USCG new mandatory lanyard/kill-switch reg

Let me start by saying it’s hard to argue against safety. However, there are some situations where wearing a kill-switch lanyard can cost you your life.

I am USCG captain who guides on rivers in Alaska. If I have clients in the boat and I fall out, how do they rescue me in a river that flows at 7mph? I’m in the water, the kill- switch lanyard is attached to me, how will they restart the motor? I guess I could have a spare lanyard, but honestly, when I give a safety speech before I get underway, most people forget everything I tell them in a couple of minutes. I couldn’t imagine someone new to boating finding the spare lanyard and installing it before you know what hits the fan.

For those who’ll suggest this, I know the Fell MOB is a great option to the lanyard, but is impractical in my situation.

I would love to see the actual statistics of the million of hours of boat operation versus how many people have fallen out of a boat while underway and drowned. Mandatory life jackets would save more lives than mandatory wearing of lanyard/kill-switch.

In the meantime, I will avoid getting a ticket and do my best to remember to wear the lanyard and to never fall overboard. Rant over.

I don’t think it’s about drowning as much as not getting run over. On a lake, if you let go of the tiller it will swing to once side and steer the boat in a big circle. It’s not unheard of to have the circle run right over the guy who fell out of the boat, and he gets chewed up by the prop. I don’t know how often that happens, and I can see how the dynamics of this could be different on a swift river.

SR

They can simply flip the little red switch to the up position and start the motor – no second lanyard required.

Or mount the second lanyard near the switch so they do not need to hunt for it.

AK Guy wrote:

I am USCG captain who guides on rivers in Alaska. If I have clients in the boat and I fall out, how do they rescue me in a river that flows at 7mph?

Who is going to rescue you if you are alone? How are you getting back to the boat if it motors away with out you?
If you are worried that you customers can not handle an emergency situation, then maybe you should consider hiring a trained first mate. Having two trained operators should cover your safety concerns.

thalweg87 wrote:

They can simply flip the little red switch to the up position and start the motor – no second lanyard required.

Not all are built with a lever which can be used in the manner in which you describe.
Yes, I have a spare lanyard on board.

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Who is going to rescue you if you are alone? How are you getting back to the boat if it motors away with out you?
If you are worried that you customers can not handle an emergency situation, then maybe you should consider hiring a trained first mate. Having two trained operators should cover your safety concerns.
O
[/quote]

I could only say so much in my initial post. Wearing a lanyard absolutely makes sense when I’m alone. Consider hiring a first mate when my carrying capacity is four? Not a real world solution to a problem I have not seen with my own eyes operating a boat for nearly 50 years in Alaska.

What’s your opinion about mandatory life jackets? More people drown than get hit by a runaway boat or by the prop of a circling boat. Seems to me the USCG should have tackled the much larger issue of death by drowning when not wearing a life jacket. Btw, I make my clients wear life jackets, as do I.

Why isn’t the Fell MOB practical for you?

I hear you AK Guy. Kill switch is very low on my list of safety. I clip mine on only in rough waters and when I’m fishing solo. Too me, if other people are onboard, it makes more sense to leave it off. Cold water, rapids, and because life jacket wearing isn’t mandatory, I’d want that boat powered on for a quick rescue.

The law, IMO, should have only pertained to solo use motorists.

I guarantee this could cause rescue delays from panic. Heck, sometimes I bump my switch by accident and it takes me a minute or two to figure out i bump the red kill switch.

(Just clip a dummy cord to your vest…lol)

This is actually a good/interesting topic. Lots of view points I’m sure.

AK Guy wrote:

Who is going to rescue you if you are alone? How are you getting back to the boat if it motors away with out you?
If you are worried that you customers can not handle an emergency situation, then maybe you should consider hiring a trained first mate. Having two trained operators should cover your safety concerns.
O

I could only say so much in my initial post. Wearing a lanyard absolutely makes sense when I’m alone. Consider hiring a first mate when my carrying capacity is four? Not a real world solution to a problem I have not seen with my own eyes operating a boat for nearly 50 years in Alaska.

What’s your opinion about mandatory life jackets? More people drown than get hit by a runaway boat or by the prop of a circling boat. Seems to me the USCG should have tackled the much larger issue of death by drowning when not wearing a life jacket. Btw, I make my clients wear life jackets, as do I.
[/quote]

Although I’m not a saint when it comes to wearing life jackets, I do agree there are far too many deaths that could be prevented with life jackets. I’d support upping the minimum age law for them being worn on boats that are under way. Why is the age of 10 chosen? (I think that’s what it is…but any kid in my boat has one on at all times, no questions asked).

Legislation is far from logical and fails to take into account different scenarios. For instance, I can be pulled over and ticketed while driving around the block by myself in town at 20mph without a seat belt. I could be scanning a piece of structure in my boat without my kill switch at relatively low speeds and technically be breaking this new law. Meanwhile, the guy riding a Harley at 70mph on a busy interstate with no helmet is good to go though

AK guy, you have to admit, your situation is very rare in the over all boating scheme of things. In the late 70’s to early 80’s, a small 300 acre very busy lake I used to fish had two different people killed that I knew of from being run over by their own boat. This is just one small lake. In my Bass tournament days we were required to have kill switch attached anytime engine was running. Quite honestly it was no big deal and that habit has carried with me to this day, although sometimes I no longer clip up when in no wake zones. It’s a great habit to get into, you just need to quit trying to find excuses on why it’s not right for you, and figure out how to make it work.

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>thalweg87 wrote:</div>
They can simply flip the little red switch to the up position and start the motor – no second lanyard required.

Not all are built with a lever which can be used in the manner in which you describe.
Yes, I have a spare lanyard on board.

Yep, I am aware of the two types – that was the reason for the “Or mount the second lanyard near the switch so they do not need to hunt for it.” statement. For example, the second lanyard could be Velcro wrapped on the tiller handle.

buckybadger wrote:

I could be scanning a piece of structure in my boat without my kill switch at relatively low speeds and technically be breaking this new law.

The law only requires the lanyard when the boat is operating on plane or above displacement speed.

buckybadger wrote:

. I could be scanning a piece of structure in my boat without my kill switch at relatively low speeds and technically be breaking this new law.

What do you consider “relatively low speeds”?

Using the ECOSL is required only when the boat is operating on plane or above displacement speed. Common situations where ECOSL use would not be required include docking/trailering, trolling and operating in no-wake zones.

I read somewhere that 80% of MOB occur when the motor is NOT running. True??????

^ Yes…and the boater is found with their zipper down.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

^ Yes…and the boater is found with their zipper down.

so he was trolling

Might be one of the most watched fishing videos of all time. These guys did everything right…and lived to talk about it.

Life Jackets
Kill Switch
and climbed back into the boat.

AK Guy wrote:

I am USCG captain who guides on rivers in Alaska. If I have clients in the boat and I fall out, how do they rescue me in a river that flows at 7mph? I’m in the water, the kill- switch lanyard is attached to me, how will they restart the motor? I guess I could have a spare lanyard, but honestly, when I give a safety speech before I get underway, most people forget everything I tell them in a couple of minutes. I couldn’t imagine someone new to boating finding the spare lanyard and installing it before you know what hits the fan.

For those who’ll suggest this, I know the Fell MOB is a great option to the lanyard, but is impractical in my situation.

I would love to see the actual statistics of the million of hours of boat operation versus how many people have fallen out of a boat while underway and drowned. Mandatory life jackets would save more lives than mandatory wearing of lanyard/kill-switch.

In the meantime, I will avoid getting a ticket and do my best to remember to wear the lanyard and to never fall overboard. Rant over.

Interesting, I just had a conversation with a friend of mine who guides on the Kenai about the same issue. I run the Fell MOB+ and suggested that he consider. His concerns were the same, if I have the lanyard attached to me and I go overboard, then what? My answer is that the Fell has a manual override on the base unit and one can start the engine. The response is that he gives a safety speech and 15 minutes later most of his guests have forgot it. My suggestion is that in every circumstance whether it makes sense or not, it is the law now. The advantage of the Fell system is it legally serves as the cutoff, however allows you to maneuver around the boat without having to remove the lanyard every time you get out of your seat, which when I started to wear my lanyard all the time, got to be more of a pain as every time I got up to get something, set a rod up, whatever, I’d pull out the tether and kill the motor, reset it, restart the motor. I have been on the Kenai and being able to meet the requirement and not drive yourself crazy with every time you move 2 feet from your motor you have to reset the tether, it is a pretty good solution to a problem that the standard tether switch presents. And the reality, have you gotten by this long without hooking up your tether, yes, so your problem is still the same. The Fell simply allows you to operate as though you have not hooked up your tether yet meets the new requirements. And if your clients can’t remember anything what makes you think that they can safely get your boat under control and drive back to you without running you over anyway, unless the tide has come in. Maybe a bear could get to you before they do!

Had a Coast Guard inspection a couple of months ago on Lake Erie and the 2 officers asked about my kill switch. I showed them my Fell, how it worked and the advantages of being able to move around the boat but still have the protection. The were impressed. Having been on the Kenai with guides and our own boat, to me it’s the perfect answer to the new regulation with minimal disruptions.

Coletrain27 wrote:

so he was trolling

That’s a “post of the year” response.