Safety Lanyard Poll

A conversation among Whalers

When at the helm, I attach an engine cut-off link (e,g. safety lanyard) to my person:

Poll ended at Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:32 am

Always, no exceptions
13
27%
Often, with occasional exceptions
16
33%
Seldom, unless sea conditions warrant using it
13
27%
Never
7
14%
 
Total votes: 49

jimh
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Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby jimh » Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:32 am

From the four options above, please select the one that describes how often you attach the safety lanyard to your body when operating as the helmsman on your Boston Whaler boat:

ConB
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby ConB » Sat Feb 20, 2021 1:40 pm

When by myself and on plane is my rule. And I wear a PFD at this time.

Con
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jimh
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby jimh » Sat Feb 20, 2021 1:55 pm

ConB wrote:When by myself and on plane is my rule. And I wear a PFD at this time.


Yes--I follow the same rule.

frontier
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby frontier » Sat Feb 20, 2021 3:46 pm

Years ago a friend was testing a boat alone at high speed when the steering broke. He was thrown into the water - no lanyard - no life vest. With the boat circling around him at speed - 'The Circle of Death" as they say. No one to hear the cry for help, And no way to swim out of the circle. The motor ran out of gas and that saved his life. Ever since then - I've been wearing a safety lanyard at all times when at the helm of any the boat that is under power.

Duckmanreno
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby Duckmanreno » Sat Feb 20, 2021 4:14 pm

I use it when running.
Don’t use it when trolling, not really practical.
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floater
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby floater » Sun Feb 21, 2021 7:57 am

I don't even have one. My boat didn't come with one. I'm shooting to add one this spring.

jimh
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby jimh » Sun Feb 21, 2021 9:38 am

The impetus to create this poll came from re-reading an NTSB report from 2002. The NTSB investigated a high-speed collision in the Miami, Florida, area that occurred when a USCG 24-foot boat on patrol struck a 60-foot commercial passenger vessel at night. The USCG boat was, incidentally, a 24-foot Boston Whaler GUARDIAN, and was underway at a speed of about 30 to 35MPH. It stuck the larger boat in its starboard stern quarter. Just before the collision, the USCG crew saw the other boat, and the coxswain initiated a hard turn to port and also increased the throttle on the starboard engine (to assist in the turn to port).

The collision caused the coxswain and crew of the USCG patrol boat to be ejected from the boat into the water. Although the USCG crew affirmed that the safety lanyard was attached to the coxswain, the boat's engines did not shut off. The USCG boat continued to run at high speed and make counter-clockwise circles. The USCG boat struck the other boat a second time, and the USCG crew in the water had to dive out of the path of the boat. One of the USCG crew was struck by the boat while underwater, but to his good fortune he was only hit by the hull, not the propellers of the still running engines.

The circling runaway USCG boat continued and struck another boat moored along the shoreline twice, which caused significant damage to the T-top structure and helm console. The T-top was ripped off and went over the portside, and was dragged through the water, creating additional force to continue to turn the boat to port. Eventually the USCG boat ran ashore and became lodged between pilings. Some time later first-responders were able to shut off the engines, but only by disconnecting the engine harnesses at the helm station. All injuries that occurred as a result of the collision were minor.

The NTSB closely investigated the safety lanyard mechanism. They found that at one point in the rigging of the lanyard, there was a connection between a plastic clip and a metal clip. The lanyard appeared to have failed at this point, with the result that the lanyard never yanked the engine shut-off switch mechanism (the "kill switch'). When the first-responders arrived, they could not shut off the engines with the safety lanyard switch. Upon investigation the NTSB found that a wire that should have been connected behind the control panel to the safety lanyard switch was not in place, but it was impossible to know if that was a pre-existing condition or a result of the forces of the initial impact dislodging the wire.

The NTSB made a cogent observation about how a safety lanyard system should be constructed. The element in the safety-lanyard switch and the lanyard itself that needs to most easily dislodged should be the switch mechanism. There should not be any element of the system that can break under a force that is less than needed to dislodge the switch. In this particular case, the plastic clip was found to have an internal void that might be typical for injection molded parts, and the clip at the helmsman's end of the lanyard broke away from a metal clip on to which it was attached.

The NTSB noted that there was no testing of the operation of the safety lanyard switch as a routine procedure before getting underway.

The NTSB observations are good advice. The safety lanyard mechanism ought to be tested periodically to determine it is actually functioning, and the rigging of the lanyard ought to be inspected for any sign of wear of the plastic parts and for assessment of what is the lowest strength component in the system, which should be the force need to yank the engine shut-off switch into operation.

The report is available on-line at
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MAR0205.pdf

Also, the 24-foot Boston Whaler boat was very significantly damaged by the collision(s), and it was considered a total loss. The report has some interesting post-accident pictures of the boat.

jimh
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Re: Safety Lanyard Switch Wiring

Postby jimh » Sun Feb 21, 2021 9:52 am

ASIDE: the configuration of the engine shut-off switch in the USCG boat was a standard Mercury component. The switch was a normally-closed switch, and the lanyard was needed to be in place in order to move the switch to open circuit. If the lanyard were removed, the switch would return to closed. The switch was wired to short out the ignition system to prevent spark generation, thus shutting off the engines.

The problem with this wiring arrangement is that the absence of circuit continuity in the engine shut-off circuit was needed to allow the engines to run. Because the circuit contained several other points of connection between the helm and the engine, ANY break in the circuit that prevented continuity would also allow the engine to run. In other words, the absence of continuity in the engine shut-off circuit enables the engine to run.

A better approach might be to re-design the engine shut-off circuit so that the presence of continuity was required for the engine to run. In this way, the system would self-detect any other source of a break in continuity in the circuit if not occurring at the actual shut-off switch. For example, the engine would send 12-Volts to the shut off switch. The engine cut-off switch would be a normally open switch, which would close only when the lanyard was in place. When the lanyard was in place, the 12-Volts would be returned to the engine, and the engine would be configured to only have spark when there was 12-Volts present. In a system like this, removing the lanyard breaks the circuit and the engine shuts off. In a system like this, any interruption in the circuit including loss of connection somewhere else would also shut off the engine. The effect of this would be that the circuit would essentially self-test because the engine could not be started even with the lanyard in place at the switch if there were a break in the circuit somewhere else.

Jefecinco
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby Jefecinco » Sun Feb 21, 2021 10:12 am

I always wear the lanyard when boating alone. When boating on our previously owned 190 Montauk I only wore the lanyard when alone or in heavy weather conditions with others. On our Sport 13 I wear it at all times.

I also wear a belt inflatable PFD most of the time in either boat.
Butch

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southshore fisherman
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Re: Shut-off Switch Operation

Postby southshore fisherman » Sun Feb 21, 2021 11:02 am

ASIDE ON SHUT OFF SWITCH OPERATION
jimh wrote:In other words, the absence of continuity in the engine shut-off circuit enables the engine to run.

[Nota bene: please use the QUOTE option to indicate quoted text and the speaker--Moderator.]

This is a backwards approach to a safety cutoff switch. I had this set up on my older Scag mower. It had a foot pedal that had to be down for the engine to start and run. While mowing one day I lifted my foot and the mower kept running. Upon examining the switch I discovered that the wire was loose and by taking my foot off the pedal nothing was going to happen.

How is this safe? As with the problem being discussed, any break in the system should stop the operation, any failure of the switch or the wiring should make it stop, not let it run.

jimh
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Re: Shut-off Switch Operation

Postby jimh » Sun Feb 21, 2021 1:37 pm

southshore fisherman wrote:...This is a backwards approach to a safety cutoff switch...How is this safe? ...any break in the system should stop the operation, any failure of the switch or the wiring should make it stop, not let it run.


In the earliest days of two-stroke-power-cycle outboard engines an engine would be able to run without any external battery power because it had a permanent magnet alternator (sometimes called a magneto). The safety lanyard switch was just a brute-force method to short out the alternator output that was feeding the spark generator primary windings, about a 300-VAC circuit. It was a crude but useful circuit.

More modern outboard engines use integrated circuits with millions of transistors, and they could have used a different method to suppress spark. But probably out of a desire to be able to use the existing rigging accessories (like a engine safety-lanyard switch), modern engines continued to use the old safety switch design which closed a circuit to stop the engine.

I just looked at my c.2010 modern engine and the safety lanyard switch is designed to close a circuit--no longer a 300-VAC circuit--to shut off the engine, that is, the same approach used for several decades with older engines.

padrefigure
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby padrefigure » Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:40 am

Use of safety lanyard attached Engine Cut Off Switch (ECOS) is required by law in Texas for "any" vessel operated above idle speed. I say "any" because I assume that there is some size vessel that this becomes impractical. The law also requires that the operator confirm that the ECOS functions properly before operating on any public water.

My switch had become sluggish and mostly ineffective at killing power so I got out of the habit of attaching the lanyard. The new law motivated me to replace the switch and I am pretty good at complying whenever I am operating at something other than idle speed.

jimh
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby jimh » Thu Feb 25, 2021 2:18 pm

PADRE--thanks for the mention of Texas boating law. A recent act of Congress will make use of a safety lanyard switch mandatory in federal waters for boats under 26-feet on which the helm is not located in an enclosed cabin. For details see a separate thread on the new regulations at

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6208

Xray51
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby Xray51 » Fri Feb 26, 2021 7:11 pm

Thanks for this excellent information. I haven't used my Montauk 17 here in Miami for awhile, but plan to go out in the next few weeks. The weather is windy this weekend, as it was last weekend, so I am waiting for a calmer time.

Anything can happen when boating. Especially in the the environment here, with a lot of boat traffic and inexperienced boaters with fast and powerful boats along with the alcohol factor. And never underestimate your own ability to do stupid boat tricks. I never go out alone, but even so, it would be best practice to check the function and attach the lanyard and wear the PFD. I have not always done that as there has always been someone else in the boat, but I will from now on.

This is the type of thing that makes this site so valuable.

porthole
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby porthole » Fri Apr 02, 2021 4:31 pm

I voted never, but that is because I have installed Fell Marine MOB's on two different boats now.

If you were to include wearing the Fell Marine FOB I would change my vote.

Although I will admit I don't wear it 100% of the time, but I probably do wear it 90-95% of the time.
Thanks,
Duane
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R DAVIS
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby R DAVIS » Wed Apr 14, 2021 11:28 am

padrefigure wrote:Use of safety lanyard attached Engine Cut Off Switch (ECOS) is required by law in Texas for "any" vessel operated above idle speed. I say "any" because I assume that there is some size vessel that this becomes impractical. The law also requires that the operator confirm that the ECOS functions properly before operating on any public water.

My switch had become sluggish and mostly ineffective at killing power so I got out of the habit of attaching the lanyard. The new law motivated me to replace the switch and I am pretty good at complying whenever I am operating at something other than idle speed.


Not quite true. There are several qualifications to "Kali's Law" in the State of Texas.
See this article for clarification:

https://texasoutdoordigest.com/blog/kalis-law-requiring-kill-switches-on-boats-26-feet-or-less-in-texas-begins-sept-1/

That being said, I wear my cutoff switch lanyard any time the motor is running, without exceptions.

jimh
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby jimh » Wed Apr 14, 2021 11:55 am

porthole wrote:I voted never, but that is because I have installed Fell Marine MOB's on two different boats...


I altered the poll question to refer to an "engine cut-off link", so your device is covered by that nomenclature.

porthole
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby porthole » Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:01 pm

jimh wrote:
porthole wrote:I voted never, but that is because I have installed Fell Marine MOB's on two different boats...


I altered the poll question to refer to an "engine cut-off link", so your device is covered by that nomenclature.


Changed my vote.
Thanks,
Duane
2016 World Cat 230DC
1999 Outrage 21, Yamaha SW Series II 200
1997 Outrage 18, Yamaha 125
1983 15 SS, Honda 50
1980 42 Post
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Oldslowandugly
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby Oldslowandugly » Mon May 03, 2021 1:06 pm

I voted "often" because when underway I use it. Actively fishing or fighting fish I don't because I would need a ten foot lanyard. Under those circumstances I rarely exceed idle speed. A life jacket is worn at ALL times- no exceptions.

endus
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby endus » Wed May 26, 2021 5:18 pm

Seldom, unfortunately. By myself and outside of a harbor or bay primarily.

Unfortunately, that thinking suggests I am trying to protect myself but not so much anyone else.

I am going to move to the "by myself and on a plane" rule. Of course I should probably do better, but that is very reasonable. It excludes a lot of circumstances where practical concerns may get in the way, but provides a clear cut point where i need to attach it.

Denny 47
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby Denny 47 » Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:07 pm

I don’t use a safety lanyard while trolling with my 1989 MONTAUK 17 boat. I do wear a vest at all times.


ANECDOTAL INCIDENT
I pulled out a fellow from the Columbia River who had a vest on but no lanyard. His steering had snapped and he went sailing out of his boat. The boat was doing a large circle around him. I got him and fetched his boat. That convinced me that a lanyard was a good idea.

DIFFICULTY TO BRING SOMEONE ABOARD This incident showed me how difficult it is to pull someone out of the water. My boat does not have a ladder for boarding from the sea.

TFrere
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Re: Safety Lanyard Poll

Postby TFrere » Sun Oct 03, 2021 3:47 pm

Since an incident that occurred when I was a young man, I have never operated a boat without wearing the safety lanyard switch. The only exception is when I am on my 38-foot sailboard that has safety railings all round.

INCIDENT FROM MANY YEARS AGO
When I was a young man, I owned a 1973 13-footer which was overpowered with a 70-HP engine. The engine did not come with a safety lanyard engine shut off switch. I was water skiing on a slalom ski while my sister and her boyfriend at the time were in the boat, with the boyfriend at the helm.

I jumped the wake and pulled hard to the starboard side. I pulled so hard the boat rolled on its side and both my sister and the helmsman fell out. I let go of the tow line, and the boat kept going down the bayou. After a few seconds, the boat turned around and was headed straight toward us. It then took a hard turn to port before it reached us and began making clockwise circles near the bank. Of course the helm was on the inside making it inaccessible. The boyfriend made it to the boat first and was going to attempt to stop it. I yelled for him to stay clear. He felt responsible and ignored me. He then tried to cross to the the inside of the circle after the boat passed. The water was shallow and his feet were sinking a foot into the mud bottom with every step. The boat was back on him before he made it across and he was holding on with both hands to the bow as his body drug under the boat. Amazingly enough, he was able to work himself around to the inside of the circle and shut down the throttle.

That incident scared me so badly that I had a engine shut off safety lanyard switch installed the next day.

[Moderator's Note: the period for voting in the poll has ended. No further comments will be accepted in this thread. Please see the poll results above.]
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