Hairball, that sucks and I am sorry to hear it. My buddy lost his 8 horse Yamaha to a thief while the boat was at the marina. You are right on about the shotgun being left inside. If you shot the thief I can guarantee the thief's family would sue you for excessive force. It is real interesting how these worthless scum become saints and financial providers for all kinds of people once they are killed. Even if you prevail on the lawsuits, it will cost you tens of thousands in attorney's fees - not worth it for a motor.

I think any thing you do to secure the motor will eventually get defeated. I had a buddy I used to ski with. He took the ugliest wallpaper you could find and put it on his skis. His theory, no thief would rip off something with that ugly wallpaper and if ever stolen, who would buy them - too easy to ID and too ugly. He never lost those ugly skis.

I hope you get your motor back and if you didn't report it to the police do so, sometimes they get lucky.