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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 9:54:20 GMT
Does anybody have any ideas for a locking system for the back doors and hatch of a narrow boat? Ideally can be locked from outside and unlatched from inside. I thought about Yale locks but you need a separate catch for the hatch. Van locks but they can’t be unlatched from inside. Any good ideas anyone?
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Post by JohnV on May 22, 2020 10:23:30 GMT
Never found a full answer to that problem Kris. In practice never found the hatch a problem as just good quality bolts on the inside .... after all once you have opened the doors you can just reach in and unbolt. Tried a couple of ways to do a lock for the doors that could be locked/unlocked from either side but they weren't very user friendly or that effective.
Locking from the outside only I used a thick walled small square section tube that slotted into a cup on one side and held at the other end by a good padlock with a steel cover so you couldnt get an angle grinder to the padlock without chopping through the cover first.
Looked industrial but didn't get broken into
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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 10:30:25 GMT
Never found a full answer to that problem Kris. In practice never found the hatch a problem as just good quality bolts on the inside .... after all once you have opened the doors you can just reach in and unbolt. Tried a couple of ways to do a lock for the doors that could be locked/unlocked from either side but they weren't very user friendly or that effective. Locking from the outside only I used a thick walled small square section tube that slotted into a cup on one side and held at the other end by a good padlock with a steel cover so you couldnt get an angle grinder to the padlock without chopping through the cover first. Looked industrial but didn't get broken into Thanks for the reply John, yes it’s a thorny problem to say the least. I think good bolts on the hatch and a Yale lock are the way to go. As the boater in question doesn’t want a visible lock etc on the outside.
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Post by JohnV on May 22, 2020 10:50:27 GMT
Never found a full answer to that problem Kris. In practice never found the hatch a problem as just good quality bolts on the inside .... after all once you have opened the doors you can just reach in and unbolt. Tried a couple of ways to do a lock for the doors that could be locked/unlocked from ei ther side but they weren't very user friendly or that effective. Locking from the outside only I used a thick walled small square section tube that slotted into a cup on one side and held at the other end by a good padlock with a steel cover so you couldnt get an angle grinder to the padlock without chopping through the cover first. Looked industrial but didn't get broken into Thanks for the reply John, yes it’s a thorny problem to say the least. I think good bolts on the hatch and a Yale lock are the way to go. As the boater in question doesn’t want a visible lock etc on the outside. bolting the non opening leaf of the door I used to find a problem. bolting at the bottom was usualy easy enough down into the frame but I found bolting the top sometimes a problem as the bolt locating hole in the hatch was hard to line up because of the play needed in the hatch for it to slide easily (with a wooden hatch) and with a steel hatch you needed a receptor for the bolt to go into and sure as eggs is eggs, it would limit how far the hatch could travel back ..... or leave a lump that stuck out just in the right place to bang your head on ..... .................. Good luck
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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 11:25:00 GMT
Thanks for the reply John, yes it’s a thorny problem to say the least. I think good bolts on the hatch and a Yale lock are the way to go. As the boater in question doesn’t want a visible lock etc on the outside. bolting the non opening leaf of the door I used to find a problem. bolting at the bottom was usualy easy enough down into the frame but I found bolting the top sometimes a problem as the bolt locating hole in the hatch was hard to line up because of the play needed in the hatch for it to slide easily (with a wooden hatch) and with a steel hatch you needed a receptor for the bolt to go into and sure as eggs is eggs, it would limit how far the hatch could travel back ..... or leave a lump that stuck out just in the right place to bang your head on ..... .................. Good luck it might have to be something that is secure rather than aesthetic and full filling all the requirements.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 11:40:00 GMT
My solution to this was a bar of channel or angle section bolted on the inside holding the doors shut and a padlock on the hatch slide holding the hatch itself shut. This assumes a sliding hatch.
The bolted on bar on the INSIDE spanning the door aperture is easily removeable from inside (wing nut or eye nut) but virtually impossible to do from outside unless you destroy the doors or the coach bolt head outside. I had a through bolt but welding a bolt to the overlapping door would be even better.
You can get out of the doors in emergency from inside without sliding the hatch open.
Access from outside is via the padlock on the slide. This can be obscured so as not to advertise absence. Unlock it open slide reach in and undo the wing nut on bolt then rotate locking bar. Simple really and very secure.
This assumes a L shaped hatch slide and a captive hatch which can not simply be lifted off.
Worked well for me on more than one narrow boat.
Some boats have traditional hatch slides which are not simply an angle which would make the padlock thing more awkward.
I very much dislike having padlocks on the outside of the doors. This is like a 'nobody here' flag and also a major emergency exit hazard.
A square closed shackle padlock in the hatch slide is very easy to hide but one on the doors is not at all easy.
Yale house type lock if done well with decent self-centring hatch slides is another option. One of my narrow boats in fact the best one had nice little steel triangles bolted in on the inside of the slides to bring the hatch to the central position when closed. Lovely bit of work actually a lot of thought and detail went into it.
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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 12:09:23 GMT
Thanks for the ideas magnetman
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Post by lollygagger on May 22, 2020 12:34:55 GMT
Up and over garage doors have a central handle and could have as many bars as you liked heading off in different directions, but they are so easy to force (the handle/lock) they are laughable. Something you couldn't get purchase on and force to replace the T handle might make the concept useable, mounted on one door to catch the other and the hatch. Pity so little thought goes into making narrowboats and they are all different enough to prevent a one size fits all solution coming onto the market. I have a padlock - it would probably be more effective to leave it off and look inhabited.
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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 12:39:22 GMT
Up and over garage doors have a central handle and could have as many bars as you liked heading off in different directions, but they are so easy to force (the handle/lock) they are laughable. Something you couldn't get purchase on and force to replace the T handle might make the concept useable, mounted on one door to catch the other and the hatch. Pity so little thought goes into making narrowboats and they are all different enough to prevent a one size fits all solution coming onto the market. I have a padlock - it would probably be more effective to leave it off and look inhabited. I think it’s the little details that make the difference to a boat, you can tell when someone has spent time being thoughtful over a build.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 12:53:55 GMT
That's true.
Just to clarify my locking bar it is not moveable from outside. It's just a length of rigid bar ie angle or box or channel section which is clamped across the door aperture using a bolt fixed to the overlapping door. Just do it up with a wing nut or an eye nut. I prefer eye nuts myself as you can get a bar on for extra leverage if needed.
Either a coachbolt only presenting a domed end outside or a welded on stub. The stub would be ideal.
Not possible to open from outside at all but rapidly removeable from inside in an emergency.
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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 12:56:35 GMT
That's true. Just to clarify my locking bar it is not moveable from outside. It's just a length of rigid bar ie angle or box or channel section which is clamped across the door aperture using a bolt fixed to the overlapping door. Just do it up with a wing nut or an eye nut. I prefer eye nuts myself as you can get a bar on for extra leverage if needed. Either a coachbolt only presenting a domed end outside or a welded on stub. The stub would be ideal. Not possible to open from outside at all but rapidly removeable from inside in an emergency. The system you’re describe seems really good, unfortunately it’s not what he wants.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 14:23:34 GMT
My rear hatch/doors are lockable from the outside and openable from the inside when locked. Its simple: Doors are fastened half way up on the inside and can be locked from outside by leaning over and fastening before closing the slide. Slide has a padlock on the runner. The slide when locked will lift by a small amount allowing the doors, after removing the internal fastners, to be opened before the slide is unlocked from the outside. I have had a similar system on my previous boats. To me having the padlock on the outside is not a problem as its on there even when the boat is occupied unless I am steering the boat.
Much the same principle as MM
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Post by naughtyfox on May 22, 2020 16:41:11 GMT
Does anybody have any ideas for a locking system for the back doors and hatch of a narrow boat? Ideally can be locked from outside and unlatched from inside. I thought about Yale locks but you need a separate catch for the hatch. Van locks but they can’t be unlatched from inside. Any good ideas anyone? A boat moored next to ours for some months had a hole drilled through one of the hatch runners and a padlock hooked round, so that the sliding hatch could not be shoved forwards. I thought this a good idea and would do it for our hatch, only I haven't got round to it, and thieving scrotes need only to boot the windows in to gain access anyway so what's the point? The boat next to us also had a horizontal metal bar and padlock system across the back doors which I also admired - so you just climb in the cratch and kick the front doors in. We have found the best option so far to be a safe marina.
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Post by Clinton Cool on May 22, 2020 17:40:31 GMT
A slight security upgrade for the front doors: Keep the bolts. Assuming their is a handle on each, they are usually half way up, get a length of chain, put through both handles and secure with a padlock. If there aren't any handles fit some, they are cheap enough.
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Post by Telemachus on May 22, 2020 20:58:35 GMT
I misread the OP and though the title was “good looking system for back door and hatch” and presumed it was some proposed metric for evaluating men’s arses. Back to pornhub for me,
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