BLUEMOMENT

. . . 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?)

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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?