another reason to wear your lanyard

zod550 · 11 September 2001, 01:22

i was launching the boat off a few swells and when i landed the boat veered violently to starboard. it was amazing i was not thrown out of the boat as it was the steering cable that broke. i was able to tie 2 lines between the motor and the arch and steer by sitting on the motor pushing down with my feet. i was able to do 15-18 mph doing this. wish i could afford hydraulic steering. anyone ever have a steering cable brake at 30mph? chris

batfalcon · 11 September 2001, 05:15

I have never had such an expirience, but a friend of mine had. He used a rope and tied a steel pipe he had on board on the side of motor's head, using it as a helm.
From that day after we always carries a steel pipe accordingly shaped, which can be bolted on the same point where the steering cable is.

Michael

Powerboat · 11 September 2001, 19:33

It happened me once a few years ago driving a searider with a 115 Yamaha on the back while 6 miles from home .

We managed to cruise home at 30 knots by leaving the motor in the sraight ahead position and by steering on the throttle .

You can do this by pulling back on the power causing the nose to drop . As the nose drops , get your crew to lean gently to the side you want to turn to and apply power smoothly straightening out the boat again in the new direction .

This is ok for drive over open water ..I wouldn't try it in confined spaces !

We always teach people to never take your hand off of the throttle while driving as it is a far more important control ( safety wise ) than the wheel .

We also get all drivers to wear killcords on the leg rather than on the wrist or the life jacket where it can easily come off !

Best wishes ,

Stuart
www.powerboat.org

Paul Glatzel · 12 September 2001, 20:36

Stuart

Have one or two observations to make re your comments:

- Kill-cords: I dont really see how a kill cord attached to a lifejacket can come loose if it is secured around a strap. However I am very sceptical about kill-cords around a leg. In my experience if a kill cord is around a leg then it starts around a knee (when on a jockey console) but the buffeting/bouncing tends to loosen it so it drops to the ankle. From there it is feasible (and i've had it happen ) that a foot movement can release the cord. Okay this is rare but I believe it is impossible when around a lifejacket.

On a related subject does anyone test their kill cord? I do and particularly as part of courses however the other day the student pulled the cord, it came out but didn't switch the engine off (Mercury 90) so you need to test it from a variety of angles and strength of pulls.

Finally steering. The other way is to use the trim to steer. Its not ideal but fun when on the plane and in a well set up boat you can get some good turns .

Alan Mckewan · 12 September 2001, 23:02

Strongly agree on the kill cord testing. We now have "TEST KILL CORD BEFORE LAUNCH" stickers on all our club ribs following a couple of not-working ones.
Another local club recently suffered a total writeoff when a new 5.5m 70HP rib "ejected" the (lone) helm who was standing up and not wearing a cord. The boat went at full speed up the beach, across rocks and onto a grass bank 50m inland, tearing the tubes, smashing the hull and wrecking the engine bottom end and prop.

batfalcon · 13 September 2001, 06:05

I can't see how can a boat steer using only the trim, with the steering cable broken/unistalled. I am pretty sure that with NO steering force applied on it, the engine will turn towards the torque of the prop pushes it.

Paul Glatzel · 13 September 2001, 07:13

Michael

Sorry slight confusion here - didn't mean to suggest this was a solution to cable problem. Observation re trim was more of an aside. Try it though, go on the plane, weight the boat to give a (if I remember correctly) port tilt and therefore a port turn, use trim and you can straighten the boat then you will get a starboard turn. Thus you can then use trim to steer in both directions. Suspect that there are a few caveats here:

- Suspect only works with single engine installations (might be wrong here as never tried)
- Works best on a well set up boat (tried it on a couple of 5.6-6m RIBs)
- Is more for fun than anything as steering via trim only works on plane on in calmish conditions
- The turn is generally fairly gradual

Paul

Powerboat · 16 September 2001, 20:09

Hi Paul ,

You wrote above :

"- Kill-cords: I dont really see how a kill cord attached to a lifejacket can come loose if it is secured around a strap. "

True ........but how secure is your life jacket strap or buckle .

Your theory is fine if the kill cord is attached to a stainless steel buckle on a commercial / mil spec life jacket ( which I suspect that you and I would routinely wear ) however many of the lifejackets out there have ( unfortunately ) very dodgy and poor quality buckles and straps .

We always say here in LRPBS that it is ok to attach your kill cord to a strap or buckle if you would also be happy to hang out of a third story window from the same fitting !

I don't know where you get your kill cords ......but I have never in 31 years of driving ( Since age 7 ! )seen a kill cord that would reach my ankles !

There is no way that any one wearing a normal killcord around their thigh or knee can come out of a boat without bringing the cord with them .

I quite agree with testing kill cord switches regularly .

Another dangerous practice which I have seen is people securing their kill cords to the ignition key while driving , which then prevents the kill cord from coming away until the ignition switch breaks or the key gets knocked off allowing the key to be pulled out . I have rescued two such people in my career who ended up " waterskiing " from their killcord half in half out of their boat waiting for the key to pull out of the switch !

Best wishes ,

Stuart
www.powerboat.org

John Kennett · 16 September 2001, 21:15

I'm with you on that one -- I reckon leg is the best place. The problem I have seen with people clipping Kill cords to life jackets is that they then get their arms tangled in it!

john

David Perry · 17 September 2001, 05:40

Interesting point about a test. I have been in a real live outing from a boat driven by another and thankfully the cord worked. I have also seen the results of not wearing one, not a petty sight.
As to where to wear, this is probably more of personal choice and comfort. I wear mine around the ankle and as it is a springy lead it grips properly and is unlikely to come off aroung footwear. I have seen instances of wrist worn cords getting wrapped around the helm which is not good.
The bottom line to all this is WEAR THE THING. I have seen far too many so called experienced boaters NOT wearing the cords, and even made a comment about an advert in a national magazine about such. It should also be said that a Kill Cord is a bit of personal kit, and apart from a spare in the bucket/locker, each member of the crew should ideally have one. I also brief passengers/students how to operate in the event of a total loss of cord....not easy when some buttons are held out by the ring.

Powerboat · 17 September 2001, 09:06

Remember last year when HMS took a stand about kill cords and lifejackets been worn in adverts in RIB International .

Very praiseworthy .......unfortunately that fine ideal seems to have slipped in this years additions with not alone adverts but articles showing RIBs been driven without Killcords or life jackets .

I think Hugo listens in on this forum so it would be interesting to hear his views and to find out if commercial pressures over ruled the praisworthy ideals .

Incidently if you look at the cover picture of the old RYA powerboat logbook ( just replaced recently ) it showed two girls travelling at speed in a Fletcher of the cliffs of Dover with no Lifejackets !

I do quite a bit of accident Investigation / Expert Witness work in Powerboats over here . In almost evey one of the many cases I have investigated and reported on in recent years , death or serious injury would have been prevented if either ( let alone both ) the kill cord and life jacket had been worn .

I think we are all agreed that the bottom line if to wear and test your kill cord and life jacket .

Best wishes ,

Stuart
www.powerboat.org

Keith Hart · 17 September 2001, 16:55

Hi there

I used to be very involved in the motorcycle industry (training). As the country's largest motorcycle training body, we had to be VERY careful with our advertising to ensure that everyone was obeying all laws and everything was being done safely. I was often consulted by motorcycle manufacturers to comment on safety aspects of adverts. Remember we were talking BIG, FAST motorcycles here. The ads had to look fun, sexy, exhillarating, but they also had to be legal and safe. In the main we managed to do this.

I must admit that in most of the catalogues on boats that I have seen, it is the norm for the people in the boats not to be wearing safety gear. I was rather surprised by this.

Even in my little boat I would not go out without a life jacket AND the lanyard attached to the kill switch. I don't see that this spoils the fun. It's just a part of boating, just as wearing a helmet on my motorcycle is.

However up at my house in Scotland, I can't think that I have ever seen one of the locals wearing a life jacket. One day I saw some people out in a boat (not a rib), an man and two children, 7 to 10 yrs and a woman with a BABE IN ARMS. None of them were wearing life jackets!!!

Keith Hart

Paul Glatzel · 17 September 2001, 19:56

Stuart

Ultimately we're all in agreement here - wear a kill cord and check it works regularly. Clearly all our boats are different and no prescriptive approach is correct as we all need to do what's right according to the set-up of the boat, gear been worn etc etc.

Paul

Ribald · 17 September 2001, 20:00

What never ceases to amaze me is the number of people who, when taking their kids out on the boat, make sure that the kid is kitted out safetly but don't bother themselves. Do they think that they are invincible?

Earlier this summer, I witnessed a small speedboat (not a RIB or SIB) with 5 adults and two kids under five go out from Lymington in a steady SW F6 WAT. None of the adults had any form of bouyancy but the children were fitted with very expensive lifjackets. We later saw them wave hopping with the boat leaping out of the water by at least 8-10ft. The skipper suggested we hung around near them as he felt a rescue coming on. Only when the kids were screaming their heads off did the pr*** decide to go in. You should have seen the pig's ear he made in coming along side - more by luck than judgement.

I forgot to mention that before he launched the boat he had to jump start the o/b from his car and then ran the engine up on the hard for about 2-3 mins with no cooling water.

Keith Hart · 18 September 2001, 06:18

Hi there

You know what really puzzled me about the idiot I mentioned above:

"One day I saw some people out in a boat (not a rib), a man and two children, 7 to 10 yrs and a woman with a BABE IN ARMS. None of them were wearing life jackets!!! "

If the boat capsized or sunk, which of his passengers was the man going to try to save? What a choice. Mind you I should imagine that the first thing he would have done was save HIMSELF!

Keith Hart

David Perry · 19 September 2001, 18:45

On the matter of lifejackets, I made a point in a national boating mag some years ago about pics of people without Jackets/BA's. The response was sympathetic but pointed to artistic preferences. I suggested that magazines refuse copy which is not selling the right message but this was thought to be unworkable...not so I feel. X company wants to sell its boat, Y photographer is asked to do the shoots, Z mag refuses the shots due to the danger factor, X company sacks Y photographer and finds someone else. Its a matter of education....education...education.
The department dealing with life jacket execption cetifiactes works so much overtime in this area it beggars belief.
So come on....lets all make a plea for ads to portray the right image, complain when you see one, buoycot (sic!) manufacturers who don;t play the game.

Allan · 21 September 2001, 13:33

I would add another vote for the killcord to the leg, I have found it to be a reliable and workable placement.

As for the wearing of lifejackets in advertising, I would agree that it would be good if advertising supported the wearing of lifejackets/bouancy aids (as appropriate) but feel that the boycott route is doomed to failure unless it were to gain 100% support from the marine publishing industry.

The bitter truth is that (virtually all) publications live off their advertising revenue and that they need the advertisers more than the advertisers need them, so the publicity boys and girls will put their advertising cash into the publication that lets them display the "sexy" lifejacketless pictures whilst leaving the publications that try to insist on the "artistically boring" shots with lifejackets, out in the cold.

It will be a long hard slog to get universal concensus on this one but I believe that until the publishers all agree ( and stick to it!) to publish only "safety conscious" versions of adverts, it is most unlikely to become a reality.

Keith Hart · 21 September 2001, 14:18

Of course in the motorcycle industry HELMETS were required by law, so the riders and pillion passengers HAD to wear them. However there was a massive industry supplying leather suits, jackets etc. The answer was to make the accessories DESIRABLE. Forget the safety message ... BORING!

They made them a fashion thing. Just look at motorcycle adverts. Great colours, great designs for the helmets and leather suits and stuff. It became fashion to wear the stuff and it looked COOL

Now, I enjoy wearing the life jacket because it makes me feel SAFE. Personaly I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks so long as I feel happy, but perhaps younger ribsters do care about their 'image'. So, make the 'image' of life jackets 'cool'. Make them fashion. Make them look good. Then people will wear them.
Also the manufactures will sell MORE. So you see it can work in everyone's interest.

Any way. Bye for now. I'm off to my house in Scotland now. Kylesku and Moray Firth here I come........bring on the big seas, the waves, the spray (okay so I exagerate a little but bring on the smooth calm seas would make me sound too much of a wimp).. However you can be sure of one thing...I will be wearing my lifejacket.

Cheers

Keith Hart

Keith Hart · 31 October 2001, 16:17

Hi there

Whilst browsing through Biblines (Winter issue) I've noticed that in EVERY photograph of members in boats lifejackets are being worn. In the majority of dealer ads NO lifejackets are being worn!

Look at the back page advert.The man in the boat on the right looks like he is dressed to sit at his office desk! In the middle boats they all have proper gear. BUT the boat on the left has NO ONE at the controls!!! Is it radio controlled or have they all fallen out?

Keith Hart

MarkWildey · 31 October 2001, 16:53

I have been thrown out of a boat, at around 40knots

, when the hydraulic steering failed. As I surfaced all I could see was the boat up on the plane travelling in a straight line.

My first thought was “I didn’t have the kill cord attached”, but looking at my wrist confirmed it was attached to my velcro wrist band.

A few seconds later the boat dropped off the plane and stopped. If the seas had been rough then attempting to swim to the boat for the average person may not have been possible. Luckily I’m a strong swimmer and the task didn’t seem much of a problem. This would have been made harder with the life jacket attached.

As it happens we were racing and the support boats came to the rescue!

Anyway getting to my point…

What I don’t see that often is a spare kill cord located near the helm for the crew, assuming there still in the boat, to start the boat back up and pick up the driver. When On the Suzuki o/b I had the kill cord needed a special connecter to work, so it wasn’t just a matter of flicking a switch.

Also don’t assume that your crew know the ins and outs of how you boat works. Make a point of telling them that the boat won’t start in gear, where the kill cord goes etc etc.

Regards

Mark