Kayak & gear alarm.

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rattlesnake68
Posts: 286
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:43 pm
Location: Norman, Oklahoma

Kayak & gear alarm.

Post by rattlesnake68 »

Hello everybody. I have something that may be of use to most outdoorsmen/women. I'm putting this in BTB since this is where a lot of folks go and BTB translates to an overnight trip for many of us. Blake has a get together planned for July and I know a lot of people will be moteling up or beach camping for the event. I've seen some discussion on her about securing kayaks from thieves which involves cables and locks. This will stop most opportunist, but a determined thief in the night, only a delay for him. YouTube has some ridiculous ideas that I won't even go into. For months now, I have had opossums and raccoons raiding my dog food barrel. I started using my Harbor Freight driveway motion alert to wake me up during the night if I get a night time visitor. Even the Rottweiler's know what it means when the receiver goes off and they are at the door waiting for me. Well, it didn't take a genius to figure out this would work on bipedal thieves also. As most of you know, I have daughters and daughters like to stay in motels/hotels for overnight or multi night trips. I never get a restful sleep worrying if my Hobie TI or other kayaks are going to be in the parking lot the following morning. I've already tried it out this past weekend and I did some experimenting with it for a short YouTube video. These drive way alarms are only $15. Compare that to losing a Hobie, Jackson, or any of your gear and a trip getting ruined because of some low life. Here is a short video with me trying it out on a kayak for the first time before we headed out to Arkansas. [youtube]https://youtu.be/EbpALhbbhQ4[/youtube]
Yakety_Yak
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Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 9:52 am
Location: Houston

Re: Kayak & gear alarm.

Post by Yakety_Yak »

This is a great idea!! My only complaint is that you didn't make the video a few years ago, lol. :lol:

Great stuff!! :)
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Karyuu
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Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2015 7:54 am

Re: Kayak & gear alarm.

Post by Karyuu »

Have you tried motorcycle alarm on the chain?

https://www.amazon.com/Anti-theft-Motor ... B075F5S8TG
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rattlesnake68
Posts: 286
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:43 pm
Location: Norman, Oklahoma

Re: Kayak & gear alarm.

Post by rattlesnake68 »

I haven't tried the motorcycle alarm. Its pretty common for me to stay at a larger hotel where I may not hear an alarm go off on my kayak. Also I wanted a receiver to notify me if someone is try to steal gear out of a hatch or run off with my sail in which case the motorcycle alarm wouldn't sound off unless it was attached to that specific item. With the motion sensor it will tell you if someone is reaching over the bed of your truck, let you know if someone is moving a trailered kayak, or trying to see if there are goodies in the forward hatch pending on what direction you point it. Honestly, I hate stripping everything out of my kayak to put in my truck seat or motel room when I'm not driving. Given each situation different, a person will need to play with the sensor in different locations to find that "sweet spot" so you don't get false alerts. Last weekend at Beaver Lake I got two false signals when two different high profile vehicles pulled right beside my kayak within inches, but that was ok. If that was a person that close I would want to know about it.
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rattlesnake68
Posts: 286
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:43 pm
Location: Norman, Oklahoma

Re: Kayak & gear alarm.

Post by rattlesnake68 »

Yea I know Blake. I should have figured this out years ago. I've been using driveway alarms for about 10 years. I've been lucky and nobody has ever taken so much as a jig head from me. But, it only takes one time and a couple of minutes to lose thousands, especially with todays kayaks. It's still a very good idea to use cable locks and such since that will slow the thief down giving the owner ample time to pay the would be thief a "visit".
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deputydog21875
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Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 7:21 pm
Location: Boerne, Texas

Re: Kayak & gear alarm.

Post by deputydog21875 »

Outstanding!!! Thank you for the information and video. I’m going to Florida at the end of the month with a night stay halfway. This will be in my truck bed.
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Endo
Posts: 234
Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 5:00 pm
Location: Austin

Re: Kayak & gear alarm.

Post by Endo »

Thanks, good stuff.

For beach camping, if you visit PINS a lot, eventually you will get raided by coyotes. I've had them get into my kayak and drag off my dry bags and tackle boxes. All while I was sleeping in my tent 10 feet away!

I eventually found all my gear behind the dunes, but was potentially a very expensive mistake. Obviously easy enough to prevent, but I guess this monitor would also work...instead of just putting your stuff up. :D

The hotel issue is one that resonates with me though. I'm going to pick one up for a trip I have planned.

.
boricualouie
Posts: 555
Joined: Wed Jul 17, 2013 10:12 am
Location: Austin,Texas

Re: Kayak & gear alarm.

Post by boricualouie »

Ordered one! I hope this works for me! Every time we go to the coast,I can't sleep thinking about some low life messing with my stuff!thanks for the idea, looking forward in trying it out on our next trip.
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