Quote:
|
Originally Posted by John A. Birdsall
It seems to me that the boater education has not worked. With all the violations of the 150' rule. Perhaps it has helped in some areas, but not in the most important area and that is the safety of all concerned. Another safety item is a removable key link. I am told that the jet skies have them, but I read about the accident in Old Saybrook CT where the driver drunk fell out of his boat, and the boat kept going ran over a sailboat that had four people aboard and killed one of them. The Towboat service had a heck of a time stopping this boat. I tried to pull my key out of my boat his weekend and it would not work. Me thinks that this would be a wise thing to have in a boat. Of coarse if this guy was not sitting on the gunwale, he perhaps would not have fallen in.
|
I haven't seen a I/O or outboard powered boat built in the last 10+ years that did not have a kill switch and lanyard as a standard item. Problem is, if the lanyard is not connected to the operator, it makes no difference. I must confess that I never connect mine to me on the lake, but I have a very deep cockpit, and a good sized boat for Winnipesaukee conditions. I do connect it on the ocean.