3 doors, 3 different keys

My dirt home has 3 doors and the same key unlocks all three of them. Not so on my 2007 Mariner 37 Seville. 3 doors, two in the pilothouse and one from the salon into the cockpit, and each has a different key. Can anyone key them alike?

Sounds simple, but may not be the case.

I replaced locks on 3 doors, and still ended up with 3 different keys. Dirt homes have larger lock cylinders that most good locksmiths can "key alike". These cylinders, in mortice locks at least, are just too bulky to work on a boat door.

My new locks on the boat, and i suspect most boat locks, use "mini cylinders" that are relatively rare in comparison. A specialist locksmith might have the parts required, but most of them won't. A this point I just live with it. I have colour coded the pilothouse keys red & green (port & starboard) and just have the salon door key on the car key ring. The other keys are in my backpack should I not want to enter via the salon for some reason.

I don't see an advantage to having different keys for every door on a 37 foot boat or even a 137 foot boat. More to carry around, more to lose, color coded or not, more fooling around trying to get in. What am I missing?

I agree one key is ideal. What you are missing is that it could be a lot harder than you realise to just end up with one key for the lot. I would have done it if I could have....

I will add, unless the keys are the same type meaning the cylinders are the same you will never get one key to fit all three.
If they are the same but keyed different, take two off to a locksmith and key to the third.
Same as done with house locks when retrofitting.

The lock sets (if that is the right term) are all identical.

So contact a locksmith and ask them. You may have to try a couple of them.


I don't have multiple doors, just one, but I am having trouble getting a new key cut at all from the normal sources and some are quite good. The blanks are simply N/A easily.
I am going to have to find a locksmith.
All of our small boats have locksets different from house sets.

For different applications I have used the key head covers in different colours to
differentiate between keys.

Otherwise it is the boat builders goof up. They likely could have done that at the time of building.

Maybe my Google Fu is not as weak as I thought. Turns out Mariner/Helmsman uses White Water door latch hardware, specifically the model S12-410 latch. Being Taiwanese boats, it should not be surprising that White Water hardware is made in China.

https://whitewatermh.com/product/stainless-steel-sliding-door-lock-set-with-key/

I talked with their US reps in both OEM and retail divisions and both were surprised that the three doors are not keyed alike. The also reported that while they can not re-key the lock cylinders, they are removable and should be able to be re-keyed by any competent locksmith. Life is good!

HeadedToTexas said:

The lock sets (if that is the right term) are all identical.

Click to expand...

We used to own two houses, a motorhome and a boat. I had one key too many, as I couldn't find a way to key the boat the same as the others, so 2 keys.
Take the cylinders to the locksmith, who can easily and inexpensively key them the same.
The boat key is old style, like a "skeleton key"
The other locks were already, or could be changed to a single brand of lock. Mine were all Schlage.

koliver said:

Take the cylinders to the locksmith, who can easily and inexpensively key them the same.

Click to expand...

That's my plan. Glad to hear it has been done! Thanks K.

Ditto on the lock Smith. But consider this.

I don't lock my doors. If someone wants to steal something they can have it. If the doors are locked, then the thieves break windows, damage doors and other things. These would be almost impossible to replace due to age of the boat.

Besides, insurance will cover stuff stolen.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Ditto on the lock Smith. But consider this.

I don't lock my doors. If someone wants to steal something they can have it. If the doors are locked, then the thieves break windows, damage doors and other things. These would be almost impossible to replace due to age of the boat.

Besides, insurance will cover stuff stolen.

Click to expand...

You give the bad guys credit for being smart enough to think of trying the doors before smashing glass.

High Wire said:

You give the bad guys credit for being smart enough to think of trying the doors before smashing glass.

Click to expand...

Well true statement too.

C lectric said:

So contact a locksmith and ask them. You may have to try a couple of them.


I don't have multiple doors, just one, but I am having trouble getting a new key cut at all from the normal sources and some are quite good. The blanks are simply N/A easily.
I am going to have to find a locksmith.
All of our small boats have locksets different from house sets.

For different applications I have used the key head covers in different colours to
differentiate between keys.

Otherwise it is the boat builders goof up. They likely could have done that at the time of building.

Click to expand...

I had the same problem. New trawler has only one door and one key. Needed one for the Admiral and a spare so I went to my local Ace Hardware who has never before let me down with keys. They didn't have the blank. But there is a number on the blank and I found some on eBay. Ordered some of those and took them to Ace who cut them for me. Cost $3 each for the blanks and $3 to cut them. Locksmith would likely have been more.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Ditto on the lock Smith. But consider this.

I don't lock my doors. If someone wants to steal something they can have it. If the doors are locked, then the thieves break windows, damage doors and other things. These would be almost impossible to replace due to age of the boat.

Besides, insurance will cover stuff stolen.

Click to expand...

It took us a while since we are door lockers, but we have come around to this point of view; especially while in our marina. Locking doors only makes it hard for friends and marina employees to save your rear end if the need arises when you're away from the boat.

That said, I still wish I could have just one key instead of 3. After a lot of research, I found a page on Marine Depot Direct (link below) that explained that to "take apart this door lock, remove the set screw on the side, insert the key half way, and turn counter clockwise until the keyhole screws apart form the main housing."

https://www.marinedepotdirect.com/stainless-steel-sliding-door-lock-set-with-key.html

I tried that and of course, the lock barrel is hopelessly bonded to the lock frame assembly. Haven't tried the penetrating oil yet as it will make a mess.

And in the course of re-assembly, the set screw referred to above disappeared into the lock set assembly when I put it back in the hole from which it came. Still can't explain that one even after several days of pondering. Any ideas?

For a few years we owned two houses, a boat and a Motorhome. In order to simplify, I changed the lockset on one house to be the same brand as the other, then had the keys made the same. When we bought the Motorhome, it came with that same brand of deadbolt on the door, so I had the key made the same. The boat, much more difficult, so it remains unlike anything else and seldom gets locked. The first house is gone, the Motorhome is gone, so we are now down to the usual complication of having everything on different keys.