locking up a dinghy motor ?

When traveling, how do you lock up a
dinghy motor ?
Anybody worry about getting a new motor stolen ?
Looking at a Yamaha 9.9 but don't
want it disappearing while I'm out doing
things.

I have one, but have never used it. That, however, really depends on where you're cruising.

Fulton Outboard Motor Lock

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/master-lock--outboard-brass-bracket-lock--350074?recordNum=1

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/mari...vy-duty-stainless-steel--17460361?recordNum=3

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--high-security-outboard-bar-lock--9329905?recordNum=4

I have mine through bolted to the transom, and then I run a cable through the handle to a dock cleat if possible when I leave it. Someone with a wrench and some time could still easily steal it, but it makes it tougher.

Or if they could cut the cable they could steal the whole dinghy.

I don't have my motor locked in any way because so far, when the dinghy is out of the garage, we're in it.


When we head to Puget Sound I'll buy one of those first two locks Shrew linked to.

We keep the engine on the dinghy and the dinghy on the davit for the most part and run a cable through the handle on the motor through the davit.

The one time I didn't hoist the dinghy or lock it, the dinghy was stolen (home marina too!). I recovered the dinghy but they took everything else.

Along the east coast I do not worry about locking the outboard until we get south to to FL.

We purchased a 15hp Yamaha and a new AB Rib in 2008. Traveled up the east coast from Florida to New England and the Hudson during each summer. Still have the dinghy and motor.
So......here’s the best way to keep your dinghy from leaving.
Make the engine undesirable.
We removed all the factory decals
Painted a strip on it
And put a “8” on it.

We also installed the cross bar lock.

Then we installed “Eye” nuts on the bow “U” bolt and fastened a pad lock into the two nuts holding a chain that locks the dinghy to the local area dock while we are away.

We also chain the gas can to the motor.
You can buy four pack lock sets so the key is the same.
Happy Cruising

I use a long plastic covered SS wire through the motor, and dingy and dock. Nothing is perfect but it will make thieves look elsewhere first.
Consider spraying the motor flat black so it doesn't look new.

In the Caribbean, everything gets locked, cans, motor, boat, oars, etc. Use SS chain instead of cable, as the cable can be nicked thru with wire cutters. I found a motor cover in a trash pile that had barnacles on it, and glass worn out. Replaced my cover with it. Now people are nervous for me to take them anywhere in it

At home in the US, never worried about it.

The master lock shown in post 7 is what I have used for years. Because the hasp of the lock is semi-buried you can't use a bolt cutter on it. When a lock has frozen on (my fault in salt water need to clean and oil once a month) I have had to spend some time with a powered saber saw to cut off the lock. Another company sells a stainless steel tube with the same arrangement with a built in lock. More secure certainly but it would be a real problem to have to cut off when the lock is frozen. I go with the theory of make it difficult but not impossible. The thief will go for the easy prey.

In the Caribbean I agree with Scott, lock everything including the gas can.

We use a motorloc - All stainless steel, much better the than the West Marine type locks. Plus the motor is bolted to transom.

Dougcole said:

I have mine through bolted to the transom, and then I run a cable through the handle to a dock cleat if possible when I leave it. Someone with a wrench and some time could still easily steal it, but it makes it tougher.

Or if they could cut the cable they could steal the whole dinghy.

Click to expand...

This
Or if I can't lock to something on the pontoon I put the outboard on full lock and run the cable through the welded alloy handles on the dinghy so if the do take it they can only go in circles.

I've never locked mine.

One of things I really like about our Torqeedo is that I just take the battery and the handle/brain piece inside the cabin. The lower unit is just strapped to the ladder in the cockpit. If somebody sneaked aboard in the night to steal that it isn't much use.

What I have not figured out yet is how to secure the whole motor on the dink when we are ashore. Right now it's a bicycle cable lock, but that's easily defeated.

Just repeating what most have said. We thru bolt motor to the transom, pad lock thru the manual tightening screws and the best advise ever is to make it undesirable. We painted ours flat black and placed SOLAS grade reflective tape around the cover. Makes it easy to find at night.

Locks keep honest people honest.
If they are desperate enough they will steal your boat too.
The only time I have seen a boat chained to the dock was when the boat was arrested for failure to pay dock fees.

I lock my dingy to dingy docks and see many others do the same.

I also have the token bike lock on the motor, but then I never leave the dingy someplace where the motor but not the boat is likely to disappear.

The classic police response to a theft is did you lock it?..and if no...they roll their eyes..

Not saying locks prevent theft, but supposedly they reduce it.

Better someone else than me.

Sure it is insured, but my time is valuable and claiming and replacing dingies isnt on my calendar.

psneeld said:

Better someone else than me.

Click to expand...

Bingo! That, in a nutshell, the whole purpose of locking things up. You want to "target harden" whatever it is you're trying to protect so the thief goes to the next dinghy or the next dock to steal a motor or the whole boat.

OldDan
In the 2008 era boat owners on the Rideau in Ottawa were chaining their boats to the sidewall as kids were untying the boats in the middle of the night and letting them float away.

Bay Pelican said:

OldDan
In the 2008 era boat owners on the Rideau in Ottawa were chaining their boats to the sidewall as kids were untying the boats in the middle of the night and letting them float away.

Click to expand...

Did they ever catch one or two of the kids? If so, I do hope they were made public, given a trial before they were beat in the public square.

IF it looks really bad , motor , folding bike , whatever a thief is more likely to steal somewhere else.

In NYC the motto is SHOW SHI*.

I put a long hasp combination lock on mine, so far no problems with that. If they want the motor they'll have to take the dinghy too, we raise it on the davits at night.

In the Caribbean meter long bolt cutters are common. Many of which were originally stolen from sailboats. They cut through dinghy cables like a knife through warm butter. Standard combinations locks can be opened faster with these bolt cutters than with the combination.
The key in terms of the lock is protecting the shackle from attack by a bolt cutter.

Now that the Great Harbor TT 35 actually looks like it really is going to be a production item; going to have to think about securing those outboards as well.

OldDan1943 said:

Did they ever catch one or two of the kids? If so, I do hope they were made public, given a trial before they were beat in the public square.

Click to expand...

Yes ,they caught them! IIRC their names were Baker and Al... Damn Hooligans

I run a SS cable through the motor's hand grip, fuel tank and bow eye and use a bronze padlock when tied to public docks. If I have any worry about someone making off with it during the night, I use my davit crane and lift the fully equipped dinghy onto its chocks on the forward deck.

Sailor of Fortune said:

Yes ,they caught them! IIRC their names were Baker and Al... Damn Hooligans

Click to expand...

and the disposition of the trial was?

Plastic covered stainless steel wire.