I recently purchased a Hobie Sport, and being in college my apt doesn't have much room to store the thing. I had planned to store it outside under this deck area that I have with one chain through a scupper hole attached to the deck and another chain attached to the window bars. That was my idea until a friend showed me how easily and quickly chain can be cut.

How would you guys recommend I secure the yak? Is there special chain out there that's more difficult to cut? For now I've put the thing in storage since the first month is pretty cheap but after that it becomes 85+ a month and I can't afford that.

Thanks for your help!

A cable type bike lock through the scupper is your best bet. Yeah it can still be cut but to make off with a kayak also requires a truck, tie downs, planning, etc. Not like a bike which is just cut and run.

Motorcycle shops have hardened steel chains and locks that are harder to cut then reg. steel chain, but they may be to thick to go through a scupper hole they also have heavier cable locks that would take a long time to cut through.

Buy a Kryptonite 2025 Cable Lock - you'll never be happier. Goes for 50-60$ and well worth it. 8 feet long and nearly impossible to cut. Good luck!

Lock it up with a cable then....

Tie a personal alarm to the kayak with some spiderwire. The thief probably won't see the spiderwire if you rig it properly and when he starts walking off with the yak the personal alarm will sound and make some serious noise.

Just a thought.

Cable type bike lock through the mirage drive hole .

Tina and I bought some ready made plastic coated cable at Lowes. The cable is VERY thick and the plastic helps to defeat the bolt cutters, if they brought a set with jaws that would open wide enough to bite this cable. You can buy it in lengths from 4' on up to 20'; and we have both. The 4' goes around the spare tire and locks it to the frame of the Rack and Roll and you hardly notice it.

The 20' usually rides unused in the rocket box on the trailer, but comes out if we have to park in a lot somewhere and will be away from the gear for a while. We go thru the mirage drive holes on both yaks, around the trailer frame, thru both wheels on the trailer, thru the yakima RACKS on the trailer and then around a light pole or guard rail in the lot. Overkill? Perhaps, but I still have the trailer and the yaks!

Cheap insurance. The loops in the end of this cable will collapse and go thru the scuppers on the T160i and the OK Venus as well.

Good luck.

In case there is ANY doubt, the cable itself is STEEL, and about 1/2".

Do one or all of the above. Not a perfect solution but will slow down the thief.

Install a LoJack unit. Then if/when your yak is taken, the cops can trace it, get it back for you and put the thief away!

http://www.rei.com/product/758566

they work, i have to keep one boat on the car at all times and i've never had a problem...you'd need a saw and alot of time to get these off.

Living in Grenada has given me the "opportunity" to learn about thwarting theives. A chain & lock is good to keep honest people honest, but keeping persistant theives at bay is all about developing a multi-layer system.

• You DO have renter's insurance, right?
• Try to hide the boat as best as possible. And keep it on the down-low that you're storing a boat. They won't steal what they don't know is there. A stack of wood blocking view of the boat might work very nicely.
• The cable is a good start, but it's only as good as your padlock, which can usually be easily cut. I use a Master Lock no. 40. Actually, I went online and bought a dozen of them all keyed alike. I just need to carry one key for everything. BTW, YouTube is full of videos showing how to pick virtually any lock. Cables can also be cut, I lost my mountain bike this year, which was locked with a Master Lock Python (thin-ish cable). One of the kayak magazines tested all those snazzy kayak cables and straps a couple years ago. They can all be cut given 10 minutes. (But better 10 minutes than 10 seconds).
• Try to limit access to the boat and/or lock. Under a deck isn't horrible, force the thief to make a lot of noise moving the boat around to get a good look at your lock. If you can limit the space around the cable you can limit the ability to get a bolt cutter into position.
• Make your setup tamper-evident. If they case your boat or are unsucessful on a first attempt it's handy to be aware that someone is actively trying to steal your boat.
• I absolutely LOVE Hmac58's suggestion of using a personal alarm. They're cheap, they detect motion, and boy to they make noise.
• A lo-jack for a kayak? Fantastic idea. I didn't know they existed for non-automotive uses.
• Put your name on your boat. All over it. Mine reads "STOLEN FROM..." in two very visible places, and has my name, phone number, & email in several other places. I personalize my boat every chance I get. Put a name on your boat, paint flames on it, whatever. My wife gives me a hard time, but I've never lost anything that had my name on it.
• It's funny how few people get this one, but never buy merchandise you suspect could be stolen. I'd love to punch the next person I see buy a used Ipod for $45 and then complain about getting something stolen.

Good Luck!

quote:

Install a LoJack unit.

only $595.00

All depends on how much you want to protect your kayak. A good 1/2" chain and a good lock will stop most thiefs.

Another method is the Tie Yak locking system, here is the website. www.tieyak.com I use them and they really do work well.

Um, hello, its a Sport. Take it from the guy storing an Adventure and a Revo in his apartment - you can find a spot to stand that little tiny thing up against a wall behind a door or in a closet or something.

Personally, I think you should make it a centerpiece. Ditch the coffee table and proudly present your sport right in the middle of your livingroom. Chicks dig it, man.

Rig it up so you can use it as a bar between uses inside your apartment. I bet you can get pretty clever for uses of the hatches. Ice, peanuts, lime wedges.

quote:

yaknitup

That tieyak system looks pretty sharp! if you buy a really good lock that is probably a really sharp way to protect the investment.

The system Tina and I use works well, but isn't as easy... but it also protects the trailer and the yakima cradles, and a loop around the rocket box keeps that closed as well. 20' of cable and you can get really creative.

We carry the cable in the Rocket Box, and use one of those circle locks, where NONE of the hasp is exposed when the lock is locked. The casual thief won't be getting into it, you can't use bolt cutters. It's all a deterent for the opportunist.... sends them to an easier target... sad but true. Sheesh, I have worked in Law Enforcement so long, I don't trust anyone... I look at myself funny in the morning when I shave.

quote:

Rig it up so you can use it as a bar between uses inside your apartment. I bet you can get pretty clever for uses of the hatches. Ice, peanuts, lime wedges.

A beer keg at the bow and the stern, tapped, of course. An inflatable 'kayaker' in the saddle holding a bowl of chips. This could easily be the start of the best rigging thread ever.

one member on here when he lived in a apt
took post hole diggers and dug a hole, a deep hole. poured concrete and put a post in. then cable locked his yak to it.
i want to know more about this "personal alarm" mentioned above.

quote:

i want to know more about this "personal alarm" mentioned above.

Here's what I'm talking about... http://www.rewci.com/doorknobalarm.html. They're made to hang on a door knob in a hotel or house and if someone tries to open the door it sounds an alarm. I have never actually held one, but I assume there's a motion detector inside the device that knows when someone tries to open the door. My vision is to put one on your sled, hidden from view and out of the rain (inside an overturned boat).

I'd go pick one up, but we can't get them here. Let me know if anyone has seen one.

Better, might be the alarms they make for laptops. It includes a cable that, if cut, sets the alarm off (besides the motion detector). Keypad entry for disarm password. Not waterproof though.

Kayaking Bob