We have been able to be pretty careless when we forgot to use the lasso overnight here on city streets. Our best guess is that a 16 plus ft kayak is hard to get thru the door of the local coffee shop where the fences all congregate. And we found out our sea kayaks scare the neighbors anyway - we overheard them talking at a back yard barbecue once.
However, we have become much more scrupulous when we are near the water, on the long trip to our vacation in Maine and the like.
We've never had out straps cut - thanks for the observation above - but then for the big trips we usually double strap. Good observation to also check the inside straps.
That said, it's probably a good thing WW kayaks often have locking bars. The play boats would be a lot easier to run away with.
Lasso Lock, with or without boats We only lock the boats if they will be left unattended for more than a few minutes.
I always lock the cradles to the rack when I go paddling. Because I use a trailer, it’s too easy to just loosen the cradle hardware and steal them. The Lasso Lock secures them to the bars and supports, which are more time-consuming and obvious to steal.
Overnight trips merit removing them from the trailer.
Join the NRA…(No Kidding) The NRA is offering FREE MEMBERSHIPS…and with the membership comes the NRA Sticker…
You can now add the sticker to your vehicle for FREE, without supporting the NRA, (I BOUGHT mine but then I’m a GUN NUT…) add a little extra to think about when a thief wonders if a gun will show up while he’s laboring…
I have a product called srt locking cam straps. They work pretty well, and seem well built. I have been told that the steel cables inside the nylon can be cut with tin-snips, but have no way of knowing if it is true or not.
I also run a cable and lock between the boats on top if parking. It won't stop someone who is determined, but it will slow them down. Rather than an NRA sticker, maybe just a "They can have my paddle when they pry it from my cold, dead hands!" sticker.
Who could be our celebrity spokesperson? I nominate Fat Elmo, on second thought - I'll take James Dickey (better grasp of the language, and an archer to boot) Edit - Seems Mr. Dickey lost his paddle back in 1997. Too bad, Great writer, turns out he was a fighter pilot too. How about John Voight?
Many levels of security. Make it difficult for a thief.
Locking straps
Lasso Cable
Bike cable lock to roofrack
Bike cable to adjacent boat
Bike cable to car’s tow point
The more grief a thief has the less likely he will take the time to defeat all the levels. That said, a determined thief cannot be stopped. But you have to ask yourself: Just how determined can a thief be to steal an object that is difficult to transport and pawn? I believe that most of the boat thefts are acts of opportunity, and not the actions of organized crime syndicates.
Won’t work in my neighborhood If you have an NRA sticker on your car where I live the teenagers will break in just to steal the gun from your glove compartment.