When boating, always ___________________

[bakerjw]

Use a kill switch.
My nephew and I were in Minnesota many years back. From the kitchen in their family cabin, we saw a boat doing circles across the lake. Thought it was kids fooling around. When we came back in later in the evening, we learned that a lady had been tossed from the boat and was run over by it as it went in circles.

 

[Mc Tool]

They should make boats so they go straight ahead when you fall out .

 

[Bugzilla46310]

Put the plug in!

 

[Ifishmuskie2]

How easy is it to get ejected? At 20mph I feel safe. Not so much at 40mph.

 

[alldodge]

Not required but they have kill switches on 30 footers with high sides. Not that anyone I know of uses them, but maybe they should think about it

 

[dingbat]

In Md, the exemption is 26’ or greater or an enclosed cabin.

 

[alldodge]

In Md, the exemption is 26’ or greater or an enclosed cabin.

Same here, just mentioning manufactures are installing on larger boats.
I have a 28' even though hull is 25.6 and law states 25' or more

 

[Mc Tool]

Tbh I just been thinkin about this as I have yet to make my maiden voyage in my 3.8m inflatable/18hp Tohatsu and .....in a nutshell its so so so much easier and quite possibly less fatal to attach that lanyard than it would be to deal with falling out without it attached. The life jacket is a pita so may as well hook it to that .
Yeah ,I pictured myself treading water as my boat ,with all forms of communication on board disappeared over the horizon ......wishing I had told someone where I was going .

 

[dingbat]

Same here, just mentioning manufactures are installing on larger boats.
I have a 28' even though hull is 25.6 and law states 25' or more

Not a fan of the lanyard type devices.

Lost another this winter fishing solo. Cant fish tethered to the helm. An unintended shutdown at the wrong time can could pit you in peril.

Wireless kills are much more user friendly

 

[Mc Tool]

Not a fan of the lanyard type devices.

Lost another this winter fishing solo. Cant fish tethered to the helm. An unintended shutdown at the wrong time can could pit you in peril.

Wireless kills are much more user friendly

Yeah , I thinkin more if your alone on the boat ,if there are others aboard when you take an impromptu swim they would come back for you .......unless that was part of the plan (Humpty dumpty was pushed I tell ya ), but Im not liking the idea of being tethered , Im thinkin that the tether could have a bit of length to it , I mean over the side is over the side .....dont really matter if the tether is 2 feet or 10 feet and in a smaller boat , with a bit of gear, you don't move about that much once you have the weight distribution sorted .
The wireless kill you mention is new to me , guess it had to happen ,are they waterproof ?
Sounds like it would be easier to live with () as long as you remember to carry the sender ....and not leave it in the fishing box .

 

[flashback]

Tbh I just been thinkin about this as I have yet to make my maiden voyage in my 3.8m inflatable/18hp Tohatsu and .....in a nutshell its so so so much easier and quite possibly less fatal to attach that lanyard than it would be to deal with falling out without it attached. The life jacket is a pita so may as well hook it to that .
Yeah ,I pictured myself treading water as my boat ,with all forms of communication on board disappeared over the horizon ......wishing I had told someone where I was going .

"They should make boats that go straight ahead when you fall out." jeese , make up your mind mate..!

 

[bakerjw]

I suppose I should have been more clear and said "When underway, ..."
In my boat, if we are on plane, all life jackets are on and the kill switch is connected.
I do need to come up with a kill solution when I am trolling alone though. Something that works with the main OB as well as the 8HP kicker.

 

[airshot]

If your going fast enough to get thrown out, your driving way beyond your capability or way to fast ! It amazes me how hard we try to fix stupidity, never gonna happen no matter what devices we add on. All these "safety" devices cost money and the not so brite find ways around them anyway.
Before long the gov't will require testing, and licenses, and slot of other interference, just because people are dare devils and not willing to be responsible for there own actions. Ya can't fix stupid, never have, never will !

 

[dingbat]

The wireless kill you mention is new to me , guess it had to happen ,are they waterproof ?
Sounds like it would be easier to live with () as long as you remember to carry the sender ....and not leave it in the fishing box .

 

[Mc Tool]

If your going fast enough to get thrown out, your driving way beyond your capability or way to fast ! It amazes me how hard we try to fix stupidity, never gonna happen no matter what devices we add on. All these "safety" devices cost money and the not so brite find ways around them anyway.
Before long the gov't will require testing, and licenses, and slot of other interference, just because people are dare devils and not willing to be responsible for there own actions. Ya can't fix stupid, never have, never will !

I think part of the problem is that some peeps still like to find out the hard way .
NZ is in the middle of our worst water safety Xmas holiday period .......and its all a case of "shoulda known better ". Your right in that given the oppertunity rule makers will step in and put a dampener on the fun ....or tax us more for it .

 

[bakerjw]

For a minute there, I thought I was on THT.

 

[Jeff J]

They should make boats so they go straight ahead when you fall out .

Yep, that way it can plow uncontrolled and without warning into someone on the other side of the lake.

I clip the lanyard to the life jacket if I am wearing it. I leave the life jacket in the seat when I am fishing (tournaments). If I am doing something I where should have a life jacket on but don’t, I wrap the lanyard around my wrist. Otherwise, my boat will likely run me over which I think is a better option than my boat traveling across the lake unmanned and killing someone else. I wouldn’t want to live with that nor the lawsuits that follow.

 

[Mc Tool]

Yep, that way it can plow uncontrolled and without warning into someone on the other side of the lake.

I clip the lanyard to the life jacket if I am wearing it. I leave the life jacket in the seat when I am fishing (tournaments). If I am doing something I where should have a life jacket on but don’t, I wrap the lanyard around my wrist. Otherwise, my boat will likely run me over which I think is a better option than my boat traveling across the lake unmanned and killing someone else. I wouldn’t want to live with that nor the lawsuits that follow.

So , just to be clear ,if your boat circled and ran someone over you could live with that......and no one would sue you . Im being facetious , but I think that a runaway boat is better blasting across a lake than circling where peeps are gathered . End of the day once the boat has got away on you where it lands is pretty much dumb luck .
My Tohatsu has a friction dampener on the twist grip , if I leave it loose the throttle drops back to idle when I release it . Wouldnt stop the boat but might make it a lot easier to regain control , not a substitute for a kill switch ,lanyard or wireless .

 

[jlh3rd]

" Ya can't fix stupid, never have, never will !"

no one dared to comment that she might've been drunk?
Or that the majority of these incidents probably involve alcohol?

 

[Jeff J]

I fishing on Lake of the Ozarks a few years back when when I heard a strange racket. Kinda like a loud slap/splash followed by silence. A bass boat I had noticed passing through at a high rate of speed a moment before was dead in the water with the driver in the water. The lanyard had done its job and the driver was fished out of the drink by his partner. Without the lanyard, the boat would have likely slammed into the rocky shore before the partner could get a hold of it. A lot of it is just dumb luck… wrong place, wrong time.

The lanyard isn’t that much of an inconvenience. I don’t always use mine but if the lake is rough I tend to use it. I don’t swim well so I prefer the boat stay close without running me over. The is no reason to leave the controls while the boat is underway, especially when the boat is on plane.

That’s a good point about alcohol. There are a lot of extremely stupid people on the water. I generally won’t go on the lake during a summer weekend. I absolutely refuse to go during a holiday.