New Jersey Kayaking

This is a cable-lock I made. It is just 3/16" coated steel cable from the hardware store, with crimp ferrules, and a big steel ring in one end. The ferrules fit through the scupper holes on the boat, but the steel ring does not. Together with any padlock, this will secure the boat (or several) to your truck, roof rack, a tree, or anything else that is handy. You can take this cable with you, it will give you peace of mind if you leave the boat unattended to go exploring on land.

The object is not to stop a determined thief - you can't do that. It is to stop someone from casually taking your boat with their bare hands. Don't lock the boat by the handles - they are easily cut with a pocket knife and cheap to replace. Run the cable through a scupper hole, and a thief would have to destroy the boat to steal it.

The marks from crimping the ferrules in a vise are evident, but you can just as easily just hammer them. Length is as long as you need it to be, I guess mine is about 10 feet. 3/16" cable is flexible enough to make the small loops needed. As you can see from the rust, I've used this rig for years. I stored the combination of the lock on my phone, in case I forget it.

If your boat doesn't have scupper holes, you can probably find someplace to thread the cable though, or make a suitable hole in the seat.