Theft protection devices for dinghy?

[Kettlewell]

After the hurricane his dinghy was gone and never found again.

After a tornado in the Chesapeake I helped someone search for and find his dinghy, which was hanging in a tree ashore complete with its outboard.

[merrydolphin]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

We used a plastic-coated steel cable about 20-feet long that locks to the outboard via the padlock holding the clamp bolts, runs through the handle on the portable fuel tank, and then forward under the seats and through the bow towing eye on the dinghy. That leaves about 10 feet or so of cable to lock through a cleat on the dock, or around a post, or whatever. Never had a problem in the Southwest Caribbean, Colombia, Panama, Central America, etc. But, the most important thing is to lock up someplace where there are people watching things, if possible. Crowded dinghy docks are better than isolated ones, on the assumption that fellow cruisers will be coming and going. The problem is that nothing will stop professional thieves from taking what they want, so we try to not be the easy target for the opportunistic thief who will go for the easiest pickings.

I agree with what you say here, I have made this trip twice and extensively cruised these waters. An NO someone with the tools are not going to be stopped. Fortunately never had one stolen. We had an AB 310 FG with a 15. Great rig. AL with a 20 even better. For the most part we found good people. But ya never know.

[captain rand g]

Originally Posted by sinnerman

Find yourself a really mangy viscous-looking dog that drools and will bare his teeth at anyone.

Leave him in the dingy to guard it....

LOL

Cheers

omg this is perfect.. i used to have an Akita guard my Fam.. ZERO "problemas" hahahaha

[captain rand g]

Originally Posted by Ken Goodings

Have you moved up from steel cable dinghy/motor security to 8 or 10mm Stainless Steel chain?

Go one step further to eliminate the padlock at the dinghy end of your chain. Install the largest omega-shaped SS shackle whose pin will just fit through the last chain link. Install the pin with Loc-Tite, cut off the pin's knob with a hacksaw and hammer both ends of the pin with a ballpeen hammer.
Make a noose of the chain through the shackle and slip the noose over your SS outboard bar lock or through the lifting handle. Eliminates one (salty rusty?) padlock at the motor end of your security chain. The chain can run through the handle of your fuel tank too. We have another similarly attached shackle at the free end of our 15 ft 10mm stainless chain to accommodate a Kryptonite U shaped combination (keyless) New York style bike lock.
This lock slips easily through a dock cleat or over a 2x4 dock support leaving plenty of room for other cruisers lines/chains.
The long chain loops over the bow (with chafe sleeving) and into the water, it's catenary weight holds the dinghy away from the dock to allow access for other dinghies.

We've found from sad experiences of other yachties that any stainless chain less than 8mm isn't sufficiently strong enough to resist simple cutting shears. We have 10mm SS chain on the dinghy and motor, and 8mm SS chain on the fuel tank.
Please don't me misled into believing that your dinghy and motor are perfectly safe from theft when hoisted on davits or alongside with a halyard. Chain them to the railing. Steel cables, while convenient, are no longer a theft deterrent anywhere in Caribbean.
Even in marinas bad things happen! Similarly, we've seen plenty of nice outboards clamped to stern railings but not chained to the boat in marinas or on long term moorings, anchored and in boat yards.

GPS trackers are not very expensive these days. They utilize limited range BlueTooth signals to allow you to track the location of your missing dinghy and stolen outboard.
So...you have tracked and found your outboard in someone else's possession.
Now what?
Will you physically confront them with accusations?
How will you prove ownership to police?
How will you get to shore from your anchored boat while police impound your outboard and wait for a court date?
GPS trackers sound great in theory but really...isn't theft prevention with a robust chain a much more practical idea?
In other words, don't let your guard down " Don't be the low hanging fruit."

To the many naysayers asserting that even 8mm stainless chain can be easily cut with battery powered angle grinders; at a cost of nearly $700US, it's not really a thing in most poorer Caribbean countries where we've cruised.
Would you use a Mr Bean padlock on your automobile? Then why cheap out on your dinghy and outboard motor.

The whole concept of dinghy security tethers is simply to encourage an opportunistic thief to bypass your dinghy and steal one with either a rudimentary lock or no locks at all.

To learn more about how we developed this dinghy chain idea, here is the original article published by Caribbean Compass in 2017
http://www.caribbeancompass.com/ding...rity_2017.html

.. great info thx!