdiction. A ten year old child can legally buy it here in Australia where we have WONDERFULLY strict gun laws.
In the event of the intending bastard calling the Police I WOULD be guilty of "offensive weapon" charges. It will have been worth it (even given that I'm a 'clean-skin').
All this rant is in part from having to dodge a few too many AK47 rounds.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Thank you so much guys!! I tried looking for a good lock on Amazon. Anyone could point me with a link?

I searched for ABUS and found some nice ones, but they aren't big enough to fit over both mounting bolts. Would a chain and an ABUS work?

Or, a tube lock? I couldn't find a good one on Amazon. Any other sites?

Thanks for all the input!

[Valyn]

Search for "outboard lock" on Amazon, there are a ton of them (they look like square tubes).

[sailon46]

Having lost a 9' Carib with a 24hr old 9.9 Tohatsu at Anguilla one night Road Harbor and having to get to the boat from the beach late at night in a semi-floating contraption of a local Samaritan. I have learned my lesson well. The OB goes down below. and the dingy gets hoisted on the big boat. In Cariacou I was checking in and there was a fight between two local thugs with bolt cutters who was going to take somebody's dingy. Found out that most of the stolen dingys end up in Nevis. There is an entrepreneurial guy that will buy them from the various procurers.
Most people hoist their dings out of the water at night. Its a big racket out there, I paid my dues.
Ernie on the Mary Jane

[TTranscendence]

After a spate of robberies in the anchorage a few years ago I bought a can of PINK Luminous spray paint and sprayed the engine while it was attached to the Zodiac and sprayed it everywhere.
Now I have a very ugly and very easily seen O/B & Dingy.
The engine can be seen 3 miles away!
I also have a SS chain and barrel bolt and lift the lot at night.
The engine now is worthless for a thief.

[kas_1611]

Padlock through the transom screw handles then a bicycle cable lock through the carry handle wrapped through the railing.

Not going to stop the determined thief but will slow him/her down significantly and will deter the opportunist thief who will walk on looking for the unsecured outboard.

Another thing you can do is mark the outboard with your boat name and HIN in some way. There are several aftermarket anti theft systems, such as UV pens, Engraving all the way up to Smart Water. Even just having a sticker saying "this item is protected by ........ " is a massive deterrent. If a thief can't sell an item on he's less likely to nick it in the first place.

Keiron

[hamburking]

For my yamaha 4, I used a cable lock (bike) wrapped around the narrow part of the body, tightly, and around the stern rail. When in the water, I used the same lock with a cable extension.

A neighbour at confederation basin marina (kingston) had their dinghy outboard stolen off their stern rail mount one night. Another night, divers swam into the marina and stole seadoos.

Another night, a 41 foot powerboat went missing from its slip: http://www.thewhig.com/2015/10/07/boat-stolen-from-slip

In the 1000 islands, I'm always surprised that everyone just leaves their dinghies in the water, on long painters overnight. A child could round up a dozen inflatables in a single night. But I have never heard of a dinghy being stolen around here.

Personally, when my dinghy is not in use, its either locked to the stern or deflated and stowed below (engine on stern rail with bike lock).

[akprb]

I'm of the "defacing camp". Our engines are sticker covered nightmares to look at.

Tube lock we put on our 25 Yamaha and 10 years later had to grind it off :-)

We did a cable through the fuel handle to the forward ring inside our AB. This kept the fuel take forward in the boat and would have slowed someone down. (I like the flip the fuel hose around tip mentioned earlier)

At night I clip one of the davit falls inside the boat and tie off the painter in the cockpit. There would be a bit of noise if someone wanted it.

All that being said our only dinghy vandalism was in Pahia NZ when some tourists decided to go for a swim at 3am I'm guessing, they climbed up into the dinghy to rest and one decided to take a massive heineken infused dump. Lovely smell to wake up to and to clean up. Sigh............ :-)

[MarkJ]

I use one of those expensive MotorLoks, the SS tube things. about $100.

But also:

Black grease and finger marks on the engine cover looks like my OB is a pile of non-starting junk.

In a poorly secured anchorage where I'm worried about theft I do not ZOOM the dinghy straight up to my boat. This tells the thieves where the fastest dinghy is. So I go slow to the boat
This idea was learned in Colon Panama where the bad dudes sat under a tree and could see who had a fast dink and didnt lock it onto their boat

Remember: If your dinghy or outboard are stolen 99% of the time its you who was the Dum-Bum leaving it insecure