Loc R Bar on teh Pantera Classic?

I was one of 7 guys that recently had our rods stolen at night right out side the room while fishing 2 day tournament on Sam Rayburn. The sheriff that showed up to do the report was also a bass fishermen and was very sympathetic with us although he admitted that recovery was very rare. We talked with him about prevention and one of the things that came up was the Lock-R-Bar. He told us that he has seen cases were the thieves hooked the boat winch to the lock-R-Bar and pulled it right off. He recommended an alarm system which would scare them off. My classic did not come with an alarm. So I looked on the net and I ordered an alarm. I got this alarm because I also do not have lighted storage and I wanted some thing I did not have to do a bunch of drilling holes and wiring with. I got the stryker 2 which has a remote that also will alarm in the motel room. Check it out —-> http//www.bassboatalarm.com/

I was too chicken to be the first to say it but I agree that I dont really believe the loc-r-bar can be bent with a trailer winch. There is a solid stainless bar inside that is very heavy duty. Now I know txmrbass did not say “bend” in his post here but I know someone else mentioned “bending” the loc-r-bar in his post on this discussion when he got robbed. I DO however believe that the fiberglass where the mounting brackets for the ends of the bar could possibly be broken and/or ripped loose if the trailer winch was hooked to the bar. I have a loc-r-bar on my 92 Sabre and I may have a false sense of security but I trust it pretty well. I do keep my boat on my floating dock most of the time and there is not the danger of the trailer winch being used out there on the water so I leave my rods in the locker. That being said….I still take my primary rods and the most expensive rigs inside when I am at a tourney, just to be safe. PS. I do have a flipping deck extension on my boat but the bar would still protect the drivers side and passenger side rod lockers if I did not have the extension in.Jim EbarbMany, LA (Toledo Bend Lake)2004 Cougar/ 225 OptimaxHumminbird Helix 12 Chirp SI on BalzOut Mount at bowLowrance HDS 7 at bowHumminbird Helix 12 Mega SI on Ram Mount at ConsoleLowrance HDS 8 in dash at console

Just my thought on this subject is that when you turn the winch it makes a ratchet sound and if there was a boat next to one with out a loc r bar they might opt for something easier. I use the bar and I still take my rods in the room…… GeorgeGeorge

txmrbass I dont mean to be confrontational at all, I didnt say that you said anything about the loc-r-bar, I said “someone else mentioned bending the loc-r-bar” in your post about getting robbed. We are all here for information and to help each other out. BUT….just to be sure I was not making up anything, I went back to your original post about the robbery and found this in your first post………..”I know some swear by locker bars but I have seen 2 cases in the past were the boat winch was hooked to them and used to bend the bar.” That was in the original post made by you. Its neither here nor there. I dont mean to point any fingers. I was just agreeing with skeeter Jim in that I really dont believe they can be bent with the trailer winch. In any case, heres my loc-r-bar on my Sabre with the flipping deck extension. FlRich, you may be correct in that the adapter for the front tackle box would not work without a deck extension, but the bar itself works fine for the rod boxes with or without the deck extension. My first lid in front of the bar is my cooler so I did not see any sense in the adapter for my application, and I could not move the bar any further toward the front of my boat simply because it is not wide enough. I only have the bar slightly extended to fit in my boat. Below is the adapter they offer to also protect the front tackle storage area. Last edited by toledobasser on February 14th, 2009, 2:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.Jim EbarbMany, LA (Toledo Bend Lake)2004 Cougar/ 225 OptimaxHumminbird Helix 12 Chirp SI on BalzOut Mount at bowLowrance HDS 7 at bowHumminbird Helix 12 Mega SI on Ram Mount at ConsoleLowrance HDS 8 in dash at console

The removal of the Lok-r-bar is simpler than that. Really easy and we have seen it done, which also damaged a boat, and could damage it in that instance. It is not a winch or a bolt cutter, just human force. Ten seconds and its outta there. It is not a fail safe, though a deterrent. We again prefer the alarm. though it too could cause damage with the new Soutch latches. The older latches will just break usually.