More robust that a padlock? Best(er) ways to lock a boat

[James_P]

Hi.

The lock on my trad stern is just the usual padlock. 

 

So why is this so common on boats? 

 

Why are common locks that are more secure not typically used? Eg a normal multi point lock from a house.

 

Yes, I get anyone could break in a boat with an angle grinder just that is a little less discret that a 'clump' and their in with a bolt cutter.

 

[GUMPY]

Depends on where the padlock is placed. If a square padlock fitted to a hole in the runners then the only way is an angle grinder. Been there, done it, when I put the padlock on upside down.

Besides you only have to make it more secure than the boat nextdoor as thieves will always go for the easy target.

[MtB]

16 minutes ago, James_P said:

Hi.

The lock on my trad stern is just the usual padlock. 

 

So why is this so common on boats? 

 

 

Because mostly I'd suggest, in such boats there is little of value to be worth breaking in for. 

 

 

 

 

(Compared to a house, that is.)

 

 

[David Mack]

Padlocks always seemed to be a pretty bad idea to me. The presence of a padlock suggests that the boat is unoccupied. That said, if you are in the boat, having entered by another door, you can't unlock a padlocked door from inside, which would be a problem in the case of sinking or a fire. And with the padlock off, anyone can just enter the boat, or put a stick through the staple and lock you in.

Far better to have a conventional door lock, with just a keyhole on the outside, and perhaps a thumb turn locking knob on the inside.

[Lady M]

Mine just has bolts on the inside and the main access to the boat is through the front doors which have a keyed lock.

[BWM]

The primary reason is that most boat doors open outwards, and household door locks are designed for the opposite (inward), so you would be able to just pull the doors open when locked. The link below is to a secure lock suitable for most boat doors, and has the advantage of locking from either side - padlocks tend to advertise the fact that you are not in. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321266723561?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=thS26ccBTOe&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=-Kp8u8dLQzK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[mrsmelly]

14 minutes ago, Lady C said:

Mine just has bolts on the inside and the main access to the boat is through the front doors which have a keyed lock.

My last boat was the same as yours. Boats all differ. I used to leave mine unlocked most of the time with a big dog on, way better than any lock. If the boat is out alone in the sticks then some scumbag will get in anyway, if its with others they tend to be left alone. I never owned any boat that could not be broken into with some basic tools, better to let the scum get in and do no damage than get in and do thousands of pounds worth. Nowt realy worth bothering about inside anyway.

[David Mack]

2 minutes ago, BWM said:

The primary reason is that most boat doors open outwards, and household door locks are designed for the opposite (inward), so you would be able to just pull the doors open when locked.

The domestic door locks I have fitted over the years work just as well on outward or inward opening doors. If you have double doors then you do need internal bolts on the first-closing leaf.

[blackrose]

57 minutes ago, James_P said:

Yes, I get anyone could break in a boat with an angle grinder just that is a little less discret that a 'clump' and their in with a bolt cutter.

 

 

Unlike "professional" house burgers who might have a car full of tools, people who break into boats tend to be opportunists or kids and neither will be carrying something as sophisticated or cumbersome as bolt cutters or a battery powered angle grinder. They might have a screwdriver in their pocket to prise off a hasp which a boat owner has been silly enough to screw into a wooden door frame, especially if that door is hidden under a canopy. 

Edited August 5, 2023 by blackrose

[Paul C]

Because fitting a padlock and hasp is a "1 star" difficulty job, and fitting a proper door lock is a "2 star" difficulty job. And probably a bit more expensive in the parts too. If there is no incentive for (new) boatbuilders to actually fit a lock, and there is a cost saving possible (both in parts and labour), then they are going to take it. But they don't need to.

 

I've not thoroughly researched buying a boat but I bet there's an option for decent lock(s) on it. Heck, you could even have a "keyed alike" front and back door lock, with a few keyed alike padlocks thrown in too!!

[magnetman]

The van door locks can work but they are not pretty. 

 

I always thought of padlocks as 'flags' indicating an unoccupied boat. Also you can get lazy and end up blocking an emergency exit route. 

[Arthur Marshall]

I'm pretty sure you can open most boats in about ten seconds with a decent crowbar, whatever security you try to add. Mine's been opened twice, luckily so easy to do no damage was done, both times by a passing tramp looking for somewhere to kip in winter. Unfortunately, the last one had to break into the boat next door to find some sugar for his tea, and that being a lot more secure with a padlocked metal hatch things got bent out of shape quite expensively.

I know that's why he did it, because I found their sugar bowl on my boat next morning. He also took nothing from my boat , where there was booze and loose change, though there was a lot of mud on the carpet, and, thank god, he ate the last pot noodle.

[David Mack]

18 minutes ago, Paul C said:

Heck, you could even have a "keyed alike" front and back door lock, with a few keyed alike padlocks thrown in too!!

Belfast had keyed alike padlocks when we bought it. But having been a community boat there were probably a lot of keys out there as well!

[magnetman]

 

 

I did what @GUMPY did which was put a padlock on the hatch slide. The doors can then be held closed with a bar and a bolt through the outer leaf. 

 

This is very secure and means you can get out fast through the doors even if the hatch is still locked. 

 

Nothing but a coachbolt head showing from outside. 

 

Put an eye nut on the inside so you can clamp the bar across the door frame securely. I used a piece of angle iron as the bar. 

 

 

[Old Son]

I had a solid piece of timber which sat across the runners. It incorporated two dead locks. When the hatch was closed the dead locks opened up into a couple of keeps on the underside of the hatch. Seemed to work well. 

[dogless]

For what it's worth, make your boat as secure as gives YOU peace of mind.

 

When our boat was broken into the offender(s) simply smashed a window and entered and exited that way.

 

Security, or lack of it, is simply a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Rog

[Tony Brooks]

41 minutes ago, David Mack said:

The domestic door locks I have fitted over the years work just as well on outward or inward opening doors. If you have double doors then you do need internal bolts on the first-closing leaf.

 

Absolutely, Yale type locks worked just fine on our boat, back and front, but you did need to change the orientation of the internals. I think, with a bit of trouble, you could even fit a multipoint locking system on a decent wooden door with enough depth to machine a groove in it. Then one could use a Euro type lock, but the question is, is it worth the trouble?

[GUMPY]

A previous boat, Idleness, was about as secure as you could get.

Steel bar (50x10mm) across inside the rear doors, square padlocks in both slide rails. 

Front doors had same size steel bar from the deck to the top of the doors secured with a square padlock.

Portholes and the Front windows were 6mm laminated glass.

Survived two attempts and all that was needed was a new piece of glass as it was cracked.

[Stilllearning]

2 hours ago, James_P said:

Hi.

The lock on my trad stern is just the usual padlock. 

 

So why is this so common on boats? 

 

Why are common locks that are more secure not typically used? Eg a normal multi point lock from a house.

 

Yes, I get anyone could break in a boat with an angle grinder just that is a little less discret that a 'clump' and their in with a bolt cutter.

 

One of my boats had a padlock on the rear steel doors, and inside was a basic bolt to shut them that went down into the frame of the hull.  Additionally,  there were a pair of bolts that were fitted to the underside of the steel slide, which locked into a hole in the runner on each side. This meant I could lock the boat from inside with the 3 bolts, but still get out in a hurry in the event of a fire, for example. 

 

The front door was solid steel, no glass, with both a yale lock and a padlock that fitted on to welded on rings on hull and door.

 

Together with portholes and steel side doors I always felt secure, on the rare occasions that I even thought about it.

Edited August 5, 2023 by Stilllearning

[Jen-in-Wellies]

People telling a public forum how their boats are secured and in some cases giving the boat's name and its location. Keep them coming. I'm pulling on my shirt with the black and white stripes and picking up my swag bag.

Probably shouldn't have put that on a public forum either. 😀

[Ray T]

49 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

People telling a public forum how their boats are secured and in some cases giving the boat's name and its location. Keep them coming.  I'm pulling on my shirt with the black and white stripes and picking up my swag bag.

Probably shouldn't have put that on a public forum either. 😀

 Jen, I'll keep a look out for you.

Edited August 5, 2023 by Ray T

[MtB]

I think PaulC has it right actually. It's the quickest and easiest way to fit a lock to a door.

 

With a million ways to do something better on a boat, and therefore more expensively, building a 'good' shell with everything done right costs a bomb compared with cutting every available corner.

 

And given the famous tight-fistedness of boaters, there is a ready market for really cheaply made boats. 

 

 

 

[Stilllearning]

Very fetching it is, too.

[David Schweizer]

4 hours ago, Lady C said:

Mine just has bolts on the inside and the main access to the boat is through the front doors which have a keyed lock.

 

We also had very substantial bolts locking the back cabin doors and slide, with access via the substantial hardwood single front door which had a 5 lever mortice lock bolting into a steel frame. Didn't stop Mr Finch from gaining acess via a window smashed with a mooring pin!!

[Stilllearning]

1 minute ago, David Schweizer said:

 

We also had very substantial bolts locking the back cabin doors and slide, with access via the substantial hardwood single front door which had a 5 lever mortice lock bolting into a steel frame. Didn't stop Mr Finch from gaining acess via a window smashed with a mooring pin!!

My sympathies. There is much to be said in favour of portholes.