Two dead, four injured in Padstow speedboat crash.

snowleopard said:
Witnesses say the boat made a very sharp turn immediately before they all fell out. No indications yet whether it was driver error, mechanical failure or collision. The guys on mobo chat say an engine of that size could cause a flip at high speed.
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A "very sharp turn", when done at too high a speed, can cause an effect which I call 'tube bounce', where the inside tube hits the water, causing the whole RIB to bounce violently in the opposite direction, throwing anyone out. Any driver also probably turning the helm wheel in that direction as well. I've had it happen on a charter RIB, when an idiot passenger pushed the throttles on a sharp turn. Luckily, I stayed with the boat & my kill cord cut the engine.
Speculation that this is the cause, but the video's showed flat water, which would encourage throwing a RIB about in 'fun'.

One point about the video shown on TV, was the chase boat seemed to be on the outside of the turn, which would have caused the amuck RIB to turn tighter. Wonder why it wasn't on the inside, so they might have been able to divert it away from that area. During a similar run away at SBS a few years ago, a local RIB instructor did exactly that & prevented another catastrophe.
 
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alant said:
......One point about the video shown on TV, was the chase boat seemed to be on the outside of the turn, which would have caused the amuck RIB to turn tighter. Wonder why it wasn't on the inside, so they might have been able to divert it away from that area. ...
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Because, I would guess, they were probably avoiding people in the water.
On the subject of kill cords; whenever using a tender or similar, I insist that everyone wears a life jacket. I also insist that whoever is helming the tender/RIB, whatever it is, attaches the kill cord to their life jacket not their wrist. That way the engine isn't even started without the helmsman wearing a lifejacket and the cord being attached to him or her.
 
ArthurJStoatfondler said:
On the subject of kill cords; whenever using a tender or similar, I insist that everyone wears a life jacket. I also insist that whoever is helming the tender/RIB, whatever it is, attaches the kill cord to their life jacket not their wrist. That way the engine isn't even started without the helmsman wearing a lifejacket and the cord being attached to him or her.
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Interesting point. We always attach the kill cord to wrist, we always wear a lifejacket in the tender, might be worth trying it on the harness attachment. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
[Police investigating the deaths of a father and his daughter in a speedboat accident in Cornwall have said a "kill cord" device is a key focus.A kill cord attaches to the boat's throttle and driver so if the driver goes overboard the engine cuts out.]

On the ball then, how long to get it in focus
 
Yes it is really sad, but the grim reality is that if this were a yobbo from Manchester or Liverpool charging around Abersoch there would be no sympathy at all if it turns out that a basic safety device was left unused causing fatalities.

One can feel desperately sorry for the consequences, but a 51 year old exec with his entire young family on board a 300 hp machine, really has nowhere to hide in terms of responsibility if it indeed does turn out he was not using the killcord....which we do not know as yet of course, but which many of us suspect may well be behind this awful happening.

Tim
 
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Seajet said:
These chords are always a bit of a faf to attach oneself to, I can imagine people not bothering especially if giving other people a go at ' driving ' - but on a boat and engine combination of the type in this accident...
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"A go at driving...." Heard from about 4th hand that it was the wife that was driving at the time, clearly without using the kill cord. Truly horrible that she is very badly injured, and will also have to live with the consequences of a few seconds error.

I have been guilty many, many times of driving a smaller but still fast RIB without using the kill cord, whilst working as a dinghy instructor. I was however very familiar with handling the boat. Most dinghy instructors do the same, the kill cord gets in the way of jumping around the boat as you come alongside dinghies, capsizes etc. Engine in neutral if the dinghy is upright, stopped if someone is in the water.
 
It's easy to pontificate at times like this - though this is the worst such accident I can think of - but prop guards would seem to have their place, even if they reduce efficiency.

As well as friends coming across a very similar accident where a wave had jolted the occupants out of a ( true ) speedboat resulting in a chap being run over getting a badly injured leg, I remember being at Low Wray shoreside campsite on Lake Windermere when I was about 10-12, seeing a young woman being hurried ashore with deep gashes in her leg and lots of blood; she had been waterski-ing and one's legs naturally float up.

I wonder if the kill chord is too crude and troublesome; there are MOB devices which set off alarms when one departs from the boat, how about engine cut-offs ?

This is supposed to be the 21st Century.
 
We eventually fitted prop guards to the SC rescue boats, which seemed common sense. I recently went to the club for a refresher course on rescue boat handling, and the guards have gone - apparently the RYA no longer recommend them, though I haven't a clue why. Can anyone shed some light?
 
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Seajet said:
I wonder if the kill chord is too crude and troublesome; there are MOB devices which set off alarms when one departs from the boat, how about engine cut-offs ?
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Fairly sure I've seen a radio-operated kill cord (not "chord") device on the market, but obviously it costs more than a simple switch and a bit of plastic string.

Pete
 
Corribee Boy said:
We eventually fitted prop guards to the SC rescue boats, which seemed common sense. I recently went to the club for a refresher course on rescue boat handling, and the guards have gone - apparently the RYA no longer recommend them, though I haven't a clue why. Can anyone shed some light?
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It doesn't stop you putting a limb in from the end, prevents you extracting the limb and ruins the propeller performance.
 
jwilson said:
"A go at driving...." Heard from about 4th hand that it was the wife that was driving at the time, clearly without using the kill cord. Truly horrible that she is very badly injured, and will also have to live with the consequences of a few seconds error.

I have been guilty many, many times of driving a smaller but still fast RIB without using the kill cord, whilst working as a dinghy instructor. I was however very familiar with handling the boat. Most dinghy instructors do the same, the kill cord gets in the way of jumping around the boat as you come alongside dinghies, capsizes etc. Engine in neutral if the dinghy is upright, stopped if someone is in the water.
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Our safety boat can be started in gear, you only do this once before becoming fanatical on kill cord use.
 
I wondered if that could be it, though I don't think I could get much through the guard. I would rather try fending a guard off than a prop.

The performance was compromised a bit, it's true, both for top speed and handling, but it did make me happier if near people in the water.
 
I never tie the kill-cord to my wrist or any other part of my person.

The engine is a 2.5hp two-stroke, usually on the back of an 8ft plywood tender, very occasionally on the back of a 2.3m inflatable.

Am I being irresponsible?
 
Babylon said:
The engine is a 2.5hp two-stroke, usually on the back of an 8ft plywood tender, very occasionally on the back of a 2.3m inflatable.

Am I being irresponsible?
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Bit of a difference between that and a 300hp RIB!

My 2.2hp doesn't have a kill cord and I don't feel uncomfortable about that.

When I've chartered boats with outboards that have had them, though, I have generally clipped the cord on.

st599 said:
It doesn't stop you putting a limb in from the end
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With the guard on the rescue RIB on Stavros, I think you'd have to work at it to get any body part into the prop from in front. Only fingers would fit through the gap, and they'd not be long enough to reach the prop. No guard across the back, and you might be able to get a hand in from the side, but hopefully those are less likely. Rescue is only in case of MOB anyway, which is unlikely with chest-high bulwarks all round.

Pete
 
If one went to the expense of a radio 'kill cord', the same concern might pay more attention to using the low tech, reliable, string version. The one time I used a jetski, I tied the cord to my wrist. When I was tossed off, it worked.
 
prv said:
Fairly sure I've seen a radio-operated kill cord (not "chord") device on the market, but obviously it costs more than a simple switch and a bit of plastic string.

Pete
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But the "simple switch and a bit of plastic string" is foolproof when used properly, not sure I'd have the same confidence in a battery operated "radio operated" system.

I notice a few on here happy with putting kill cord around wrist, which IMO makes it easy to slip off. I prefer it around a leg, which makes slipping off much more unlikely. Much safer IMO.
 
alant said:
But the "simple switch and a bit of plastic string" is foolproof when used properly, not sure I'd have the same confidence in a battery operated "radio operated" system.
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In my experience the traditional kill cord does fail safe. My last outboard was a bugger to start - I had to get to the clip in exactly the right position. It was a fault that I eventually fixed but there was a strong temptation just to bypass the thing when it was being particularly uncooperative.
 
Babylon said:
I never tie the kill-cord to my wrist or any other part of my person.

The engine is a 2.5hp two-stroke, usually on the back of an 8ft plywood tender, very occasionally on the back of a 2.3m inflatable.

Am I being irresponsible?
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If you fell out, whilst the tender may not come full circle and run you down, it will just motor off surely? For the sake of simply attaching the cord to you or your lifejacket in a second or two,why not?
 
Camelia said:
Interesting point. We always attach the kill cord to wrist, we always wear a lifejacket in the tender, might be worth trying it on the harness attachment. Thanks for the suggestion.
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FWIW, I keep the keys for my o/d lock, dinghy (cycle) chain-lock, a whistle and a floating keyring on my kill cord. ie, it's the tender "keys" - one end clips onto LJ harness (before boarding) and the other end plugs into the o/b.

c.f. If you ever dive/snorkel overboard to clear a fouled prop, then the main engine ignition key is on a bit of string tied to you...
 
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