While locking things like our house or car is pretty straightforward, keeping other possessions locked and safe can be challenging. Locking up your canoe might prove more difficult, as it doesn’t have the same types of locks as your house or car. Furthermore, it’s easier for thieves to carry a canoe off than a car.
Here’s how to lock a canoe to prevent theft:
- Store your canoe when it’s not in use.
- Secure your canoe to your house.
- Lock your canoe to a wall-mounted rack.
- Lock your canoe when it’s attached to your car.
This article will discuss appropriate places to store your canoe when it’s not in use, as well as various methods of locking your canoe to prevent theft.
1. Store Your Canoe When It’s Not in Use
Even the most avid canoer has their boat in storage more often than they’re using it. Because of this, it’s essential to make sure that your property is safe and secure when it’s not in use. The best method of storage is to keep your canoe inside your house.
While this is not a possibility for many people, consider doing so if you’re able to.
By keeping your canoe indoors, you’re not only able to keep it out of view from thieves, but the likelihood is much higher that you’ll be alerted to any attempt at theft. If you’re able to store your canoe in your garage, basement, or elsewhere inside your home, it is up to you to choose whether or not to lock it in your storage rack.
However, ensure that your door is locked whenever you’re not home if you choose not to keep it locked.
Don’t be discouraged if you fall into the large camp of people who cannot keep your canoe indoors. Instead, you will want to store it in either a secure storage unit or keep it as close to your house as possible.
Like storing your canoe in your home, if you’re keeping it in a storage unit, you are not required to buy a separate canoe lock if you believe your storage unit to be secure.
However, if you decide to store your canoe outside your home, you’ll want to continue reading the following section to learn about best security practices.
2. Secure Your Canoe to Your House
If possible, the safest way to prevent theft would be to lock your boat directly to your house.
The idea here is that if you lock your boat to a detached rack, you run a higher risk of getting both your boat and storage system stolen. However, if it is locked directly to your house, there is no way for a thief to cart it off without destroying the lock itself.
Furthermore, thieves are less inclined to come onto your property and attempt to remove something that is directly attached to the side of your home than they are to take an item sitting in your yard.
You can secure your canoe to your house by purchasing any wall-mounted canoe rack, which allows you to mount your canoe to any part of the interior or exterior of your home.
To discourage thieves, I recommend hanging your canoe somewhere out of sight from the street.
3. Lock Your Canoe to a Wall-Mounted Rack
If you’re storing your canoe outside, and you’ve purchased a wall-mounted rack, you’ll need to secure it to the wall mount appropriately. Setting your canoe on the rack without a lock will not discourage thieves, who can simply lift it off and walk away with it.
There are several options out there for canoe locks, and you’ll want to do some research to make sure you’re buying a lock that works for your canoe.
The most significant factor you’ll want to consider when choosing a lock is how long it is to ensure that it can fit around both your canoe and storage system. Whatever lock you choose, it is essential to ensure that the canoe itself is secured to your wall-mounted rack to avoid having it taken.
4. Lock Your Canoe When It’s Attached to Your Car
Security is just as important when you’re on the go as when your canoe is not in use. If you’re transporting your canoe from your home or storage facility, the likelihood is that you’re using straps to secure it to the rack on your car.
While these straps may prevent your canoe from going anywhere during transit, this may not be enough to deter thieves from stealing it from your parked car.
You’ll want to make sure to buy a locking system to secure your canoe to your mobile rack system as well as the one at home. A good option for locking your canoe when it’s attached to your car is to buy locking tie-down straps.
These straps often have stainless steel interiors that prevent thieves from cutting them off your canoe, as well as locking mechanisms at the opening.
Specifically designed for car racks, locking tie-down straps are safe for use on your car and will effectively deter thieves when you’re on the road. If you already own tie-down straps and you’re not interested in buying another pair, you can use any number of locks to secure your canoe to your car rack in addition to your straps.
You’ll want to make sure that whatever locking system you choose will fit your canoe and not do any damage to your car.
Note: If you’re only interested in buying one locking cable for storage both at home and on your car, you’ll want to make sure that the cable is compatible with both types of storage systems.
Final Thoughts
While it can be stressful to figure out the best ways of storing and locking your canoe to prevent theft, it doesn’t have to be. There are two different times when you need to think about security: when you’re not using it and on the road.
Just remember that when possible, you should keep your canoe indoors or out of sight and should always lock it if you’re not actively using it.