Secure your Electronic Fish Finder (depth finders/gps units)

If you purchased one of the new Depth Finders and spent a fortune to get it you may want to secure it to your boat so that it's not easy to take off the boat.

[URL]http://www.durasafe-usa.com/products/marine/marine-el-UEL1.html[/URL]

Some of these units cost well over $3000.

Now I also bought a RAM Mount to hold my depth finder on my boat. But now even though my Humminbird's is locked onto it's bracket the bracket and the unit itself can be stolen simply by unscrewing the RAM mount's friction knob and removing the while thing is just a few seconds.

So I thought it would be a good idea to lock the RAM Mount's Screw as well.

Here is a web site of one such manufacture that makes locking devices for both the Humminbird Units and the RAM MOUNT things.

[URL]http://www.durasafe-usa.com/products/marine/marine-el-SM1.html[/URL]


Ask them if you can get them keyed to the same key. That way you only need one key to work both locks.

The only problem I have encountered is that I need the key to change the position for better veiwing at times. But if you have your unit set to a fixed position where you don't change it often then these devices will help secure the unit form thief.

If you fish by yourself and ever stop at a gas station to use the bathroom or to run in to buy something you are leaving your expensive equipment un attented for a few minutes and that's all it takes for someone to steal some of your stuff while you are not looking.

I wish that Humminbird would have made the SD ports with a lock of some kind to protect the SD cards inside the unit. Those are simply to remove in about 10 seconds and some of the SDHC cards are not cheap. And the map cards can cost about $200.

I just unscrew the ram knob and take it off the boat. Thats what happens if it's not supervised.

[QUOTE=Hoosier Hunter;444255]I just unscrew the ram knob and take it off the boat. Thats what happens if it's not supervised.[/QUOTE]

Yea that's what I thought so I ordered a lock for the ram mounts screw. You need to put two locks on the unit itself and one on the ram mounts screw thing.

Nothing is secure as given some time and a secluded area one could get the unit off someone's boat.

The key to these locking devices is to secure the unit for someone that would just try to grab it without thinking about how he was going to steal it. If you park your boat with the electronics visible and leave it out overnight then yes someone could still use a hack saw or other tool to get the unit off the boat.

But I am thinking about a simple way to protect the units from a quick thief. Like if you were traveling by yourself and had to park the boat for 5 to 10 minutes to go and use a public restroom at a truck stop of gas station.

These locks won't keep it from being stolen by all thieves but it will deter most people. :)

mine comes off in less than a second and goes with me. locks are nothing. thieves dont care about what they are tearing up. they will just grab and yank it off the boat.

Billet Boat Products in Pittsboro makes bracket knobs for the Lowrance units that require an allen wrench to turn the knobs. You'll only need the lock for the mount. It's a cleaner set up then 2 locks.