Use your kill cord 

Don’t let your boat run you over.

In August the magazine Motor Boats Monthly (MBM) reported on a serious incident where a 41 year-old father and his 25 year old son were seriously hurt after they were run over by their own boat in Cornwall.

The pair, according to MBM, had been thrown out of their 17ft Dory with an outboard engine and were both hit by the propeller while they struggled in the water.

It was discovered, when the boat was recovered, that the engine cut out device - the kill cord - had been wrapped around the steering column. Not a lot of use to anyone.

Why is the kill cord so important?

The kill cord, as the name suggests, is a piece of cord designed to kill your engine in the event of you going overboard. And this wasn’t the only incidence to take place over the summer where a kill cord was not used to stop the boats engine running when the helm went overboard.

How should it be worn correctly?

One end of the kill cord is attached near the throttle and the other should go around the helmsman’s leg or buoyancy aid/lifejacket. A kill cord should never be worn around your wrist. Sadly the above incident wasn’t the only one of kill cords not being used to occur over the summer.

Dog left alone

A motorboat was tipped by a large wave and everyone onboard fell into the water, except for the dog strangely enough, which was all alone on the boat as it carried on moving.

Whilst rather amusing the fact that the kill cord was not used meant that the people in the water, already exposed to the cold sea, were also in danger of being seriously hurt by their boats propellers.

Other incidents

Another incident left a jetskier on the North East coast in the water whilst his PWC (Personal Watercraft) powered its way into the North Sea.

Also three teenagers were thrown from their RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) on the South coast, which then raced around in circles; a danger to those in the water and to other boats.

These are just a handful of the kill cord incidents which we picked up from the MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) website. Luckily no one was seriously injured in these ones unlike the Cornish incident.

Other general considerations are:

• Always check your kill cord works at the start of each day or session and remember to renew it regularly.
• When replacing kill cords, purchase a good quality lanyard with a strengthening cord through the middle.
• Do not leave kill cords out in the elements. Extremes of temperature and UV light will harm the lanyard in the long term.
• If your lanyard has a fabric outer sheath, but has lost its spiral tension, it is advisable to replace it as it is possible that the inner strengthening cord may be damaged.