security

fruitbat · 06 July 2008, 08:32

hi, only 3 days to go until i become a fully fledged sibber, taking my new boat on its maiden voyage. i have a q/s 3.10 and 9.9 outboard and is there any way of securing it against thieves if i left it for half a hour or so tethered up in a harbour. i have bought a lock for the engine bracket but what stops them just pulling the cord and off they go..... any feed back would be very welcome, thanks

m chappelow · 06 July 2008, 09:52

i just swap the spark plug leads over it takes them a while to suss out whats wrong ,but on another boat of mine i made two small stainless angle brackets fastened to the hood and engine with a matching hole through for a padlock so the hood could not be lifted, apart from disabling the engine how about also tying the boat up using a thin length of s/steel cable with an eye on each end for a padlock. it will stop anyone casually rowing the boat off unless they have a pair of bolt croppers with them. you could always take the prop off and take it with you , my wife has a really big hand bag ,its great when shes in a shop looking for her purse and she pull out, house keys , lip stick ,phone and prop .

Clipper · 06 July 2008, 11:53

i have actually thought about this as well. is taking the prop off fairly simple?

m chappelow · 06 July 2008, 12:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clipper

i have actually thought about this as well. is taking the prop off fairly simple?

it takes me about 15 seconds to remove and about 1 min to put back on .

Tim M · 06 July 2008, 15:52

Taking the prop off when you go ashore for lunch sounds like a right pain to me! I'm in a similar sort of situation; I have a little 3m run about that me and friends use for getting around the harbour etc. It does concern me sometimes leaving it in public places. I hope none of the Portsmouth hooded sorts are reading this, but I generally leave the engine in forward, and remove the kill cord to prevent people nicking it. Not much I know but it least it will have them sat there trying to work out why it won't start for a few minutes. I'm considering installing a small key switch on the side of the engine so you need a key to start it. That's about all you really can do on a small boat. All that said I would happily leave it in a marina without having any issues about security; I left it in the marina for several weeks without any sort of engine lock and all was fine. I have now bought a very chunky engine lock just in case!
Rigiflex 300 with mariner 15 btw.

Poly · 06 July 2008, 18:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim M

I generally leave the engine in forward, and remove the kill cord to prevent people nicking it. Not much I know but it least it will have them sat there trying to work out why it won't start for a few minutes.

Seems a bit more realistic for a short stop. I think M Chappelow must hang around in some seriously dodgy places to justify taking the prop off. Actually given the value of fuel now I would think its probably just as likely someone walks off with your fuel tank as to take the boat for a joy ride. The one problem that these "solutions" don't address is someone just untying you and casting the boat adrift or pulling your bungs out - just for malicious fun.

danilo · 06 July 2008, 21:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by m chappelow

you could always take the prop off and take it with you , my wife has a really big hand bag ,its great when shes in a shop looking for her purse and she pull out, house keys , lip stick ,phone and prop .

Mart, you must be going through the prop nut security pins like through socks...

Bigmuz7 · 06 July 2008, 21:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by m chappelow

my wife has a really big hand bag ,its great when shes in a shop looking for her purse and she pull out a prop .

hehe.. good job in convicincing the nearest and dearest to go tooled up like that

Neds wouldnt argue with a 3 bladed prop in the head

..plus it reduces her ability to fill the bag with needless items

*edit* like perfume etc

prairie tuber · 07 July 2008, 03:20

What about a vinyl encased aircraft cable with loops at both ends. Loop one end around the dock and through itself and lock the other loop to the outboard bracket lock. Chances are someone won't be wondering around a busy public docking area with a set of bolt cutters.

Nick Hearne · 07 July 2008, 10:10

I remove the kill cord & chain the fuel to the transom!

Clipper · 07 July 2008, 10:22

this may sound silly but, how do you take the prop off? and while there is some discussion on props, if there are a couple of chips out of a prop does that inhibit the performance of the outboard in any noticeable way?

Channel Ribs · 07 July 2008, 12:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by fruitbat

hi, only 3 days to go until i become a fully fledged sibber, taking my new boat on its maiden voyage. i have a q/s 3.10 and 9.9 outboard and is there any way of securing it against thieves if i left it for half a hour or so tethered up in a harbour. i have bought a lock for the engine bracket but what stops them just pulling the cord and off they go..... any feed back would be very welcome, thanks

I use two 1m lengths of steel cable with an eye at each end, one loops around the engine & fuel tank and the other goes into the engine padlock and off to the pontoon, having a pair of matched padlocks makes it simple to do and undo.

For storage both lengths sit around the engine neatly.

If I am carrying an anchor and think extra security is needed then I pop that over the back and connect it to a D ring on the transom just above the water-line.

m chappelow · 07 July 2008, 13:21

in reply to clipper , broadley speaking first make sure the engine wont start ie remove kill cord or plug leads off , most have a split pin through a castled lock nut or a cone , take out split pin , best with long nose pliers ,unscrew and take off the castled nut or cone then pull off the prop . some prop shafts are splined whilst older models have a shear pin which breaks to stop damage to the prop or gears if it strikes something, putting back on is the reverse procedure but best putting in gear as when you put the prop on the shaft you can feel it locate the splines or shear pin , before fitting the prop ,smear some waterproof gease on the shaft ,but NOT copperslip as this can cause corroding of the prop and shaft by electrolisis in sea water , make double sure that the split pin goes through the lock nut and hole in the shaft and the prop is not loose . regards chips and dents in props any will effect performance to some degree but i think most outboards have a few on them , i carry a spare prop just incase i clobber some thing underwater . a few boats from our club have run into all types of things floating just under the surface from old gas cylinders to fridges to fish boxes. mart.

m chappelow · 07 July 2008, 13:39

if you dont have any cable to hand why not use the anchor chain if its long enough with a couple of padlocks on or even fastned with a couple of nuts and a bolts at each end done up tight ,stops the casual thief or drunken yobs, no matter how good your locks are if they want it they will have it we had a brand new outboard stolen from our club once top of the range outboard locks ect .all the thieves did was chainsaw the transom off the boat compleat with engine .

fruitbat · 07 July 2008, 17:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by fruitbat

hi, only 3 days to go until i become a fully fledged sibber, taking my new boat on its maiden voyage. i have a q/s 3.10 and 9.9 outboard and is there any way of securing it against thieves if i left it for half a hour or so tethered up in a harbour. i have bought a lock for the engine bracket but what stops them just pulling the cord and off they go..... any feed back would be very welcome, thanks

thanks for your advice guys, lets hope i still have my boat on my return!! thanks again steve

Bigmuz7 · 07 July 2008, 22:54

Just remember though .. if your prop has any dings in it... and it scuffs the wifes leather hand bag .. you'll be for it any way .. even if the outboard does get stolen

Clipper · 08 July 2008, 08:33

cheers m chappelow,

just one question though, will the split pin need to be replaced after removal of the prop? or generally speaking it wouldnt be damaged enough to be concerned.

if the pin does need to be replaced, does it need to be a specific marine pin or just one from the local hardware store?

thanks

BumbleAbout · 08 July 2008, 08:46

a) Turning off the fuel tap and taking the kill cord with you
b) A decent bow line tied on well and a second stern line
c) External fuel tank padlocked to the transom

Even with the above combination I have had the small 3m SIB taken overnight when people needed to get across the river from the pub and we were rafted up with about 8 other SIBs - they just untied one which had the kill cord left in and took the lot !

The subsequent security cable padlocked to the chain on the pontoon seemed to solve that problem however - but I guess only because it was easier to take someone else's boat.

m chappelow · 08 July 2008, 14:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Just remember though .. if your prop has any dings in it... and it scuffs the wifes leather hand bag .. you'll be for it any way .. even if the outboard does get stolen

i dont mind spending money buying a new prop, but shes not having another bag , last one she bought you could have got the fuel tank in and the anchor .

m chappelow · 08 July 2008, 14:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clipper

cheers m chappelow,

just one question though, will the split pin need to be replaced after removal of the prop? or generally speaking it wouldnt be damaged enough to be concerned.

if the pin does need to be replaced, does it need to be a specific marine pin or just one from the local hardware store?

thanks

you can sometimes straighten them out if stuck or use one from local hardware store but it will rust , best use s/steel one from marine store, mart .