Securing oars against theft

[JimC]

Any ideas for securing wooden oars to a grp tender left on a beach?

 

[lw395]

Hole through blades and wire loop.
staple and hasp over the narrow bit of the shaft onto a thwart?

You can only hope to avoid the casual thief/borrower, not someone who turns up with tools.

 

[Woodlouse]

Something like this...
http://www.toplicht.de/en/shop/scha...r/riemen-paddel/riemen-zubehoer/riemenschloss

 

[Achillesheel]

Large eye screwed and araldited into the handle ends of the oars, chain & padlock.

Or take' em home.

 

[TrailerSailer]

I have a large eye screwed into the join between the blade and the shaft (it is a Walker Bay with detachable blades). No need to glue. I then run the dinghy securing chain around the post, round the tender thwart and then end the chain at the 2 eyes. Finally I secure with a maring combination padlock that seems to just shrug off the salt without any corrosion . So far it has been OK

 

[LadyInBed]

Hole through blades and wire loop.

or a bit of chain.
That's what I would do.
39.95 for a clamp!! Must be joking.

 

[William_H]

I have an Ali dinghy left on the beach (chained and locked of course. The oars slide under the middle thwart ( seat ) and a locked down by a device similar to that in the link. It is made of heavy stainless steel but instead of having a shaft as part of the clamp I pass a ss plate through the clamp. The other end of which is riveted to the side of the aft thwart. The clamp was sprung apart enough to free the oars but fortunately I go them back. People borrowed them to steal another dinghy and left them in the stolen dinghy. Anyway I reinforced the bottom attachment and since then no problems.
The real problem is the local council proposing to ban the dinghies on the beach. (Crazy idea) olewill

 

[chewi]

I locked mine uinder the thwarts as suggested , all it did was cause the scrotes to rip the thwart off and cause more damage than the oars were worth.
I would be inclined to go with a wire through a hole in one end of the oar, to deter the opportunist, and yet if they are stolen they cause no further damage.
The hole should not weaken the oar if it is at one end, not the middle.

sorry i have no solution, I moved to a sailing club where the security is better.

 

[JimC]

Thanks for all suggestions so far. I guess there's really no way of protecting one's oars from the attentions of a determined thief and the best solution is not to leave them in the dinghy at all. I intend using the train more to get to my boat in future and carrying a couple of full-length oars might be awkward. Jointed oars would be more portable but are they any good?

 

[chewi]

Thanks for all suggestions so far. I guess there's really no way of protecting one's oars from the attentions of a determined thief and the best solution is not to leave them in the dinghy at all. I intend using the train more to get to my boat in future and carrying a couple of full-length oars might be awkward. Jointed oars would be more portable but are they any good?

not in my experience except in mild conditions, but if you carried a pair of alloy jointed ones with your kit bag you'd have the defence of knowing if the real oars had gone you'd still have a pair, not a wasted trip.

Still awkward, but perhaps less so.

I sympathise with your plight, I used to m/cycle to my tender when it was vulnerable, which was a similar problem.
Thankfully with no trouble at my club I can now leave my oars unlocked in my tender.

Best advice is to find a nice sailing club, it transformed sailing for me.

 

[Lakesailor]

Your profile says Glasson SC. Is that no longer the case?

 

[JimC]

Your profile says Glasson SC. Is that no longer the case?

I'm still based at Glasson and a member of the admirable www.glassonsailing.co.uk but have rented a summer mooring at Conwy this year to get a change of day-sailing destinations.

 

[Blueboatman]

In addition to the above, paint the name or better still carve the name or ships number into the blades with a dremel. The word Theft! or Stolen! in addition can work well

 

[Lodesman77]

Perhaps learning to scull - and then only leaving one oar with the dinghy - might deter thieves as few of them would find a single oar useful?

 

[actionoptics]

I locked mine uinder the thwarts as suggested , all it did was cause the scrotes to rip the thwart off and cause more damage than the oars were worth.
I would be inclined to go with a wire through a hole in one end of the oar, to deter the opportunist, and yet if they are stolen they cause no further damage.
The hole should not weaken the oar if it is at one end, not the middle.
sorry i have no solution, I moved to a sailing club where the security is better.

That seems to reinforce my opinion of my club. I have a Dinghy with a lockable seat in which I stored my oars. The Dinghy is kept at the sailing club in a locked compound so it had to be a club member with a key who took the cover off my dinghy, broke the padlock and stole my oars.
Need to find a nicer club.

 

[0195]

I got two stainless steel threaded eyes.

I drilled a hole in the shaft were the seat is, I put the eye through the hole, then a washer
Tighten nut, I cut the thread leaving two threads , I hammer the remaining thread like a rivet. Then I
Put a bit of chain around seat using a long shank padlock .

 

[At see]

our local lads cut the blade scoops off the oars, leaving a square centre spine, so they row Eskimo-paddle style, which is only marginally less efficient than conventional blades, but don't get stolen..

 

[Fantasie 19]

Hole through blades and wire loop.
staple and hasp over the narrow bit of the shaft onto a thwart?

You can only hope to avoid the casual thief/borrower, not someone who turns up with tools.

Yep - mine are drilled to take one of those bike locks where the cable goes into the padlock.. like this..

 

[Seashoreman]

Yep - mine are drilled to take one of those bike locks where the cable goes into the padlock.. like this..

You do realise you are replying to a post that is over 9 years old? Interesting anyway but Iw 395 may not get to read your reply.

 

[Praxinoscope]

Thanks for all suggestions so far. I guess there's really no way of protecting one's oars from the attentions of a determined thief and the best solution is not to leave them in the dinghy at all. I intend using the train more to get to my boat in future and carrying a couple of full-length oars might be awkward. Jointed oars would be more portable but are they any good?

It depends upon the jointed oars, I have a pair of wooden Avon jointed oars that came with my Redstart dinghy over 25 years ago, they are as good for rowing as unjointed oars and are still going strong.