Interesting, I tried to rent one when I lost my key to the outboard padlock.
They wouldn't rent it to cut off a lock, said destroys the cutting edges. I
ended up using a cutting wheel on an angle grinder.


"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
What size did you buy?

I bought a 24 inch one. It went through the lock so easily I felt silly
and regretted not going smaller. OTOH, the S.S. shrouds will be a lot
tougher if I ever have to cut them. I also bought larger, better, locks
so the cost of the cutter won't be wasted the next time I lock myself
out

Actually, I did stow the cutter inside the boat but I also had a half
dozen keys made for the new locks. I'll keep one in my wallet and one in
my car.

--

Roger Long



wrote in message
oups.com...
I have used my ACE HArdware bolt cutter to cut off locks, to cut bolts,
and to cut 1X19 shrouds. It works for me. If you have a choce, buy
the better one.

"Red Cloud®" wrote Padlocks on a hatch only
keep honest people honest and very young kids out of trouble...

For sure. The real purpose of the lock is to force someone breaking
in to leave some immediate evidence so that, if someone from the
marina happens by, he can't say something like, "It's my cousin's boat
and he asked me to pick up the widget." It also raises the ante if he
gets caught from entering to breaking and entering. The police are
more likely to pursue it if they get a B&E to put on their body count
than someone just going into an unlocked boat.

If someone really wants to get in, they'll just beat in the plastic
hatch which would cost me more than much of what they could steal.
From the theft standpoint, there probably isn't any point in locking
it at all.

OTOH, homeless people and other odd characters do get in the marina
occasionally. They'll generally bypass a locked boat.

Mostly, the lock just makes me feel good when I open it up. It's a
basic, primal, thing and assures me that I won't find any unpleasant
surprises inside.

--

Roger Long

"Red Cloud®" wrote

I'm pretty sure that's what I was saying.

Yup, it is. I just can never help embroidering. If I didn't like the
sound of my keys clacking, I wouldn't be here

I would be careful about characterizing homeless or "odd" people as
generally dishonest.

I don't want even the honest ones tempted to sleep on my boat.

From what I've seen of the rich in a life devoted to very expensive
things like boats, I'm sure the distribution of honesty is fairly
constant across income levels.

--

Roger Long

I know it's not what you were asking, but my experience is that it's much
easier to cut a brass padlock body in two with a hacksaw than it is to cut a
hardened steel shackle.

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
I'm locked out of my boat and have to cut the small pad lock off the
companionway.

If I invest in a bolt cutter, will it be useful as emergency gear in case
of a dismasting or do I need a different tool to cut S.S. rigging wire
quickly?

--

Roger Long

Roger Long wrote:
What size did you buy?

I bought a 24 inch one. It went through the lock so easily I felt
silly and regretted not going smaller. OTOH, the S.S. shrouds will be
a lot tougher if I ever have to cut them. I also bought larger,
better, locks so the cost of the cutter won't be wasted the next time
I lock myself out

Actually, I did stow the cutter inside the boat but I also had a half
dozen keys made for the new locks. I'll keep one in my wallet and one
in my car.


Did you buy multiple 'keyed alike' padlocks?
I bought a four pack recently. One for the trailer coupler, one for the
outboard, one for the companionway hatch and the 4th ???.

Did you buy multiple 'keyed alike' padlocks?

Yes.

--

Roger Long

Roger Long wrote:
I'm locked out of my boat and have to cut the small pad lock off the
companionway.

If I invest in a bolt cutter, will it be useful as emergency gear in
case of a dismasting or do I need a different tool to cut S.S. rigging
wire quickly?

Cut the hasp, they're generally a lot lighter duty than a
padlock. Dremel tools with fibre reinforced cut off wheels
will go through thin s.s. like butter.

It will have to be a pretty good bolt cutter to cut through
rigging wire 1/4" thick.

Evan Gatehouse

Not all padlocks are created equal. Some are not very tough at all.

Padlocks on a hatch only keep honest people honest and very young kids out
of
trouble. A real crook doesn't care how big or strong your padlocks are.
They
can smash or crowbar the hatch or whatever is needed to gain entry. They
don't
care about causing severe damage... It's not their boat!

rusty redcloud

I work on the theory that if I can make it look secure, they'll pick
another boat

Reminds me of the guy who said the nice thing about having a
convertible was never having to lock it.

"What do you mean?", I asked.

He said, "Nothing I would ever carry in the car would cost as much as
replacing the top so I want any thieves to go in the door instead of
cutting their way in."

--

Roger Long

Cut the hasp, they're generally a lot lighter duty than a
padlock. Dremel tools with fibre reinforced cut off wheels
will go through thin s.s. like butter.

I second the Dremel tool proposal, very efficient in my experience and
a useful tool for many other purposes, just be careful to wear safety
glasses.

Since I have the dubious benefit of a dismasting experience, my
recommendation for shedding the rigging quickly is to knock out the
clevis pins with a drift pin and hammer. It's much quicker than
cutting unless you have one of the explosive gizmos, and can use it
properly in adverse conditions.