So when everyone takes there trips all over the place and you have to stay in a hotel overnight. What do you do with your yaks??? The reason I ask is I have 3 tsunamis’s and can’t picture putting them all inside the room with me and two other adults.
leave them on the car
and park on the same side of the motel as my room I prefer front facing rooms as the front desk presence may deter thieves.
I actually like mom and pop motels because of the outside door and parking right in front of the door. For them I prefer a rear facing room if possible.
lock
We lock our kayaks on the rack with a cable lock. It won’t stop a determined thief, but it should deter the casual ones looking for a quick grab.
Bike lock
I had the same concerns with mine about a year ago. I parked within view of my room and secured it to my roof rack via a bike lock. It was tough to find a spot to loop it around but i managed. Some kayaks are probably harder to do this on than others.
what the others said plus
leave something noisy in your kayak hatches overnight. Could be a few beer cans. If anyone moves them you’ll hear it.
out of sight
Besides locking my kayaks to the rack itself, I carry a lightweight tan canvas painter’s tarp and wrap it completely over the boats and run a pair of cable locks around the tarp. It removes the obvious temptation for the casual thief or vandal, and creates an added annoyance for a professional, since they can’t quickly ID what is under wraps to assess if it’s worth the risk of trying to swipe them.
I’ve considered looking for an alarm that would be triggered by anyone moving the tarp (i know you can buy portable motion sensor alarms for hotel rooms) but so far I have never been troubled by people messing with boats that I have hauled many places over the 12 years I’ve done it.
Lasso lock
– Last Updated: Jul-07-14 1:47 PM EST –
http://www.lassosecuritycables.com/index.php
I use this lock to secure my kayak at my beach, which is next door to a public access boating ramp. Have secured it to my dock, then a tree, and now a staircase.
Naturally it works well securing kayaks to vehicles.
Proximity, lock, and maybe a MD light
I try to stay in one-story small motels with parking right in front of the room window and door. Barring that, I park where I can see the rig from my room window, plus lock the boat(s) to the rack and keep painter lines tied. Anything to slow down a thief.
If you want more deterrence, you can buy a cheap motion-detector LED light and lock it in the vehicle facing out the window. The one I have uses a solar panel to power the device, but I bet you can get a battery-powered type also, which would be handy for traveling.
Wow
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone . If anyone has any others please chime in.
Same here
Jack L
My way…
Park vehicle in front of the door to the room where I’m staying.
Lock both boats to each other with 2 separate cables, and I lock both of the boats on a 3rd cable to the truck’s trailer hitch.
If there is a camera near the room, and the desk clerk can see my room(I ask them); I tell them there is a reward if thieves try to heist my boats, and are foiled.
I like mom & pop motels too.
Parking lot cruisers are few, and there are seldom pimps, whores & pushers around.
In Jackson, Mississippi on a saturday night; I brought my Bell Flashfire into my room, after having been propositined by a whore & a pusher on my way back to my room from an adjacent restaurant.
Not a cop in sight…
I’d sleep on the side of the road, before I’d ever stop again in that town.
BOB
CHIME
BUY a car alarm, an Omega or ? try Sonic Electronics.
Mount shock sensors on vehicle and roof rack.
Waterproof with Liquid insulation/plastic…Grainger has a good mix. Place under a cut plastic isopropyl bottle on rack.
Coonect to a new car horn on rack and a siren.
The sensors can be dioded, warning wire dioded to alarm wire, and independently powered so multiple sensors into 1 or 2 ports are possible.
The horn drives thieves away.
A metal strap around cockpit to metal strap long ways on rack crossbars holds the hull down.
5mm plastic covered steel wire may replace rope guys…reducing opportunity for the jack knife crowd if not professionals.
Wrapping hulls in a loose coil of thick bendable ground wire is visually protective.
Never once had a problem
more then 40 years of tripping, all my gear in the back of an open pick up and boat on the roof. Never once have I locked anything up. Life is too short. Forget about it. Buy insurance.
Lockable steel belted straps
Instead of the standard cloth straps, tie your boat down with these:
http://kanulock.com/
Steel cables inside, plus lockable. Not cheap, but worth it.
something noisy
A rabid fox
Paddle Surfskis - No Worries
– Last Updated: Jul-08-14 1:32 PM EST –
The theft deterrent is built in, for most people can't paddle them. So thieves usually leave them alone, and if by chance they're stolen, they will soon learn it was a big mistake. Come August 10th through the 17th, the parking lot of the Hilton Double Tree Hotel in Berkeley will be packed with car topped surfskis stored out in the open for the U.S. Surfski Champs. Just a beautiful sight.
or a small child
Inflatables
I have never left any of my kayaks on the trailer when I’m traveling. That’s what the inflatable is for. The only time I ever left one of my sea kayaks in a parking lot was at a casino restaurant where the security was very good. Just the same, I locked it to the trailer and I was only there long enough to have a great dinner. Other than that, they never leave my eyesight when they are out of the shop.
Bob, Your Story Reminded Me…
…of a song about another feller who won’t be going via Jackson, Mississippi (LOL)!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoVL1Zs6WTw
Crimeguard
A basic Crimeguard costs $40.