How can I . . .

[Nick]

. . . lock an Avon softtail dinghy (Redstart?) and 2hp outboard to prevent the Pirates of the Caribbean making off with it?

(Or, more immediately, the pirates of the Cape Verdes?)

[ash]

Hi Nick

The best that you can hope for is to slow the pirates down, or persuade them that someone else's kit is an easier option.

I would suggest that you get a rigging company to make you up a steel wire with soft eyes at both ends and buy a padlock.

Ash

PS - I read all the postings in that other forum on salvaging Hercules. Are there any salvage companies near you prepared to pay you for the info on her recent position?

[Nick]

Are there any salvage companies near you prepared to pay you for the info on her recent position?

I thought I published the position on the web . . . anyway, it wouldn't be worth any commercial company's while. In her (estimated) current condition I would guess the boat might be worth £5,000 in Tenerife and perhaps £10,000 tops in the UK if you could get her there.

[Silkie]

to safeguarding your dinghy and outboard is to make them as unattractive as possible to the thieves and their potential customers. Crudely applied matt black spray paint on the outboard and a few fake peeling patches for the inflatable should do the trick.

[claymore]

Ah - just sit in it Nick - naeelf respecting Pirate wid want tae steal youse

[Nick]

We have peeling duct tape on the outboard anf genuine peeling patches on the inflateable.

However, I don't know if they are that fussy in the Cape Verdes.

[DaveS]

I suppose one of the difficulties is to stop tea leaves just lifting the outboard mounting bracket out of the dinghy mountings. Do you have a secure eye or something on the dinghy that a locking wire could also be passed through?