How do you secure your scotty downriggers to your boat?? I have a scotty electric and I take it off the boat all the time and store it in the garage or in the cuddy when away from home. It would be nice to find a way to lock them to the boat or secure them to the swivel base in a way that is a little more secure than the 4 hand screws. Any bright ideas out there??

I am kinda curious about that myself, i am sure that someone has came up with a clever idea by now.

Hey Baddawg,

I have the same issue, and reluctantly unscrew and remove my riggers after each use so they are not sitting mounted on my boat in the driveway for a thief to take.

I guess the best way to set them up to remove them quickly would be to modify your mount to a Gimbal mount that just slides in and out, kind of like a quick release.
Or you could use a clamp mount.

I looked at trying to figure out a way to lock my riggers onto my boat but there really isnt any way I could think of except useing something like a bike chain lock.

I think its a similar issue to outboard motors, you may figure out a way but if a thief wants it bad enough, a lock will just slow him down a little (and probably cause more damage to your boat).
It may be a hassle but if you want to keep it, take them off and lock'em up.

I've got the same problem. I've noticed that Cannon has a nice lock for thier down riggers, but not Soctty.

So, I sent Scotty and e-mail suggesting that they come up with some security solution. This is the reply I got.

"Thanks for the suggestion. Here are some locking ideas from our office in the meantime...replace star knobs with allen head fasteners so that you need a key to undo them. You should also fill the allen socket with sealant so that you have to dig it out before you can get the key in. Another idea is to have a small stainless cable made with loops in the ends (or a bike lock) that you can padlock together through your downrigger and something fixed on your boat. If you have a swivel mount, you can replace at least two of the star knobs and the tilt bracket star knob with eyebolts so that you can thread the cable tightly through them and prevent turning. I think most people just take their downriggers off when not in use, so we don't really have any other brilliant locking ideas! The allen key system works well apparently."

Not all that helpful. The allen head bolt filled with sealant will slow someone down. It's what I use for my racing bike seat to keep it from being stolen. My theory is to deter the thief. Just make it difficlut enought so they move on to an easier target. But, as was said, if they really want it, no reasonable lock will stop them.

yup, mine get taken off as well. Even at home parked on the side of my house behind the fence. Just can't trust anyone nowadays.

I take mine off too.

If the boat will be left unattended for a while, parked on the trailer or moored at a dock, I take the Scotty's off and lock them up.

I have been doing some research on how to lock them on the boat. If I find a good way to do it I'll let everyone know.

Damon

I pull mine as well. I have two piece bases I found at Outdoor Emporium. Pull a pin and top half of the base separates from the bottom. Its still a hassle, but a little less than undoing screws/bolts.

Unscrewing those bolts really does become a hassle, what really sucks is when you are screwing the bolt in and you make a mistake and it falls in the water. Talk about being upset right before fishing .

I have mine on side mounts (the swivel base mounts to the side mount) so it's only two screws to undo and they are inside of the gunnel so if I drop one it doesn't fall in the water. Still a hassle to remove them every time though.

Why are you guys unscrewing all four set bolts? Can't you just pull the red bolt that attachs the rigger to the base?

On the security note, I was hoping for a great answer but it seems no-one has come up with one. I was thinking of some sort of clamp brackets for around the outside of the square mounts but don't quite have it figured out yet.

I unscrew the bolts so nobody steals the expensive swivel and side mounts.

AAKings is right. Doesn't matter what you do, they will still try to beat your security and just do a lot of damage in the process. It is best to take them off and lock them up out of sight.