Torqeedo electric outboard, making it less easy to nick!

[Poignard]

I have just bought an expensive Torqeedo 1103C and I want to try and make it less easy to steal it from my dinghy or from the pushpit. I'm not thinking of the determined thief, who will usually get what he wants, but just of the opportunist scrote.

I'd be interested to know what means other owners use.

 

[madabouttheboat]

I thought the benefit of the removable tiller and battery was that what was left wouldn't be worth nicking. Can you not just store these bits down below.

 

[Poignard]

I thought the benefit of the removable tiller and battery was that what was left wouldn't be worth nicking. Can you not just store these bits down below.

Yes, good idea when it's on the pushpit. Thanks.

How about on the dinghy? The tiller and battery are a bit bulky and heavy to be carried on a long walk.

 

[Aeolus]

Yes, good idea when it's on the pushpit. Thanks.

How about on the dinghy? The tiller and battery are a bit bulky and heavy to be carried on a long walk.

I have a steel cable that I run through the battery handle and padlock to the fixing bolts. Will help with a walk-by / paddle-by thief but not a pro. But, let's face it, a pro will beat pretty much anything you try. Insure it and keep a record of the serial numbers.

 

[Fimacca]

A bike D lock stops most thieves. If it fits.

CHeap and cannot be cut through.

 

[sarabande]

D locks ? Take your pick !

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bike+d+lock+fail

 

[Plum]

I have just bought an expensive Torqeedo 1103C and I want to try and make it less easy to steal it from my dinghy or from the pushpit. I'm not thinking of the determined thief, who will usually get what he wants, but just of the opportunist scrote.

I'd be interested to know what means other owners use.

Sorry I don't have an answer but I am surprised the manufacturers do not build in a security immobiliser system which results in a poor resale price for a stolen one. They would sell many more new outboards. I have only not bought one due to the risk of it being stolen when visiting somewhere and going ashore. Surely some sort of smart paired killcord?

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[JumbleDuck]

Sorry I don't have an answer but I am surprised the manufacturers do not build in a security immobiliser system which results in a poor resale price for a stolen one. They would sell many more new outboards.

I was really surprised to discover they don't. Considering that the battery pack includes a GPS you'd think the cost of an RFID tag reader would be lost in the noise.

 

[coveman]

Could you not mark it with the various security systems on the market such as that supplied by this company -
Selectamark Security Systems plc or this one Alpha Dot - Homepage
Nothing will stop the determined thief - they will even chainsaw the GRP to get it off quickly, but the fact that it is marked and you have visual labels telling the thief it is marked tends to put them off. Other systems such as Datatag are also good but more expensive.
Making the motor unattractive also has merits, such as painting it a horrible colour, but you may not want to do that to your expensive new purchase!!

 

[neil_s]

I engraved boat name and post code into the hood of my motor - I regret it now - I'd like to sell it!

 

[Poignard]

Sorry I don't have an answer but I am surprised the manufacturers do not build in a security immobiliser system which results in a poor resale price for a stolen one. They would sell many more new outboards. I have only not bought one due to the risk of it being stolen when visiting somewhere and going ashore. Surely some sort of smart paired killcord?

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

From the Operating Manual:


So I will certainly register it.

 

[madabouttheboat]

Given the cost of the batteries, and how easy they are to remove, I would clamp the outboard to the transom with a lock, like a normal outboard, and find some way to lock the battery to the outboard, or remove it from the outboard and lock it to a part of the tender.. The tiller can easily be taken with you when ashore. Stick it in a rucksack or just cary it.

 

[pvb]

Given the cost of the batteries, and how easy they are to remove, I would clamp the outboard to the transom with a lock, like a normal outboard, and find some way to lock the battery to the outboard, or remove it from the outboard and lock it to a part of the tender.. The tiller can easily be taken with you when ashore. Stick it in a rucksack or just cary it.

Yes, there's a plastic "fixing pin" which locks the battery in place. It ought to be feasible to replace this with a stainless steel pin with a padlock attachment.

 

[RupertW]

Given the cost of the batteries, and how easy they are to remove, I would clamp the outboard to the transom with a lock, like a normal outboard, and find some way to lock the battery to the outboard, or remove it from the outboard and lock it to a part of the tender.. The tiller can easily be taken with you when ashore. Stick it in a rucksack or just cary it.

We have done something similar for the last 7 years. The tiller which is very light goes into a little rucksack and the engine has a chain going from one clamp arm through the moulded battery handle and back to the other clamp arm. The arms are padlocked together in the normal way for an outboard.

And so far they may be very expensive but they are apparently far less sellable for thieves so they prefer conventional outboards every time.

 

[pvb]

And so far they may be very expensive but they are apparently far less sellable for thieves so they prefer conventional outboards every time.

That's interesting! And reassuring.

 

[madabouttheboat]

And so far they may be very expensive but they are apparently far less sellable for thieves so they prefer conventional outboards every time.

I wonder if that's as much about the lowlife not knowing what they are and what they are worth. Lets be honest, a battery alone from a torqeedo is probably worth more on the secondhand market than the average tatty two stroke motor, or even a half decent four stroke 2.5. It's easier to get off, easier to carry, easier to conceal and there is probably a good market out there for replacement or spare batteries at less than retail. I bet the average tea leaf has no idea how easy the battery is to separate from the outboard, and how much it is worth.

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

Could you bear to make it less attractive? Best would be to randomly spray it with several colours of paint, but just removing all the stickers turned an expensive mountain bike into something I've left unlocked for years. People have often been reported to have added patches to new dinghies, and I expanded on that idea when the kids had expensive bikes nicked. One replacement was painted all over with a thick black underseal type paint, the other we took a blowlamp to and burned most of the stickers and painted-on details. Like mine, they're never been touched since.

 

[Poignard]

Could you bear to make it less attractive? Best would be to randomly spray it with several colours of paint, but just removing all the stickers turned an expensive mountain bike into something I've left unlocked for years. People have often been reported to have added patches to new dinghies, and I expanded on that idea when the kids had expensive bikes nicked. One replacement was painted all over with a thick black underseal type paint, the other we took a blowlamp to and burned most of the stickers and painted-on details. Like mine, they're never been touched since.

How about this or this

 

[madabouttheboat]

Could you bear to make it less attractive? Best would be to randomly spray it with several colours of paint, but just removing all the stickers turned an expensive mountain bike into something I've left unlocked for years. People have often been reported to have added patches to new dinghies, and I expanded on that idea when the kids had expensive bikes nicked. One replacement was painted all over with a thick black underseal type paint, the other we took a blowlamp to and burned most of the stickers and painted-on details. Like mine, they're never been touched since.

While that clearly works, it would peeve me to vandalise a brand new item just because some scroat has got sticky fingers. Think I would just rather buy a rough one to start with.

 

[bergie]

These outboards are not very heavy to move around (especially as the battery detaches). In our marina people keep their electric outboards locked inside the boat when theyr away, and only mount them for use.