No kill cord in Florida = Missile!

[Daibheid]

https://news.sky.com/video/unmanned-...-dock-12102293


It's not often s boat runs straight after ejecting the crew and looking at this, just as well!

[Limecc]

Here's a similar incident closer to home.
https://youtu.be/2m3Po3nW1o4

[Tim M]

Originally Posted by Limecc

Here's a similar incident closer to home.
https://youtu.be/2m3Po3nW1o4

Wow. Never seen that one before. And he goes swimming after it! Lucky not to have killed himself.

[Squid Boat]

Originally Posted by Limecc

Here's a similar incident closer to home.
https://youtu.be/2m3Po3nW1o4

Holly crap !! That is spooky.


Cheers

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by Squid Boat

Holly crap !! That is spooky.

You might not know living where you do in sunny CA, but the speed limit on that stretch of water is either 3, 4, or 5mph up to 6 mph on the fastest sections.

There's other non-rib videos of collisions between cruisers or people getting stuck under low bridges.

Mind boggles

[Last Tango]

Originally Posted by Limecc

Here's a similar incident closer to home.
https://youtu.be/2m3Po3nW1o4

And still not got the sense to get his stupid 4rs3 out the water into one of the passing boats .....

[Daibheid]

Originally Posted by Last Tango

And still not got the sense to get his stupid 4rs3 out the water into one of the passing boats .....

And none of them had the sense to position themselves between the runaway and the idiot in the water.
Natural Selection at work I suppose.

[Navajoturquoise]

I'm also surprised to see that no one was wearing a lifejacket or personal floating device (PFD). The guy in the water didn't wear one and neither did the guy in the other boat. Had the runaway boat hit the swimmer with the propeller it could have resulted in head trauma, broken bones, and the inability to swim.

In Canada and the USA, the law requires boats to have a PFD for every person in the boat. It doesn't require the PFD's to be worn with the exception of Personal watercraft operators, but a lifejacket is not very useful when someone falls off his boat while the lifejacket is tucked away somewhere in the boat.

[Last Tango]

Been watching some of the "Haulover" videos on youtube and it looks like wearing of life-jackets is more the exception than the rule.

I suppose the water will be much warmer there reducing the impact of "cold water shock" but looking at the conditions and incidents, I would have though common sense would prevail..

[Allye]

I have to say I tend to play devil’s advocate with life jackets and PFD’s, I don’t think it’s down to other people to judge whether someone on their own craft should or shouldn’t wear one, certainly on canals and inland water ways it’s very irregular you’ll see people with them. Mid gale force helming a yacht? Probably yes, 2.5mph down a canal? .....

[Tim M]

The lifejacket debate is a very interesting one. Having grown up boating in the UK it was always drummed into me to wear a lifejacket at all times. I've been working on boats abroad for most of the last 7 years and rarely wear a lifejacket. The culture in most countries abroad is very different. I spent around a year living and working in the US and as stated above, lifejackets were the exception rather than the norm. Same in the Med. I guess I've got into bad habits but rarely bother when boating in the UK now.

[Daibheid]

I treat the PFD like a car seat belt or motorcycle helmet. If I’m afloat I wear a jacket -river, lake, sea. My sailing buddies think it’s uncool and only wear theirs on watch at night or if it blows up. I’ve seen too many people just slip and fall in the water in the most unlikely circumstances and the last body search I was on a PFD would have avoided it. 100% but drowned about 100m from shore. LJ on the boat but not worn.
Those Haulover videos are shocking and any time I’m on the water in France it’s the same, most small boats and RIBs zooming miles out to fishing spots have no one wearing a PFD. It’s crazy because sooner or later someone gets bounced out of a fast boat.

[GuyC]

There is a bit of a difference because car seat belts and motorcycle helmets are a legal requirement (in the UK at least). I now always wear a lifejacket but I always wear a cycling hemet. Part of this is because I want to keep my kids safe so I lead by example. Prior to kids though (and being significantly younger and immortal) I would only wear a lifejacket if mandated e.g. if the "Y" flag was flown. I also smoked and didn't worry how I was getting home from the pub.

It's just people's attitude towards risk, which changes as you get older, with a bit of Darwinism thrown in for good measure.

[lakelandterrier]

I think it is down to risk. -perceived or real - this is where Darwinism will play its part.4
On the RIB, LJ every time (and kill cord) no matter how short the journey.
Do I wear it on the pontoon - no (marina staff do however)
When I raced dinghies PFD every time
When crewing my father's 26' Centaur, not generally in normal conditions - more likely to wear safety harness unless it started blowing up or get foggy.

In a fast power boat (hard or RIB) because of the speed things happen faster and more suddenly than say a cruising yacht, with more chance of being ejected at speed - thus greater risk.

If I had to choose between what's more important - in most conditions - using kill cord or wearing a LJ I'd go for the kill cord. If you go over not wearing an LJ it's your life at risk, if you don't have a working kill cord it's other people's lives at risk as well.

[Daibheid]

Perception of risk does indeed change with age, experience, other people’s incidents, etc. Getting injured with some extended pain and rehab is another great teacher! I just wanted to make a point about your life being at risk if ejected without a PFD/LJ. If you’re solo with no close traffic, you’re probably going to drown as few people seem to realise
1) how hard it is to cover any distance quickly fully clothed, especially with oilies and/or boots.
2) how fast a RIB with its very high windage, will get away from you.

It won’t have stopped anywhere near you either if ejected at planing speeds.
Each to their own but most of my trips are 80+Nm along remote stretches of Ireland’s open Atlantic SW coast so I may be a bit conservative but I keep the same standard and routine on all trips so I never have to think about it. The problem with risk assessment, is risk is rarely zero and even with very low levels of risk, if the likely outcome of being the unlucky one-in-ten-thousand is serious, then.....

[pumpkinking]

When recently arguing with my parents about “oh we don’t need one because we’ll only be onboard for 10 minutes across the harbour” my dad was stopped in his tracks by the simple label on the life jacket:


“Your life jacket will not save your life if you are not wearing it”


Yes, we’re doing 3knots and it’s flat calm. But if the tourist cruiser over there doesn’t look to his left, ploughs into us and knocks you out, I can’t pull you out of the water.

I’ve seen it happen.

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by Daibheid

Those Haulover videos are shocking and any time I’m on the water in France it’s the same, most small boats and RIBs zooming miles out to fishing spots have no one wearing a PFD. It’s crazy because sooner or later someone gets bounced out of a fast boat.

Those Haulover videos are actually great entertainment although there is a cause for concern when things go wrong. Nobody ever wears PFD's.

Here's an example of someone getting bounced out of a boat and another where an overloaded boat starts to sink after the bow gets stuffed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7q8N4wNL8w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u64V9PChABM

[Limecc]

Came across this frightening incident and thought I'd post it here

[Miss Guided]

Hi Folks

Thank you all for your responses to my posting on the Padstow Kill Cord Tragedy.

The whole thing was horrific but one of the pictures that really got me was the one of a second rib trying to board Milly and get her under control. I've tried uploading the photo but couldn't - its in the MAIB report.


Anyway, tThis has all got me to thinking about dual kill cords – one for me and, say, one for a second person, possibly a child, who might be driving. If I go overboard the two kill cords must easily separate to stop the other person going in as well. At the same time, the engine MUST cut out.

Do you have any experience, or thoughts on this please?

Many thanks MGx

[willk]

Originally Posted by Miss Guided

or thoughts on this please?

I have a few. I wondered why you opened three user accounts on RIBnet and ask the same slightly naive questions (often in exact duplicate) from each account? If you are trying to teach yourself boat safety by forum poll, I'd suggest you would do better with a Powerboat Level 1&2 course. Correct use of the killcord system is one of the very first things your trainer will cover.

I have some other questions too - like why someone so safety conscious would have a "child" driving at a speed or in conditions that would necessitate both the child AND the supervising adult wear some overthought Heath Robinson entanglement of killcords, when the adult alone wearing THE killcord would be ideal?