Reed code books began being printed in the 1930s. Some locksmiths may still have the original leather-bound volumes. The general code book was prints with a black cover while the padlock book had a brown cover. Many of the code series listed in those old books are still in use today. At the same time, thousands of new series have been collected resulting currently in 15 volumes of Reed codes with approximately 5,000 code series available.
Making keys by code has always been an accepted job for locksmiths. Recently, however, the internet has become a prime location for people who are selling keys by code. One website actually warns customers not to buy keys by code from local locksmiths because the internet seller has the 'original' keys. In most cases, coded keys sold on the internet are for tool boxes, pickup truck caps, RV locks, motorcycles, construction equipment and boats.
An area of interest at this time of year is boat keys. One internet site lists several different boat key series which they stock. The location of this company happened to be a few miles from our office, so I paid a visit to their store. They primarily sell boats and accessories but they did have a sizeable keyboard filled with precut boat keys. They charge $9.88 for any boat key on their keyboard.
If you Google "key by code" on the internet, you will find two or three commercial companies specializing exclusively in furnishing desk keys and locks. You will also find a few enterprising locksmith companies who are offering coded keys by mail. Armed with a good code machine, Reed code books, a group of the most popular key blanks and an internet site, you too could be selling $10 keys on the internet.
Our chart shows the most popular boat keys in use today. Note: all key blanks shown are Ilco blanks except when noted as Blue Dog. Contact your local locksmith distributor for Ilco key blanks or [email protected] / 407-774-0100 for Blue Dog key blanks.
Most Popular Boat Keys
Code Series Boat Manufacturer Years Key Blank
000000-999999 Ving/Sea Ray -- TO6
01-35 Evinrude '73-'77 OM10
51-67 Evinrude '78-'95 1657
70/71/72 OMC Present BD371R (Blue Dog)
75-79 OMC Present BD371 (Blue Dog)
301-303 Nissan Present HD74
371-390 Yamaha Present YH38
451-470 Yamaha Present YH38
721-740 Yamaha Present YH52
741-760 Yamaha Present H36
802-848 Mobella/Southco Present BD6R (Blue Dog)
902-948 Mobella/Southco Present BD6 (Blue Dog)
11111-77777 Legge/Gnd Banks Present 62LG
1A-2A Mercury/Honda Present CU7
1B-2B Mercury/Honda Present CU8
1C-2C Mercury/Honda Presetn CU9
CH501-CH554 Cole Hersee Present O1122AR
1D-2D Mercury/Honda Present CU10
E001-E100 Nieman Present NE10
1E-2E Mercury/Honda Present 1040U
1F-2F Mercury/Honda Present CU12
HG140-HG189 Nieman Present NE10
KF01-KF250 Evinrude '55-'72 Chgo/Various
M01-M100 Nieman Present NE10
N01-N100 Nieman Present NE10
S01-S50 KL1
U01-U100 Nieman Present NE10
PK500A-PK999A All Lock O1122
