We have several areas on deck which we lock if we’re going to be away from the boat for an extended period. These include the outboard, life raft, and four storage areas.

We’ve used different types of locks over the years. The photo above is of Airbus brand locks. The left-hand lock was left hanging on a rail for the past 20 months. It was lubricated once in that period with WD40, and then again when we removed it recently. The lock at the right is a spare, to show you what these are supposed to look like.

There has been a lot of fresh and salt water over these locks – 17,000 miles’ worth. And though, while we normally lube these every couple of months, these seem to do OK when abused.