What happnes when you don't use the kill cord!

[Solent Ranger]

I can't be bothered to copy and past the pictures, but here is a link to YBW and shows what happens when the kill cord is not used!

Anybody recognise it?

[Simon Hawkins]

Hello David

When you get the full size pics sent can you email them please. Did you have a good weekend.

[hannah]

Again another saftey thing , its there for a reason use it , !!

[RIB BOI]

All ways have the kill cord on evan if you are going out 4 a min. o yer u beta test it as well. as one of the boater i know was up a long side the jetty got up to tie the ropes on and pull out the dead man and the motor was still goin so fat lot of good that kill cord is.

RIBBOI

[hannah]

haha , ours was the other way round , we were going along , and my dad got up to fix something and the kill cord cut the engine and flooded it aswell , we were stranded for about 3 hours

[boatster]

So how do you stop a run away rib then? Someone on the other forum mentioned fouling the prop with a floating line. Or jumping on from another moving boat. Both sound pretty hap-hazard. How about lassowing from a larger boat

[Matt Riley]

Originally Posted by boatster

So how do you stop a run away rib then? Someone on the other forum mentioned fouling the prop with a floating line. Or jumping on from another moving boat. Both sound pretty hap-hazard. How about lassowing from a larger boat

The following report details the soton boat show incident.

http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources...ety_504262.pdf

Incidentally, it was stopped by some rather fancy driving by the atlantic 75 cox'n at the time where he basically rammed the ILB into the RIB, and then told one of his crew to jump aboard and disable the craft. The maib didn't think that this was overly necessary.

OH, one thing that always confuses me. RYA instructors are always told to 'practise what they preach' when training novices. But the last time i looked the RNLI don't use killcords in any conditions, and still really push the message that they are essential. Surely an Atlantic 75 driver is equally as likely to fall out while he's out in a force 7 with 8ft high waves than any other ribster. And I don't think P22s have them fitted as standard. What about if you're driving an outboard powered displacement boat?

The other massively impractical thing that I don't like is that the RYA say that you have to be wearing the killcord while you start the engine on the manual start engines? Does anyone else find this makes it difficult to start a tiller steered outboard while you have the cord attached around the shoulder of your buoyancy aid (as per RYA recommendations)?

I think that when on a small planing boat, killcords are like seatbelts and should be essential, but i've always had a few reservations about using them in certain situations.

[ollyit]

very interesting thread - a wake up call for sure - always carry a spare too and tell your passengers where it is if need be

[Paul Glatzel]

Matt

I would totally agree that killcords are an essential safety item and indeed the RYA line is “killcord on when engine running”. The reason (as I understand it) that the RNLI don’t have killcords on the 21/75/85 is that there is a balance to strike between the benefits of the killcord and the risk of killing the engines inadvertently at the most inopportune moment.

In your example

RYA instructors are always told to 'practise what they preach' when training novices. But the last time i looked the RNLI don't use killcords in any conditions, and still really push the message that they are essential

I think you are comparing two very different groups of individuals. On the one hand RYA Instructors are teaching best practice. It may be their audience is experienced or inexperienced but in the normal course of events a kill cord is essential and there are no downsides to its use. On the other hand (the RNLI Coxswain) you have an extremely well trained and experienced helm who is likely to put his/her craft often into situations where an engine kill may prove fatal.

I wear a kill cord 99.99% all of the time. When I don’t (eg a rescue situation on a lee shore with a need to position the craft then rapidly recover the casualty – where an inadvertent kill of the engine would be disastrous) it is because I will have made a judgement call balancing all of the inherent risks in my decision and being mindful of the fact that it will be me before the MAIB if it goes pear shaped. The RNLI has made a judgement call and in the above example so have I.

The parallel is that on RYA courses you are taught that the default position is ‘engine off’ in MOB recovery situations. However it is accepted (and publically stated by the RYA) that as a helmsman you will need to assess whether you do switch off given the prevailing circumstances – ie a very competent helm, difficult conditions, close to a lee shore etc . However it is far better to teach that the default is engine off (or kill cord on) then as helms become more adept they can make their own judgement calls – and be prepared to back them.

So in summary I would disagree that the RNLI or RYA’s position is contradictory in any way whatsoever – it is simply a matter of circumstance.

Paul

[Paul Glatzel]

Solent Ranger

Anybody recognise it?

Is it a Shakepeare then? Take it you mean it's one of yours then David - what were you demoing at the time??!!??

,

Paul

PS: For the avoidence of doubt (& litigation) this is a joke!