Author Topic: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.  (Read 24197 times)

acqua.marina

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Ever get that sketchy feeling when you have to leave your board on the car all night while parked at some cheesy motel?
When I can't sleep with Laird... yeah, me and Laird have this, ah, relationship that goes back to the very start of... ah well, let's just say I am STOKED about so, so, SO many new boards, (including PSH's 10'6" wide all arounder), and a few others I have tried, but still living with big Laird. It's a real estate issue. But motels and Laird? Ah, not so much.

Anywho, not long after Laird and I hooked up, I was forced to make my own paddle from a long, thick stick of bamboo and one of those hand held roundish paddles the non-water types use to volley a small ball with (my craftiness due to the 6 months it used to take to get anything SUP related). Pic TK, I promise. Buoyed by the DIY spirit, I also invented a car-top lock idea - the paddle was replaced pronto, but the lock system still works well for me. Maybe it can for you too.

First get a longish plastic covered wire cable, the kind used as a dog tie-out, with sealed loops on both ends.
Target has them for pretty cheap, like $6, in the pet department. Next get a 99˘ pool noodle, a bread knife and a padlock (or two).
Next, cut your noodle down to about 6 inches longer than the width of your board. Then push one end of the cable through the inside of the shortened pool noodle. The noodle covered cable goes over your board which is in its padded bag, and already tied down on your racks. The noodle acts as a cushion AND makes the whole cable thing want to stick in place once the cable is tight.
(I had first tried a coiled bike cable, of similar material, with little chunks of pool noodle on it, but the coiling feature made getting it over the board a hassle. I had to keep running around the car and it would spring up to where I could not reach it. Plus it wasn't really long enough. And the noodle chunks would not stay in place... The dog tie-out cable is way longer and more manageable.)

After the cable and noodle goes over the top of your board, the excess cable gets either wrapped around the racks and locked with a padlock - or with a padlock on each side of the car or sometimes, if in a hurry, I just put the cable ends inside my car through the back doors and shut the doors from the inside, pulling the cable tight before the door slams shut. Doing this is kind of hard on the door gaskets, but faster than dealing with the padlock(s) if you are just dashing into a place for dinner or whatever. The cable stays amazingly tight.

This system is not as good as leaving a pit bull standing on top of your car, but def cleaner. Knowing the cable is locked over my board sure beats having to carry my SUP up the outdoor cement stairs of my roadside hideaway. I looked at some other surfboard specific locks, like the fin box lock... I know some swear by it, but imho, that looks like a huge hassle compared to my cheap solution. I guess it would be pretty hard to steal Laird, but knowing it is even harder lets me sleep better. So empowering to DIY!  ;D

Tom

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2009, 07:28:18 AM »
Here's my home made locking system. I put a windsurfing mast base nut in the center fin box. (I keep it there)
they look like this and cost $3.00.


I then screw an eye-bolt into it and padlock it with a bike chair.

bigdom

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2009, 09:54:08 AM »
al good ideas

if someone really wants to steal something they will but stuff
like thi will put off the opportunistic thief

kwhilden

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2009, 11:36:01 AM »
Here's my solution for locking an SUP on a road trip:  take it apart and lock it up inside!  8)

I can get a 10'6 and a 9'9 inside my car on one side, with plenty of room on the other side for luggage, wetsuits, gear, people, etc...  The board is a 10'6 Wave Rocket. the car is a Jetta Wagon TDI running on B100.


« Last Edit: July 11, 2009, 11:51:16 AM by kwhilden »
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Easy Rider

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2009, 03:48:28 PM »
I do lots of demos and usually have 6 to 8 boards on my truck.

Got a set of these - and while I don't use them to actually hold the board to the rack (regular tie down straps for that) - I put them around all the boards and lock them if I have to be away from my stuff for any time.

http://www.steelcore.net/
Easy Rider is the name of my store in Edmonton, AB, Canada.
My name is Warren Currie . . . and we SUP Surf indoors . . . in a shopping mall!

mik911

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #5 on: November 15, 2009, 11:44:57 PM »
Here's my home made locking system. I put a windsurfing mast base nut in the center fin box. (I keep it there)
they look like this and cost $3.00.


I then screw an eye-bolt into it and padlock it with a bike chair.

I like this idea, but not sure I understand it.  This 'nut' in in the center fin box. You screw in an eye bolt w/ lock attached.  What's to prevent the thief from just unscrewing the eye bolt from this mast base nut?
Mike

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Dwight (DW)

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #6 on: November 16, 2009, 03:12:31 AM »
Here's my home made locking system. I put a windsurfing mast base nut in the center fin box. (I keep it there)
they look like this and cost $3.00.


I then screw an eye-bolt into it and padlock it with a bike chair.

I like this idea, but not sure I understand it.  This 'nut' in in the center fin box. You screw in an eye bolt w/ lock attached.  What's to prevent the thief from just unscrewing the eye bolt from this mast base nut?

The lock and cable prevent you from unscrewing the eye bolt more than one turn. If the cable is strung right. You can  also put two in the box and run the cable through both.
« Last Edit: November 16, 2009, 03:14:33 AM by DW »

PonoBill

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #7 on: November 16, 2009, 05:57:31 AM »
Nuttin wrong with home made, I went through a few kludges before I got steelcores. But the bottom line is that I prefer the steelcore straps to regular straps--much stronger and more secure. The ones I have in Maui have been cut twice, and of course the knife didn't go through the steel and my boards were still on the car. You can repair the straps afterward by prying the clamp up slightly--just enough to release the strap, then slide the webbing down over the cable and reclamp. You wind up with a tag of cable sticking out the end of the straps, but they still work and look fine. Mine have about eight inches of cable sticking out after two failed attempts at my board.

I notice that some folks haven't realized that you can pull on the straps after you lock them to tighten them--they have a one-way ratchet. It's also much easier to close the straps if you give a little tug on the strap while you are closing the latch--Bob taught me that one. RTFD (read the f directions)
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

1tuberider

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #8 on: November 16, 2009, 06:08:47 AM »
Thats why my surf rig is a van with an alarm system.  I have no worries about theft loss with it.

Biggest problem I have is I forget to put my paddle back in the van before I left the other day.  I did not notice it till I surfed the next day.  Went and looked for it but it was gone.  Grabbed my back up and an hour later a bud came out and said he put my paddle under my van. 

Life is good.

Dwight (DW)

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #9 on: November 16, 2009, 06:20:33 AM »
Nuttin wrong with home made, I went through a few kludges before I got steelcores. But the bottom line is that I prefer the steelcore straps to regular straps--much stronger and more secure. The ones I have in Maui have been cut twice, and of course the knife didn't go through the steel and my boards were still on the car. You can repair the straps afterward by prying the clamp up slightly--just enough to release the strap, then slide the webbing down over the cable and reclamp. You wind up with a tag of cable sticking out the end of the straps, but they still work and look fine. Mine have about eight inches of cable sticking out after two failed attempts at my board.

I notice that some folks haven't realized that you can pull on the straps after you lock them to tighten them--they have a one-way ratchet. It's also much easier to close the straps if you give a little tug on the strap while you are closing the latch--Bob taught me that one. RTFD (read the f directions)

Hey Bill, does the steel cable crunch the rail if you make it tight? I've thought about trying those straps, but haven't seen them first hand.

That is freaky to hear your straps have been cut twice by thieves!

NickFL

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #10 on: November 16, 2009, 07:06:45 AM »
I can agree with Bill on the steelcore system.  I needed to get the softrack version they make since a thule hard rack does not fit my car.  I have not had any attempts to cut the straps but I feel confident they will stop that punk trying to steal your board when your parked eating lunch or away from the car.  I have had the car up to 65mph with the system and it holds strong. 

andygere

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #11 on: November 16, 2009, 08:19:32 AM »
I have been using the Board Secure cable lock system, and it works quite well.  I have both the fin box and leash plug locks (I ordered one for each truck), but I like the fin box lock better (it seems like a leash plug would be pretty easy to pop out, while the fin box is much tougher).  The hardware takes just a second to install when you want to lock your board, and it's stainless steel which is really hard to grind or cut.  The cable and integrated lock are stout, but could probably be cut easily with some decent bolt cutters.  The price on these is tough to beat, and I think they will foil the casual parking lot thieves. These would also work well for locking boards to things other than roof racks (a back yard board rack, etc.).  I ordered mine directly from the Board Secure website, and had them in about a week.  I have no affiliation but I own and like the product.

http://boardsecure.com/main.sc

stoneaxe

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #12 on: November 16, 2009, 02:23:30 PM »
I have the steelcores for my truck but I'm getting the boardsecure cable locks for my storage rack. Nice to be able to lock a bunch of boards and easily take just one off without screwing with the cables.
Bob

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PonoBill

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #13 on: November 16, 2009, 10:13:24 PM »

Hey Bill, does the steel cable crunch the rail if you make it tight? I've thought about trying those straps, but haven't seen them first hand.

That is freaky to hear your straps have been cut twice by thieves!

Nope, the cable is inside a thick strap and it's well cushioned. The tension is on the strap more than the cable anyway. I've reefed on them hard, especially when carrying a lot of boards using them single (should have gotten the longer ones) and no problems
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

linter

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Re: Locking your board to your car on a roadtrip. A DIY solution.
« Reply #14 on: November 17, 2009, 01:40:57 AM »
the verb "to reef" is not seen nor heard often enuf.

tr.v. reefed, reefˇing, reefs
1. To reduce the size of (a sail) by tucking in a part and tying it to or rolling it around a yard.
2. To shorten (a topmast or bowsprit) by taking part of it in.
[Middle English riff, from Old Norse rif, ridge, reef.]

thanks, bill, for reintroducing me to it! :D
« Last Edit: November 17, 2009, 01:42:36 AM by linter »

 


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