kill switch for diesel, one up sailing....

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Shearwater

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.... I fully understand the wisdom associated with a power boat having a kill cord on the motor. Easy peasy for an outboard but what can us yachties do when trolling along quite happily, hour after hour, but when a horror occurs what can we do, in advance, to kill a chug chug chug diesel engine? All my controls are down below. The engine stop pull cord is abaft the cockpit wall not convenient for a direct pull from astern. If I went overboard, alone, the boat would go on for one liitre an hour for 20 plus hours. Not ideal.
Any ideas????????
 
The question to be addressed is why would you go overboard? Prevent that happening is number 1 priority when singlehanded. As a raggie the same applies when sailing with the tiller pilot on. No kill cord for sails!
 
simonfraser said:
extend the stop pull chord, few pulleys should do it.

stream a rope behind ?!

can you swim faster than she drifts ?
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What a really good idea - floating line attached to fender, could also have a mechanism to give a tug (sacrificial tie) and deploy cockpit based grab bag containing PLB etc, could even see it acting on the tiller. The one thing I have always worried about when single handing is falling overboard and watching the boat disappear - you have provided much food for thought. Thanks.

Agree with MoodySabre that prevention is number one priority.
 
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I think the kill cord is primarily to stop the brutal egg whisk of a mobo prop. Also to kill the kinetic energy in an uncontrolled vessel that is a menace to anyone nearby.

What about your sails? Should you have a pin bungeed to your leg that somehow stops them from working if you fall out?
 
Shearwater said:
.... I fully understand the wisdom associated with a power boat having a kill cord on the motor. Easy peasy for an outboard but what can us yachties do when trolling along quite happily, hour after hour, but when a horror occurs what can we do, in advance, to kill a chug chug chug diesel engine? All my controls are down below. The engine stop pull cord is abaft the cockpit wall not convenient for a direct pull from astern. If I went overboard, alone, the boat would go on for one liitre an hour for 20 plus hours. Not ideal.
Any ideas????????
Click to expand...

simonfraser said:
extend the stop pull chord, few pulleys should do it.

stream a rope behind ?!

can you swim faster than she drifts ?
Click to expand...

IMHO it would be impractical to modify a mechanical stop system

I think you would have to have, or modify the fuel system to include, an electrically operated ( solenoid) valve in the fuel supply.

I'd doubt though that you swim fast enough to catch up if there was any breeze and as plateater points out its no help when sailing esp with an autohelm in operation.

I suppose the ultimate would be a kill switch which operates a solenoid valve to cut the fuel, a relay to cut the power to the autohelm and to release all the sheet jamming cleats.

Happy designing/developing.
 
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Interesting one this, my current boat is/ was available from new with either a petrol or diesel engine. ALL the petrol engined ones have / had kill cords/ switches, In fact, all the VP shift lever kits for petrol engine boats have a kill switch as standard. The D4 300 hp version does not even though having much more torque/ ability to throw the helmsman overboard than the weediest to mid range petrol engines. Why ? I could only conclude it was because it's very complicated and more expensive for a diesel engine with that wonderful invention EVC I've bought a kill switch for the D4 EVC , it's a very simple switch/ wiring indeed, not even labelled as VP. A disgraceful penny pinching attitude by Volvo Penta in my opinion. A safety recall should have been initiated by them.
 
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I wonder if it is not possible to link a leg or wrist strap around the gear lever. After all you don't need to stop the engine just take it out of gear.
However if you want to stop it electrically those little actautors for car door lock migh to do the trick. They need power in one direction to pull and power in the other direction to push. So would need possibly relays etc to get the right sense and time delay. It would as a bonus give you a kill switch in the cockpit which might be nice if you could also turn off the "ignition".
A simple actual kill switch is a toggle switch with small walls around tyhe bottom and each side such that a loop of cord goes around the lever but is trapped by the walls. Tension on the cord flips the toggle switch up. Anyway good luck with the cogitating. Obviously don't fall overboard is a better bet. olewill
 
Shearwater said:
.... I fully understand the wisdom associated with a power boat having a kill cord on the motor. Easy peasy for an outboard but what can us yachties do when trolling along quite happily, hour after hour, but when a horror occurs what can we do, in advance, to kill a chug chug chug diesel engine? All my controls are down below. The engine stop pull cord is abaft the cockpit wall not convenient for a direct pull from astern. If I went overboard, alone, the boat would go on for one liitre an hour for 20 plus hours. Not ideal.
Any ideas????????
Click to expand...

Stop solenoid plus one of these with the relay output option...

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?381831
 
Come on, we can do better than this: the personal AIS you are wearing will release the sheets, start the engine if necessary, and steer the boat back to you .... making sure that it stops the engine before it gets too close so that you do not get mangled. If it drifts away from you it starts all over again.
 
VicMallows said:
Come on, we can do better than this: the personal AIS you are wearing will release the sheets, start the engine if necessary, and steer the boat back to you .... making sure that it stops the engine before it gets too close so that you do not get mangled. If it drifts away from you it starts all over again.
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It's the releasing sheets bit that is difficult. All the rest can be done in software by a suitable nerd for a suitable fee.
 
Well it's usually considered a good idea

Wikipedia said:
A dead man's switch ... is a switch that is automatically operated if the human operator becomes incapacitated, such as through death, loss of consciousness or being bodily removed from control...
These switches are usually used as a form of fail-safe where they stop a machine with no operator from potentially dangerous action.
They are commonly used in this manner in locomotives, aircraft refuelling, freight elevators, lawn mowers, tractors, personal watercraft, outboard motors, chainsaws, snowblowers, tread machines, snowmobiles, and many medical imaging devices. On some machines, these switches merely bring the machines back to a safe state, such as reducing the throttle to idle or applying brakes while leaving the machines still running and ready to resume normal operation once control is reestablished. When the switch is an electrical one, it is usually wired as part of a series circuit.
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It shouldn't be impossible to design such a switch which, if activated, has to be pressed at a given interval. Several warnings (e.g. one beep, then a series of double beeps, then for say two minutes continuous beep) before it cuts the engine. Optional of course, you probably don't want to faff around with it during berthing manoeuvres.
 
If you're motoring under autopilot you can cause an alteration to the course to bring the boat round no doubt. If the autohelm isn't on. the boat will probably circle anyway. Sailing would entail pulling the rudder over to lie with the jib backed but that would involve some kind of dead man's handle made from bungee rubber.
Like most on here I think the safest thing is to remain lashed to the wheel/tiller. You probably wouldn't be able to haul yourself along a trailing rope then up to the safety of the deck anyway, so that's not really an option. I know Robin Knox-Johnston used a trailing rope while having an ablution swim, but the boat was becalmed, the rope was "just in case"
 
Billjratt said:
If you're motoring under autopilot you can cause an alteration to the course to bring the boat round no doubt. If the autohelm isn't on. the boat will probably circle anyway. Sailing would entail pulling the rudder over to lie with the jib backed but that would involve some kind of dead man's handle made from bungee rubber.
Like most on here I think the safest thing is to remain lashed to the wheel/tiller. You probably wouldn't be able to haul yourself along a trailing rope then up to the safety of the deck anyway, so that's not really an option. I know Robin Knox-Johnston used a trailing rope while having an ablution swim, but the boat was becalmed, the rope was "just in case"
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I did to my embarrasment see me boat sailing on its own without crew, tiller free and jib and main up. Both sheets loose. I had tied it up to a jetty to give it a hose wash. The water got at my bladder so dashed off for a few monents came back and she was out frollicking. It was amazing that in a sweet little wind she sailed quite fast being light weight. She sailed out from the jetty executed a tack then returned almost to the jetty (thought it was going to crash) only to gybe away again doing several circles almost in the same place and about 100 metres in diameter. A friend in another sail boat took me out to ambush the little b****r. A bit of a scare for this old sailor. olewill
 
A rope round the gear lever trailing overboard would do it, in fact if you fell overboard and whilst in the water you gave the rope a good pull the gear lever would put the boat in reverse and it would come back to pick you up, and if you have not fitted a rope cutter the rope would wrap itself round the prop and stop the engine before it ran you over.
 
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