Killcords...what the hell is wrong with people?

Iain C

Iain C

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Sorry to bring this up again, but a mate who I sail with and I have a new game. Killcord bingo. Big RIB comes past and you have to guess whether the driver will be wearing a killcord or not.

I'm not sure if people took leave of their senses this weekend but sadly the overwhelming majority didn't bother. Spent a lot of time in Chi harbour and boat after boat came past with the thing dangling from the console. Including the 300hp RIB with two toddlers balanced on Mummy and Daddy's knee. I almost have a bit of Darwinian logic and a lack of sympathy when it comes to idiots or the ignorant who think it's cool or below them to wear one, but their toddlers have no say in the matter, and neither do I should their runaway boat hit mine and kill me and my nearest and dearest.

I'd really, really like to see harbour masters/RNLI/authorities everywhere doing spot checks and there being penalties enforced. Looking at the ever increasing performance of RIBS, and the fact that only 25% at best of the RIBS we got close enough to see over the weekend were being driven with killcords, it's only a matter of time until the next tragedy.

We have all these stupid bloody rules about e-borders and VAT receipts and red diesel duty and Q-flags and SSR registration and it's all just bearuacratic, invented irrelevant vapourware, yet there's nothing legally enforceable about putting other people's lives at risk. Ridiculous.

Rant over.
 
Totally agree with you, crazy. I also think the same when I see so many people not wearing lifejackets because it is nice and sunny (not just Ribs either, motor boat, raggie etc).
 
Scubadoo said:
Totally agree with you, crazy. I also think the same when I see so many people not wearing lifejackets because it is nice and sunny (not just Ribs either, motor boat, raggie etc).
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and the similarity between these two things is?

If I don't wear my kill cord I can effect you and your family. You have the right to have a say. With my life jacket you can mind your own business.
 
Iain C said:
Sorry to bring this up again, but a mate who I sail with and I have a new game. Killcord bingo. Big RIB comes past and you have to guess whether the driver will be wearing a killcord or not.

I'm not sure if people took leave of their senses this weekend but sadly the overwhelming majority didn't bother. Spent a lot of time in Chi harbour and boat after boat came past with the thing dangling from the console. Including the 300hp RIB with two toddlers balanced on Mummy and Daddy's knee. I almost have a bit of Darwinian logic and a lack of sympathy when it comes to idiots or the ignorant who think it's cool or below them to wear one, but their toddlers have no say in the matter, and neither do I should their runaway boat hit mine and kill me and my nearest and dearest.

I'd really, really like to see harbour masters/RNLI/authorities everywhere doing spot checks and there being penalties enforced. Looking at the ever increasing performance of RIBS, and the fact that only 25% at best of the RIBS we got close enough to see over the weekend were being driven with killcords, it's only a matter of time until the next tragedy.

We have all these stupid bloody rules about e-borders and VAT receipts and red diesel duty and Q-flags and SSR registration and it's all just bearuacratic, invented irrelevant vapourware, yet there's nothing legally enforceable about putting other people's lives at risk. Ridiculous.

Rant over.
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you are right. I think the RNLI way of sprung throttles is the way we should go for fast open boats. Can't forget (or deliberately choose not) to wear that.
 
Elessar said:
and the similarity between these two things is?

If I don't wear my kill cord I can effect you and your family. You have the right to have a say. With my life jacket you can mind your own business.
Click to expand...

Spot on Elessar.
 
Elessar said:
and the similarity between these two things is?

If I don't wear my kill cord I can effect you and your family. You have the right to have a say. With my life jacket you can mind your own business.
Click to expand...

Unless, of course, your actions effect the family of a rescuer.
 
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Have you played " driving while on the mobile " bingo as well -try it
Fining em pionts or threat of imprisonment Seems to have had little impact on the road users !

So what chance has a kill cord penalty got in the boat world ?
 
Scubadoo said:
Steady, just giving an opinion like the rest of you, the similarity being safety.
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Not very similar, and playing down the importance of kill cords.

Wearing a life jacket or not in the cockpit of a 40ft motorboat by day in good vis makes no material difference to my safety.

Wearing a kill cord in a fast open boat makes a real difference to the safety of me and others.
 
I agree with OP. I also agree that wearing a lifejacket is a good habit to get in to Still easy for folk to get thrown overboard with wash or even going out along the sides to deal with, say, a fender issue. You are not immune to the unexpected especially in places like the Bristol channel. That just my own view of course, I wear mine whenever going out, river or coastal out of habit now. Like wearing a seat belt, helps reduce the chances of a difficult situation becoming worse. It was only a couple of years ago someone fell off the side of a static tied up boat in Gloucester docks and drowned. You just never ever know.
 
Well done to Yarmouth Harbour. Leaving there yesterday (first visit to them this year) I saw they had put up a big red sign on the break water just as you head out 'USE A KILL CORD'........ Hopefully some will take note??
 
Can we please stop going on about LJs. Quite apart from the perfectly sensible post by Elessar, and the fact that most of us are sensible enough to assess risk, there may be times when clearly you absolutey would not be wearing one, even if you are part of the "I won't risk assess it, I will always wear one" brigade. For example, you may be at anchor in your cockpit enjoying a beer and a BBQ with friends. You may be sat on the beach at the water's edge. You might be snorkelling off your boat. You might be down below in your bunk asleep, or maybe taking a deck shower. You will not be wearing an LJ for any such activities. If a RIB slams into you at 30 knots when you are doing any of that, you may well die.

Making any comparison between a killcord and a lifejacket shows a complete lack of understanding of the issue. A commercial operation once posted a pic on Facebook showing one of their powerful RIBS in operation mid Solent...no kill cord, albeit at a slow speed at the time that pic was taken. I commented that perhaps a killcord might have been a good idea, or words to that effect. This guy then trawled through my own personal pictures and commented very vociferously that here were pictures of me sailing without a lifejacket. Erm, in my privately owned 27' sailing yacht that does 6 knots flat out and tends to head up into wind and stop should I drop the tiller. Muppet of the highest order. Especially when he continued trying to justify it despite other people saying it was totally unjustifiable. Names witheld to protect the selfish. Oh, and this was just after Padstow.

RYA guidlelines. Wear a lifejacket unless you are sure it's safe not to do so. ALWAYS wear a kill cord. It's really not hard people.
 
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Iain C said:
Can we please stop going on about LJs. Quite apart from the perfectly sensible post by Elessar, and the fact that most of us are sensible enough to assess risk, there may be times when clearly you absolutey would not be wearing one, even if you are part of the "I won't risk assess it, I will always wear one" brigade. For example, you may be at anchor in your cockpit enjoying a beer and a BBQ with friends. You may be sat on the beach at the water's edge. You might be snorkelling off your boat. You might be down below in your bunk asleep, or maybe taking a deck shower. You will not be wearing an LJ for any such activities. If a RIB slams into you at 30 knots when you are doing any of that, you may well die.

Making any comparison between a killcord and a lifejacket shows a complete lack of understanding of the issue. A commercial operation once posted a pic on Facebook showing one of their powerful RIBS in operation mid Solent...no kill cord, albeit at a slow speed at the time that pic was taken. I commented that perhaps a killcord might have been a good idea, or words to that effect. This guy then trawled through my own personal pictures and commented very vociferously that here were pictures of me sailing without a lifejacket. Erm, in my privately owned 27' sailing yacht that does 6 knots flat out and tends to head up into wind and stop should I drop the tiller. Muppet of the highest order. Especially when he continued trying to justify it despite other people saying it was totally unjustifiable. Names witheld to protect the selfish. Oh, and this was just after Padstow.

RYA guidlelines. Wear a lifejacket unless you are sure it's safe not to do so. ALWAYS wear a kill cord. It's really not hard people.
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Well said!
 
paultallett said:
Well done to Yarmouth Harbour. Leaving there yesterday (first visit to them this year) I saw they had put up a big red sign on the break water just as you head out 'USE A KILL CORD'........ Hopefully some will take note??
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Yes indeed Paul, Yarmouth have done a bloody good thing with there large red sign that you can't fail to see as you exit the harbour, also they have a pile of the RYA "THINK! Wear your kill cord" sticker sheets by the counter in the harbour office. Our dinghy and outboard has a liberal plasting of them, even taken a couple to give to rib owning friends.

Still, Yarmouth is a popular place for lunchtime stop overs for ribs and I have noticed more people not wearing kill cords than wearing them, is it perhaps some folk are just too "cool" to bother?? It begs belief.

Also agree with the fact that LJ and this post are irrelivent - until boat owners start bludgering to death each other with them…
 
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boatingdave said:
I agree with OP. I also agree that wearing a lifejacket is a good habit to get in to Still easy for folk to get thrown overboard with wash or even going out along the sides to deal with, say, a fender issue. You are not immune to the unexpected especially in places like the Bristol channel. That just my own view of course, I wear mine whenever going out, river or coastal out of habit now. Like wearing a seat belt, helps reduce the chances of a difficult situation becoming worse. It was only a couple of years ago someone fell off the side of a static tied up boat in Gloucester docks and drowned. You just never ever know.
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So presumably you extended your lifejacket wearing to when you are on your static, tied up boat - or do you continue to wear it only when you consider it necessary?
 
Re kill cords, where do you draw the line as to when you dont need one? It fairly obvious on small ribs/open boats, but what about larger boats, it may be unlikely that youd get thrown out of a larger boat, but it might still be possible to hit a wave at speed and end up still on the boat but unconscious/incapacitated.

My boat is 26 foot, and not an open boat, and im unlikely to be thrown out of it, but I could conceivably be knocked unconscious / thrown away from the helm, if I wasnt paying attention when travelling at speed. It also doesnt have kill cord fitted.
 
I agree...it is hard to know where to draw the line. But if it's got one fitted...bloody well wear it!
 
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