1975 70hp Evinrude Outboard Scary Moment

[ezmobee]

Re: 1975 70hp Evinrude Outboard Scary Moment

I agree. It was an unfortunate accident. An accident that shouldn't be blamed on a safety feature that was lacking from a 35 year old motor. Anything else is just speculation and is unecessary.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: 1975 70hp Evinrude Outboard Scary Moment

dunno, my bass boat simply wont run much under about 33 MPH its very comfortable at about 45 MPH and yes shipping pallets,logs and loose pound net stakes tend to show up in stupid places.
depending on the keyswitch location of that 70 HP installing the switch will take about 30 min to an hour.
in our shop you would be looking at about 85 labor plus the switch. note the switch can be located away from the box.

 

[sublauxation]

Re: 1975 70hp Evinrude Outboard Scary Moment

It's a hell of a wake up call and I'm glad this post was started. I didn't always clip on my safety switch lanyard, now I will. Withouth a kill switch my 6 year old would undoubtedly leave me floating while he went joy riding around the lake until the gas ran out.

 

[starcraft1982]

Re: 1975 70hp Evinrude Outboard Scary Moment

My procedure is very simple.And its also the reason i havent gotten "sospenders"or other inflatable life vests.The lanyard is attatched to my "regular"life vest.When I sit in my seat,i put the vest on.When i stop to fish,it comes off and lays in my seat till its time to run again.Ive never forgotten it once!As for OP,it CAN be done.Just call around this winter when boat shops have nothing to do have one installed.Done!no more worries.The problem w/people is they dont know what can really happen out there,simply because it hasnt happened.You got the LOUD wake up call,and thanks for posting.Hope some others will hear it too!

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: 1975 70hp Evinrude Outboard Scary Moment

Mav6759, your logic is so terribly flawed. You want someone else to be responsible for your actions/inaction's. You are the owner of the boat and the operator of the boat. It is your responsibility to ensure all safety equipment and features are installed and in proper working condition. As pointed out, you need to consider the age of your motor.

Thankfully both your son and yourself walked away unharmed. Hopefully you were both wearing PFD's.

 

[Wingnutt]

Re: 1975 70hp Evinrude Outboard Scary Moment

As has been stated before; you want someone else to be responsible for a safety feature that wasn't even available in 1975. Not only that, but you support a bill that would mandate retrofits.

To me, this is nothing more than an entitlement attitude at it's worst. It's YOUR boat, and as such YOU are RESPONSIBLE for all the safety equipment that is required or that you feel that should be on it. Also, its YOUR RESPONSIBILITY (by law) to ensure the safety of ALL of your passengers; whether through equipment and/or proper operation.

I take my boat out on two large bays and will be taking it out into the Atlantic next year, and often I am out of site of land. As the boat owner and captain, its MY responsibility to see that the vessel has the proper navigation, safety, first aid, and emergency gear on board. Also, the boat did NOT come equipped with many features that are standard today, but were not required 22 years ago. And yes a safety tether was one of those features that did not come on my boat originally, but I installed one because IMHO, it is a critical piece of safety equipment in case I go over the side or get thrown down into the cabin area while the boat is under power.

A perfect example is/ are the bilge pump/s. From the factory, it came equipped with a single 500gpm pump activated by a switch only. There is no way on God's green earth that a single 500gpm pump could handle anything more than rain water. It was up to me to properly equip the boat, at my cost, with the proper equipment.

 

[ChrisAG]

Re: 1975 70hp Evinrude Outboard Scary Moment

The state of Virginia is trying to pass a law now that all motor on the water must have a kill switch. With that said, that is the reason I ask for a recall on these motors.

There's no way the State is going to force ANY manufacturer to retrofit a 35 year old motor. That's like trying to fit smog controls to a 1970 car - hardly worth it if it wasn't designed with that in mind.