Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => SUP General => Topic started by: EastBayFoiler on October 05, 2021, 01:30:12 PM
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I'm thinking about traveling with my SUP strapped to the top of my car, and I was wondering if SUP theft is a thing. I mean it seems like it would be a pain to steal an awkward 13' board from the top of the car, but you never know. I would be leaving it strapped to my car over night at a hotel.
Also if you've never had problems feel free to chime in that's good to know too.
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When you have boats that cost north of 5k you want to be able to sleep when driving to a destination.
I bought https://lockrackus.com and never missed a night of sleep since. It turned out to be better than straps in every other aspect as well.
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My mindset is simple, where there's a will, there will always be a way. Come hell or high-water, I'd be draggin' that sombitch into my hotel room rather than come to my vehicle and find it gone.
Yes, stealing nice things is a thing!
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I had a nice Stewart longboard taken off my jeep in Lahina in 2000, but other than that, no problems, and I have a lot of nice stuff in and on my rig. It helps that I live in Hood River, which has to be in the top ten for concentrations of honest people. I've left all kinds of stuff overnight, or even for multiple days at the event center including a new wing, and always got it back. I've had a person walk up to me and say "hey, I saw a pump with your name on it in the lost and found. Are you going to be here for a minute? I'll go get it for you." That's not even the outer edge of Howdy Doodie-ville. I had a bike taken off my rack a few years ago, and I mentioned it to a Hood River cop. He said "Yeah, someone went through town taking bikes off trucks. they got quite a few." I said "Could it have been someone local?" He looked at me like I'd just farted loudly and said "Oh, no. It wouldn't be a local."
It's kind of weird when even the cops think that way.
Anyway, back to your question, I've traveled a lot with stacks of boards, boats, bikes, foils, wings, sails and stuff. And never had much of a problem. A good set of locking straps holds off the casual thieves. Nothing is going to stop some guy with a battery-powered angle grinder. The bottom line is that not that many people want this stuff. Bicycles, maybe. Downwind boards? Probably not.
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No, SUP paddlers are too old and go to bed too early.
Worry about your mtn bike. People younger than 60 ride those.
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Anyway, back to your question, I've traveled a lot with stacks of boards, boats, bikes, foils, wings, sails and stuff. And never had much of a problem. A good set of locking straps holds off the casual thieves. Nothing is going to stop some guy with a battery-powered angle grinder. The bottom line is that not that many people want this stuff. Bicycles, maybe. Downwind boards? Probably not.
This was more or less my line of thought.
No, SUP paddlers are too old and go to bed too early.
Worry about your mtn bike. People younger than 60 ride those.
I suddenly feel so uncool. It's past my bed time and I don't have a mountain bike. :-\
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Had a Joe Blair that had been loaned to taken off my car overnight in a secure underground parking lot. Bought a replacement from Joe.
Incidentally, just bought a mountain bike. ;)
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Call ahead to see if you can store your board(s) with bell service. Even if they say no, you might be able to deal with the bell team directly.
Some hotel's, like Hilton HV in Waikiki for instance, will not store boards. But in Waikiki, regardless of where you stay, there is actually a great option with Nalu Storage further down the beach between the Royal Hawaiian and Dukes. This nicely puts you closer to Queens and Canoes, if that's your thing.
For the last dozen or so years I've been using Kanulock, lockable tie-down straps. They won't stop a fully motivated thief but might keep the casual sticky-fingers in their pockets. Definitely not for overnight in most places.
The ultimate in board-theft prevention is the ugly board. Barring the ugly board, a sufficiently tatty board sock or bag may also be helpful.
As for mountain biking, SC might be right! At 59, I'm usually one of, if not the oldest in the group. ;D
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When we did a SUP vacation in Hawaii, we rented a mini van. Then at night we put the boards inside the van. While using board locking cables to lock the boards to the seat anchor points while inside the van. With cables and locks in plain site, to discourage window smashing.
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Many years ago when I went to Oahu on the Ferry (now long gone) to pick up a downwind board coming from Australia the beach hotel I stayed at on Oahu actually had a board valet service. They'd not only store it but carry it to the beach for you. They didn't quite know what to make of my 18' board, but they did store it for me.
Most modern hotels have camera surveillance for the parking lot, but they won't necessarily respond in time to a thief. Kanulocks are probably perfectly safe, but you'd probably sleep better with the board in valet storage or your room.
Bean, I remember being 59--barely.
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My 14' raceboard pretty much lives on the rack of my truck. I have a locked Yakima strap on the front and never had a problem. Never bothered pulling that into a hotel room but have done that with smaller boards. As was said, it's more a matter of giving a dishonest person a moment or two of second thoughts but it's also in my favor that there's not great a resale market for SUPs. Big items to move around and a bit too obvious if you were to try to move it on Craigslist in the same locale where they were stolen from.