Bolt Cutters or Dremel Tool

Here’s the situation: The lock used to keep your outboard from being stolen has corroded over the years, so when you try to turn the key, it breaks off inside the lock. Merde!

How to get the lock off? The brain trust from our three catamarans decided that a pair of bolt cutters was the solution.

The first pair of bolt cutters wasn’t close to being up to the task. Merde, as that meant it was a trip back to the dinghy and then a trip on the dinghy back to the anchored-out boats to get the heavy duty bolt cutters.

The second pair of bolt cutters proved to be no more effective than the first. Fortunately, Glenn Twitchell of the Newport-based Lagoon 380 Beach Access had the foresight to also bring his little Dremel tool along. The Dremel looks whimpy compared to bolt cutters, but when equipped with a succession of carbide tips, each of which weighed about a 10th of an ounce, it made its way right through the tough lock.

Dremel tool packages run from about $50 to about $150, and have a lot of uses on boats. Please email us if you have any great rotary tool stories?