Dingy/Tender Security

[cvick76]

Just a quick question, if you pull your dingy/rib onto a beach and head in to eat or town (out of eyesight), how can you safely secure it so it will not be stolen?

Thanks,

Vic

[s/vPainkiller]

Probably the best you can do is to use a length of chain or wire cable and lock it to something fixed like a tree or piling. Nothing is 100% secure, depending on how much someone wants to steal it. I've found that with a good set of bolt cutters, it's not that hard to defeat a lock unless you invest in a really good one. You might want to reconsider leaving it at all in a sketchy location.

Scott

[zeehag]

in caribean we locked with cable to a tree.
in mexico is different each port-- all depends on friendlies and locations of same.

[Cheechako]

A long SS cable and good lock are the most common solution. Lock the OB to the dingy. Nothing foolproof as noted though. Lock it to a big piece of driftwood, tree, old machinery in the sand... whatever you can. You may have to drag it up quite a ways to do this.

[John A]

In 10 years of cruising I never found a town/restaurant that didn't have a dock.
The remote beaches I left my boat on were without people. Sometimes I drug the rib to a tree and locked it up, remember that the outboard has more appeal than the rib.

Sometimes one could trust the locals to be honest. But then, I grew up in the western US in a time when we never locked our homes or cars.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by cvick76

Just a quick question, if you pull your dingy/rib onto a beach and head in to eat or town (out of eyesight), how can you safely secure it so it will not be stolen?

Thanks,

Vic

You can't.

[Panope]

In addition to the above, consider making your dink and motor (if fitted) highly identifiable and undesirable. Florescent pink and green tiger stripes on everything should do the trick.

Steve

[Stugots]

Originally Posted by Panope

In addition to the above, consider making your dink and motor (if fitted) highly identifiable and undesirable. Florescent pink and green tiger stripes on everything should do the trick.

Steve

I've tried this with bikes without any luck. I had both a neon orange and green spray painted and a poorly done zebra bike stolen. Seems people will take anything.

Might work better with dinghys, though since it's probably more obvious it's yours if a pink tiger striped dink suddenly appears further down the beach after yours disappears.

[S/V_Surya]

Here is an Idea. I do know that you can fit your motor with a gps. You can try putting sign or sticker on the dingy that the boat has a tracking GPS. Might make thief think twice.

[svmariane]

Originally Posted by S/V_Surya

Here is an Idea. I do know that you can fit your motor with a gps. You can try putting sign or sticker on the dingy that the boat has a tracking GPS. Might make thief think twice.

Good idea! But...

Which language to use? English, Spanish, French, Italian, Serbo/Croatian, Arabic, Polynesian, Dutch, Russian...... Or all of them plus others? Might become a REALLY large sticker, no?

And would some semi-educated ne'er-do-well understand the meaning behind the graphics?

Chain or thick cable with robust padlocks securing the dinghy and motor to something stout - at least that way all but the most determined thief will give your dinghy a pass.

Tip I picked up somewhere: use stainless steel chain encased in some sort of fabric sleeve. That reduces the mess inside your dinghy.

[mcerdos]

Our outboard is locked to the tender with motor locks. When at a beach we use this method of anchoring the dingy:

Larry's Method

We have the name of the boat ETCHED on all surfaces of the motor.

So far, so good.

[BobnCamie]

Install a gps chip to motor? If they have the balls to steal it in broad daylight, I sure as, you know where, would not go and try to claim anything. And padlocks just keep honest people honest. Bob

[mcerdos]

Originally Posted by BobnCamie

Install a gps chip to motor? If they have the balls to steal it in broad daylight, I sure as, you know where, would not go and try to claim anything. And padlocks just keep honest people honest. Bob

If I have a padlock and the dingy next to mine does not, which do you think the thieves are apt to steal?

[BobnCamie]

Originally Posted by mcerdos

If I have a padlock and the dingy next to mine does not, which do you think the thieves are apt to steal?

I am just saying, a padlock does not really stop a thief if he wants something.

[pbiJim]

In some locations, stenciling the words "fight crime...shoot back" across the transom & leaving a hand-full of empty shell casings scattered about in the boat can help. In other locations, that sort of trick does far more harm than good.

I've been told that some people install a non-standard size pie hatch in the bottom & take the hatch ashore with them when they beach the dink.

The cable or chain with padlock seems the most common method in use. A long cable is often helpful because not every shore or dock has lock points right at the water's edge. Combination locks make it harder to forget the key or loose it overboard.

It all varies by location.

My best advice is to look around & see what the locals are doing. Then try to go one small step better than what they do.

In my area, fuel & outboards get stolen more often than dinks.