Do you use your boat's kill switch lanyard?

[Julian]

I would recommend keeping an extra kill switch clip in your boat. On my fishing boat the lanyard accidentally got pulled and when it pulled the clip out, it broke. It was a long trip back to the ramp having to hold the thing just right with a Leatherman tool.
Those clips are plastic and plastic can get weak and brittle when it gets old.

Really good point! I votes "sometimes" as I have on occasion put it on in bad weather or when pulling stunts, but that is very rare.

The point about being thrown overboard in bad weather is an interesting one. So lets say you are driving the boat with the family and you get thrown over board with the lanyard on. Now the boat CANNOT be run, until they get you back on board....probably not a good thing (my wife would be PISSED). Having a 2nd lanyard would solve that issue (if she remembered in the panic to find it an attach it).

 

[Glassman]

I use it all the time. Otherwise my boat won't start.

 

[jetboater4life]

Anyone have any good links on an extra lanyard for our boats?

 

[soggyshoes]

Anyone have any good links on an extra lanyard for our boats?

I just got this universal one at West Marine in case I ever came across another stranded boater:
http://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--boat-kill-switch-keys-with-lanyard--14070346
There are better deals on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=m&ref=pd_sl_9ne1boy76z_b

 

[biglar155]

I just got this universal one at West Marine in case I ever came across another stranded boater:
http://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--boat-kill-switch-keys-with-lanyard--14070346
There are better deals on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kill switch lanyard&tag=hydsma-20&index=aps&hvadid=35415705780&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17174465188802749580&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=m&ref=pd_sl_9ne1boy76z_b

I carry this one as well. Same reason: I can help myself or anyone else.

Don't forget - small children LOVE to toss those things overboard!

 

[Britboater]

Anyone have any good links on an extra lanyard for our boats?

A small zip tie will get you home

I would recommend keeping an extra kill switch clip in your boat. On my fishing boat the lanyard accidentally got pulled and when it pulled the clip out, it broke. It was a long trip back to the ramp having to hold the thing just right with a Leatherman tool.
Those clips are plastic and plastic can get weak and brittle when it gets old.

A small zip tie will work, we would use one on our Superjets as free styling on a stand up was impossible to wear a lanyard.

 

[soggyshoes]

A small zip tie will get you home


A small zip tie will work, we would use one on our Superjets as free styling on a stand up was impossible to wear a lanyard.

Now you tell me!
That knowledge would have been really, really helpful 5 years ago.

 

[Wayloncle]

Oh, is that what that cable is for?

Seriously though, I've attached it the two times that it was just my 7yo and I, because I drove fast and did lots of sharp turns and donuts and such. I wore it once when I was alone.

Normally my wife and 2 yo boy is with us so I drive much more conservatively therefore I don't attach it to me very often.

 

[Aces_Over_Kings]

Always. I'm usually playing Frogger out in Boston Harbor or other big water, and the Sea-Doo Speedster 150 is only 15' and no freeboard.

The volume of traffic, the size of the wakes from the high-speed ferries and whale watch vessels, and various sandbars that appear and disappear with the tides all confirm that it's a good idea.

Ditto with my inflatable lifejacket when underway. And if you guys really want a laugh at Captain Safety here, when I'm out alone I'm sometimes seen sporting one of these (in all black, not yellow) depending on conditions.

Between the helmet, lanyard, visor, RAM mounts for the Delorme InReach, Handheld VHF, and LifeProof iPhone / GPS.... it starts to look like some sort of Seal Team 6 party boat for 1. haha.

 

[soggyshoes]

Always. I'm usually playing Frogger out in Boston Harbor or other big water, and the Sea-Doo Speedster 150 is only 15' and no freeboard.

The volume of traffic, the size of the wakes from the high-speed ferries and whale watch vessels, and various sandbars that appear and disappear with the tides all confirm that it's a good idea.

Ditto with my inflatable lifejacket when underway. And if you guys really want a laugh at Captain Safety here, when I'm out alone I'm sometimes seen sporting one of these (in all black, not yellow) depending on conditions.

Between the helmet, lanyard, visor, RAM mounts for the Delorme InReach, Handheld VHF, and LifeProof iPhone / GPS.... it starts to look like some sort of Seal Team 6 party boat for 1. haha.

When you think about it its not so outlandish to wear a helmet. Above 35 mph the water starts to feel a lot like concrete. The best wakeboarders I know wear helmets.

 

[Volffas]

When you think about it its not so outlandish to wear a helmet. Above 35 mph the water starts to feel a lot like concrete. The best wakeboarders I know wear helmets.

After some of my crashes last weekend, I kinda wish I was wearing a helmet while wakeboarding! I have told some of my friends and co-workers that I'm fairly certain I have already achieved some of the greatest wipeouts of all time. The crazy thing is how violent the crashes can be (especially the ones that I go face first), and then all of a sudden you are face down in the water and everything is dead calm, almost eery.

 

[Big Shasta]

I only use it when I'm doing a reverse cleanout move.

Reverse speed as much as possible
pull lanyard
go full forward on the throttles
back to neutral
install lanyard and restart engines.
whatever was causing cavitation is gone.

I tried wearing it a few times but caused a shutdown at some critical docking moments because I forgot about it.

 

[tim2808]

To and from Ft. Lauderdale on the way to Bimini I absolutely wore mine. The waves from all the traffic are the worse and come from every direction. Other than that, no I normally don't use it on the lake.

 

[4x15mph]

Old thread but the ol' lanyard got me yesterday .... we were in some choppy water and all of a sudden the engines died and we were floating in the middle of the Chesapeake. I overreact and begin looking at the engine bay half expecting to see an oil line failure or some other major issue. Once I don't see anything obvious I go back to the captain chair and attempt to start the engines again and I think while looking at the floor wondering what to do next, I see the lanyard sitting there. We had a lanyard conversation on the boat between the 5 of us on the way back and it left me scratching my head on whether I like the lanyard or not. Outboard boats and I/O boats don't have lanyards, right? They have the same ability to keep running if the driver is discharged

I am contemplating how I will deal with this. One way may be just to wear the lanyard. This is the second time this has been an issue (in 5 years). My son had this same problem and I had to swim out to the boat to diagnose... fortunately the lanyard was the culprit in that instance also

 

[Britboater]

Old thread but the ol' lanyard got me yesterday .... we were in some choppy water and all of a sudden the engines died and we were floating in the middle of the Chesapeake. I overreact and begin looking at the engine bay half expecting to see an oil line failure or some other major issue. Once I don't see anything obvious I go back to the captain chair and attempt to start the engines again and I think while looking at the floor wondering what to do next, I see the lanyard sitting there. We had a lanyard conversation on the boat between the 5 of us on the way back and it left me scratching my head on whether I like the lanyard or not. Outboard boats and I/O boats don't have lanyards, right? They have the same ability to keep running if the driver is discharged

I am contemplating how I will deal with this. One way may be just to wear the lanyard. This is the second time this has been an issue (in 5 years). My son had this same problem and I had to swim out to the boat to diagnose... fortunately the lanyard was the culprit in that instance also

Incorrect, O/B and I/B do have lanyards, any time on your own or any rough water a lanyard should be worn.

 

[fireflymedic]

I used it once. While trying to dock in a storm i had to move from helm for some reason probably to help my son keep boat from hitting dock to hard. Well of course engines stop i cant crank engines quickly because you have to get dang clip back in. Still cant crank because I'm not in neutral took a while to figure that one out. Alarm is ringing for some reason (comming off plain fuel tank reads low, did not know boat sounds alarm with low fuel) All most wrecked boat to that da** lanyard.

 

[biglar155]

Incorrect, O/B and I/B do have lanyards, any time on your own or any rough water a lanyard should be worn.

Yup. My 1990 Rinker with an 85 horse Yamaha had a lanyard so this has been around for a long time.

 

[biglar155]

I used it once. While trying to dock in a storm i had to move from helm for some reason probably to help my son keep boat from hitting dock to hard. Well of course engines stop i cant crank engines quickly because you have to get dang clip back in. Still cant crank because I'm not in neutral took a while to figure that one out. Alarm is ringing for some reason (comming off plain fuel tank reads low, did not know boat sounds alarm with low fuel) All most wrecked boat to that da** lanyard.

I've made it part of my "final approach" mental checklist. As soon as I tell my crew to prepare the lines and fenders, I unhook the lanyard from myself in case I need to move around.

 

[Scuba_ref]

I was once stranded due to the lanyard coming out. We never figured it out, a guy came from his private dock, towed us in and then drove me to get my trailer. Pulled out on his private ramp. Didn't figure out it was the lanyard until the next week when I went out to see if it would start. It was a 1990 vintage maxum 18SR. Sometimes the engine would flood with gas if we hit a thick weed patch...that is what I thought had happened.

Now I have this forum to tell me to check k my lanyard while I'm on the water. I never wear it.

 

[jdonalds]

The lanyard has been attached to our boat since 2009 when we bought it used. I never wear it or otherwise use it. I rode a jet ski for several years wearing a lanyard all the time, putting 400 hours on the engine, even jumping large waves on the ocean, and never once fell off. I just don't see the need to wear the lanyard on the boat.

It seems, reading through this thread, that rough water/weather is suggested as the main time to wear the lanyard. We simply don't have that issue here on Lake Shasta or Whiskeytown. The weather is so mild, the lakes are protected from the wind, and if it is going to be a windy day we just don't go to the lake.