Autotether

[ishoot308]

With the recent boating tragedy on Winni, it really got me thinking about my personal safety and something that has always bothered me... While I am always attached to a safety kill lanyard when underway, it is completely impossible for me to be attached to one when trolling as I am simply moving around the entire boat all the time. While I am only going 2 miles an hour, I am almost always by myself and if for some reason I ever fell in I don't think I could swim 2 mph to catch the boat! I do steer the boat with a wireless key fob thingy that hangs around my neck and that got me thinking that someone must make a wireless kill switch as well! So I started searching and this is what I found... http://www.autotether.com/

It seems like a great solution! Anyone have any experience with these?? They seem to get great reviews...

Thanks!

Dan

[Rich]

This looks helpful for everyone that has a tether. It removes the most major complaint about one (the lanyard cord itself).

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Rich

This looks helpful for everyone that has a tether. It removes the most major complaint about one (the lanyard cord itself).

That's what I was thinking as well Rich! If it works I would adapt both of my boats to utilize one of these.

Dan

[AC2717]

did anyone see any costs?

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by AC2717

did anyone see any costs?

Its around $250.00

[HellRaZoR004]

While I try to load the website (kind of slow). Any idea if there is a bypass switch? Would be necessary if the operator falls overboard and in wind/current someone else on board needs to operate the boat to safely get back to the overboard 'operator'.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by HellRaZoR004

While I try to load the website (kind of slow). Any idea if there is a bypass switch? Would be necessary if the operator falls overboard and in wind/current someone else on board needs to operate the boat to safely get back to the overboard 'operator'.

From what I read there is a bypass switch so boat could be restarted by someone else on board...

[gator8]

From watching the video, it looks like it works by hooking to the kill switch like a normal lanyard so you can probably easily disconnect it to start the boat. I called and the price is $220 and $15 for shipping.

[SAMIAM]

Just about ready to let the grandkids go out on their own. After reading this story they will be using a lanyard at all times.
Used to use one back in the day when I had a go fast boat but don't feel the need to use it one my toon.

[Not to Worry]

One day I left the boat running on the dock and ran into house with the auto tether in my pocket and boat did not shut off. After several tests it worked sometimes and other time not. Decided I did not want the false security.

BTW I did return it and they sent me a new one and I had same issue.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Not to Worry

One day I left the boat running on the dock and ran into house with the auto tether in my pocket and boat did not shut off. After several tests it worked sometimes and other time not. Decided I did not want the false security.

BTW I did return it and they sent me a new one and I had same issue.

Thanks for the info! Hopefully they have corrected any issues that you experienced as I just ordered one. I have read many reviews on line and you are the first I have read about to experience this problem.

I figure it has to be better than not wearing anything. When I am not trolling and underway, I will simply use the manual lanyard.

Thanks again!

Dan

[Descant]

Boat/US suggests your most important piece of safety gear is your PFD. I notice that MP wear theirs 100% of the time, vest type. My kids (adults) always wear a belt type inflatable PFD.
Obviously the lanyard and/or electronic lanyard have a big safety benefit, but if you go overboard and the boat automatically stops 50 yards away and drifts faster than you can swim...

[Descant]

Boat/US suggests your most important piece of safety gear is your PFD. I notice that MP wear theirs 100% of the time, vest type. My kids (adults) always wear a belt type inflatable PFD.
Obviously the lanyard and/or electronic lanyard have a big safety benefit, but if you go overboard and the boat automatically stops 50 yards away and drifts faster than you can swim...

[Slickcraft]

As former whitewater paddlers we got accustomed to always wearing PFDs on the water (saved my life more than once). We now have inflatable vests like the MP and use them all the time. Unobtrusive and easy to put on. Sometimes I get strange looks at the Glendale docks and comments from guests on our boat. So what.

[ishoot308]

Received my Autotether last week and installed it today. It took about 5 minutes or less to install.

My initial impression is this is a quality piece of equipment. It works exactly as stated and one unit can be used on multiple boats as it can be Velcro mounted. If you have multiple boats with different motors or controls, all you need to ask for are different end release clips which they gave me for free.

Customer service thus far with ordering, questions and asking for and receiving different release clips for free has been excellent.

While the jury is still out on long term reliability, so far I am impressed with Autotether and have no reason not to be connected to my auto shut off at all time while on my boat.

Dan

[fatlazyless]

So's, how much does the www.autotether.com cost, and what's the rich advantage verses the standard lanyard, clip-on tether?


An excellent water safety item is the swimmer's belt that costs about $25, and is much less bulky than a pfd, and is designed for swimming so it makes for much more balanced buoyancy than a pfd. The pfd almost never gets used for swimming because it creates very unbalanced buoyancy as it is designed to keep one's head above water, while the swimmer's belt can be used as a learning tool, to get people to go swimming plus it keeps the stronger swimmer safe swimming in big waves, wind, and rough water.

With a swimmer's belt, anyone of average swimming ability can easily swim from Alton Bay to Center Harbor in under an hour ....... through high winds and rough waters ...... ho-ho-ho! .....well...ok...that's probably an exaggeration, but it adds a lot of safety to swimming. You can only drown once, but you can go swimming again and again ..... hmmm!

[thinkxingu]

FLL, given your love of all things unholy (read: Walmart and Subway), it is highly unlikely that I'll take your advice, but would you post an example of what you are referring to for swimmer's belts?

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

[fatlazyless]

If you google "flotation belt for swimming" you'll see a number of different models.

Parafunalia used to sell these a few years ago for about $25, and it seemed like it could cost about 12.95 at Walmart.

You know that for a while earlier this summer, Family Dollar was selling 48"x 4" diameter noodles for just one dollar, and these could easily be made into an el cheapo-depot swimmers belt by threading a rope down through the center hole, and cutting the length down to what's right for the user ...... and these would probably work pretty good.

People don't wear the pfd's because they are too hot and bulky for warm weather use, and on-board a motorboat their real need seems very remote, but out on a tippy-dippy small 13' sailboat, there's plenty incentive to wear one ..... plus even today on July 14, a pfd goes a long way to keeping one's body temp warm if you need to stay in the water for ......say......thirty minutes....while flip-flopping around with an upside-down sailboat.

[Slickcraft]

Inflatable type III belt pack PFDs are now popular with paddlers:

http://www.amazon.com/Mustang-Surviv.../dp/B004EPMVBI

$100 more than the FLL favorite however the type III might actually save your life.