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How to temporarily disable outboards (for anti-theft)
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The boat will be in a slip so will be in the water at all times, may be tough to get back there to get props off but from what I hear they may just go get some props to get them by. I doubt very seriously they care if they are getting best top end and mpg....
Too bad there isnt an aftermarket part that required some special key to enable the engine or ignition or something....this sucks that you have to do all of this for a group of d-bags that pick anything off and ruin good times
I would go to Sams club and buy the $74 el cheapo GPS tracking system they sell. It's sold to track heavy equipment, monitor employees or kids...Works anywhere. At least you would know where in the hell they towed your boat.....
I just saw it at our local Sams in Brooksville, Fl. today. Almost bought the damn thing...come to think of it, I'm going back tomorrow to get it....you have me thinking about this kind of stuff....
Disconnect the kill switch from underneath the helm, 2 wires. Remove the park plug wires. dude, if they really want it, they will arrive in a boat and tow yours off. Sleep on the boat if your that worried about it.
They can steer it with a pair of vice grips. They will tow anything that floats if it doesn't run. The only way to stop it is to stay on the boat or sink it.
i agree. if they cant start it they will tow it to somewhere where they can take their time and figure it out. i would deffinitly do the gps idea, chain it to the dock even. rig upo some sort of air horn so if they go on the boat or try and start it the horn goes off and you can get out there and stop them
The boat will be in a slip so will be in the water at all times, may be tough to get back there to get props off but from what I hear they may just go get some props to get them by. I doubt very seriously they care if they are getting best top end and mpg....
id pull the props i have heard of some people getting their props stolen even if the boats not. It will take about 10 minutes to do. if you can back the boat in so the motors are towards where you can see if you were to look out. Get a big chain from home depot. have a gps tracker. Turn off batteries. We went to the Abacos and didnt have a problem but i did all of these so who knows. If they want it theyll get it. So just pay your insurance and do what you can but dont go crazy where you end up stranding yourself because you cant put it back together.
Buy some things called "Battery Brain" and follow instructions for install. They are a little inline device that kills your battery power with a remote control like a key fob thingie. You can operate them manually if needed.
Next, I put locks on all compartments, including the hatches in front of the battery switches and the door to get back to the batteries. I've labeled the door in front of the saltwater washdown "battery switch" so they'd have to break that lock and still no switch.
I'll be carrying a big cable too so I can chain to the dock.
All ya gotta do is make your boat harder to steal than the next one.
This reminds me of the wild west scene we had in Manhattan, NYC about twenty years ago. Each week a few cars would be stolen off of the street just on my block alone. Numerous anti-theft measures were taken by most owners, but the thieves took em anyway. It was only when the car manufacturers got serious in the 1990's about internal anti-theft sytems that require a specific key to start the engine that the problem stopped. What helped to slow it down ahead of time was that the stolen car market got flooded, driving the prices that the thieves were getting down to the point where it didn't make sense given the risk of jail time. Good luck, and keep the insurance up to date and the agreed value of the policy where it needs to be.
We had a 25 Contender we rigged to stay in the Bahamas and never had a bit of trouble. We had an electric hatch lift on the front console seat/hatch which had a battery switch, the ones with a red plastic on/off key behind the dash only accessible through a 6" pie plate. If you didnt know where it was you would never find it. All the batteries and switches were inside the console. It was a rather easy install and surely a deterrant. Should add that the boat stayed on Cat Cay where there's not too many thefts going on. Very similar to Glen E's device. If they can't start it after a few tries, they'll go to the next boat. Also, there are safer places than others, do your homework and you should be fine.
We are considering running a boat over to the Bahamas fairly soon and I have read all of the recent news on center consoles being taken while at boat slips. Asides from chaining, GPS locators, fuel cutoff valves, what are some ways to disable a Yamaha outboard easily each night to prevent them from being started. I have read that a lot of these guys bring their own batteries, etc. so anybody got any info. We have racked our brains and wouldnt mind some outside info even maybe some out of the box thinking.
If they want it they will get it. The best approach is to just make it more difficult. Pulling the ECM has risks. It is sufficient just to pull the main fuses on the motor(better yet is to repalce the fuses with blown ones). Adding a chain to the boat and the dock/mooring will also slow them down.
You can install a keyed battery switch too.
If your motor has a tilt fuse and you store with the motors up, pulling that fues will also slow them down ( yes thay can manually release the tilt but again, that slows them down)
We are considering running a boat over to the Bahamas fairly soon and I have read all of the recent news on center consoles being taken while at boat slips. Asides from chaining, GPS locators, fuel cutoff valves, what are some ways to disable a Yamaha outboard easily each night to prevent them from being started. I have read that a lot of these guys bring their own batteries, etc. so anybody got any info. We have racked our brains and wouldnt mind some outside info even maybe some out of the box thinking.
If they want it they will get it. The best approach is to just make it more difficult. Pulling the ECM has risks. It is sufficient just to pull the main fuses on the motor(better yet is to replace the fuses with blown ones). Adding a chain to the boat and the dock/mooring will also slow them down.
You can install a keyed battery switch too.
If your motor has a tilt fuse and you store with the motors up, pulling that fuse will also slow them down ( yes they can manually release the tilt but again, that slows them down).
A secret fuel shutoff is a big help, especially if the motors will start and then starve for fuel. No one is going to wait around to trouble shoot that one once they think they are home free
