Bar-type locks, left, top to bottom: The Fulton Outboard Motor Lok, Master Lock Outboard Motor Lock, and Island Marine Islander Lock. To the right, the Stazo SmartLock.

Even though small engines are getting heavier these days due to the influx of four-strokes, they're still not heavy enough to deter thieves.

We collected four store-bought locks for a close look. The locks are the Master Lock Outboard Motor Lock, the Islander Outboard Motor Lock from Island Marine Products, the Stazo SmartLock, and the Fulton Outboard Motor Lok.

All of these locks will easily resist the casual thief, but we were interested in which were more corrosion resistant, less noisy, fairly priced, and hardest to overwhelm. …