James: I think anyone that’s thinking about putting themselves at the controls of a RIB needs to go on this course, for their own safety and the safety of their passengers.

A further area where failures occurred were through operator error, where the kill cord was not properly attached, it slipped off the wrist or continually pulled out of the kill switch when worn around the wrist and pull-starting. � Misunderstanding Professional installation is not required but is advised as Ultimate Sports Engineering does not accept any liability for incorrect installation. The survey showed that the good practice of testing a kill cord before setting off is fairly widespread and it is important that this habit continues to be emphasised on courses. � If it could be proved that boat and engine manufacturers were aware that such a device would help prevent deaths and injuries but chose not to fit it, they could risk being sued by surviving relatives or victims of this type of accident.

What about engine manufacturers?

The Royal Yachting Association ( RYA) recommends attaching the cord securely, not modifying its length, inspecting it regularly for signs of wear or damage, and keeping a spare kill cord onboard. Regular inspection and maintenance are crucial to ensure it functions correctly when needed. It’s advised to replace a worn or damaged kill cord promptly. Wireless Kill Cord Technology That you attach the kill cord around your leg, rather than your wrist (to avoid it becoming tangled in the steering or throttle mechanisms). Chris: I did have a bit of difficulty doing some of the slower manoeuvres like approaching the buoy, but the more time I spent doing these, the more and more confident I got.

While having some similarities to a dead man's switch, this type of device (a command loss timer) is not actually a dead man's switch, because it aims to recover from a hardware failure rather than the absence of human operators. It is generally called a watchdog timer, and is also used extensively in nuclear power control systems. System components on a spacecraft that put it into a safe mode or cause it to execute default behaviors when no command is received within a predefined time window can be considered a dead man's switch, but hardware or software that attempts to receive a command from human operators through an alternate channel is an auto-recovering or adaptive communications system, not a dead man's switch. Voyager 2 recovered from a command receiver failure with a command loss timer. [21] Train [ edit ] The course includes close quarters handling, high speed manoeuvres, man overboard recovery and collision regulations and can be taken on inland or coastal waters, with your certificate being endorsed accordingly. Course overview Assumed knowledge

Wireless Kill Cord Technology

of kill switch failures failed with the engine not stopping, the rest were that the engine wouldn�t start. When asked what the helm was doing when the failure occurred, it was heartening to read that 30% were testing the kill cord/switch at the time. � The author, Doug Innes (Chieftain Training Principal) is an RYA Advanced Powerboat Trainer and a RYA PWC Trainer. He has been driving powerboats since the late 1980s and has owned 16 different powerboats in the intervening years. Cons: There was an equally high-profile accident in which one person was killed during a customer sea trial of a RIB at the Southampton Boat Show in 2000 but that didn’t change behaviour enough to prevent the recent Padstow accident. How long before the memory of this fades, too? What does MBY think?