Discussion
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-224210...
Quite tragic especially considering the ages. I suspect we'll see a bit of fallout from this one after maib.
Quite tragic especially considering the ages. I suspect we'll see a bit of fallout from this one after maib.
MOTORVATOR said:
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-224210...
Quite tragic especially considering the ages. I suspect we'll see a bit of fallout from this one after maib.
sounds like the kill cord wasn't be used properly as if you exit the vessel with one properly used it should stop the engine ' the going round in circles ' report adds weight tothe no lanyard / kill cord use angle.Quite tragic especially considering the ages. I suspect we'll see a bit of fallout from this one after maib.
Simpo Two said:
The coastguard jumping in would have been interesting - do they practice that kind of thing?
Probably not practice, but anyone around power boats a lot wouldn't find it too difficult to do, we're frequently hoping between boats of various sizes at various speeds.As for the accident; obviously massive sympathy to the families but completely avoidable............ If the engine is on then so should the kill cord be.
Sometimes it might be a pita (dropping anchors, moving marks, sorting out boats, coaching etc etc etc) but it's all to easy to go overboard at slow as well as high speeds and if you do then it's far better to have the engine cut than be around a mincer under water.
croyde said:
The lanyard thing is a puzzle to me for if the driver fell out and thus killed the engine, how would any passengers be able to control the boat with a dead engine, say to turn it around to pick the driver up?
If the driver's fallen out and killed the engine, the boat won't be too far away. You'd usually carry a spare kill cord on the boat in case you lose it anyway.croyde said:
The lanyard thing is a puzzle to me for if the driver fell out and thus killed the engine, how would any passengers be able to control the boat with a dead engine, say to turn it around to pick the driver up?
It's not going far without power.Terrible story this, sympathies to all those involved. Massive respect to the chap who hopped on and stopped it.
croyde said:
The lanyard thing is a puzzle to me for if the driver fell out and thus killed the engine, how would any passengers be able to control the boat with a dead engine, say to turn it around to pick the driver up?
If the helm falls out and they're wearing the kill cord correctly then by the time they've hit the water the engines are off, so simply they can swim back to the boat and climb back in.If they have flown too far from the boat that an MOB is required then anyone competant to do it would know how to circumvent the kill cord/switch....that is if they've not got all the correct kit in the boat which should include a spare kill cord.
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
Just seen more on the Beeb news.
Terrible accident, one hell of a nice Rib, but the footage showed it not circling at a high speed - I am surprised the news stated that it circled and hit them a few times.
Unless incapacitated, I would assume you could move out of the way.
Await the inquisition of licensing etc of operators of pleasure craft
It has been suggested that the boat was slowed with a rope in the propeller, so the speed in the video might not be the same when the accident occurred. The boat may also have driven in tighter circles, slowing it further.Terrible accident, one hell of a nice Rib, but the footage showed it not circling at a high speed - I am surprised the news stated that it circled and hit them a few times.
Unless incapacitated, I would assume you could move out of the way.
Await the inquisition of licensing etc of operators of pleasure craft
As for getting out of the way, how long to do you have to judge the path of the boat after regaining your bearings and checking everyone is ok? How fast can an 8 year old swim?
6 people in the water. Parents and children aged 4 (boy), 8, 10, 12 (girls).
Father and youngest daughter died. Mother and youngest boy severely injured (talk of potential removal of limbs), the elder two girls less so.
Witnesses report the boat took a sharp turn which threw all the occupants into the water. It seems it was 15 mins or so before the boat was brought under control by a passing boat trying to slow the boat by snagging the propeller then jumping aboard.
Awful, but if this was attributed to the kill switch, then this need not have happened. The conditions are reported as being calm, so what was the manoevre that threw everyone overboard? An 8 metre 300hp RIB needs some respect and controlling. Terrible for all involved
Father and youngest daughter died. Mother and youngest boy severely injured (talk of potential removal of limbs), the elder two girls less so.
Witnesses report the boat took a sharp turn which threw all the occupants into the water. It seems it was 15 mins or so before the boat was brought under control by a passing boat trying to slow the boat by snagging the propeller then jumping aboard.
Awful, but if this was attributed to the kill switch, then this need not have happened. The conditions are reported as being calm, so what was the manoevre that threw everyone overboard? An 8 metre 300hp RIB needs some respect and controlling. Terrible for all involved
Sooo... pondering sequence... did they rescue the people from the water first (risking being hit by the runaway boat), or tame the runaway first (risking hitting the people in the water with two boats!) then rescue them? Neither seems ideal.
I was plodding up my ditch today. And the nice man at the lock made sure I had a licence (not that it confers any boat-handling skills, merely indicates that you paid some money).
I was plodding up my ditch today. And the nice man at the lock made sure I had a licence (not that it confers any boat-handling skills, merely indicates that you paid some money).
Simpo Two said:
Sooo... pondering sequence... did they rescue the people from the water first (risking being hit by the runaway boat), or tame the runaway first (risking hitting the people in the water with two boats!) then rescue them? Neither seems ideal.
I was plodding up my ditch today. And the nice man at the lock made sure I had a licence (not that it confers any boat-handling skills, merely indicates that you paid some money).
I believe they stopped the runaway boat first.I was plodding up my ditch today. And the nice man at the lock made sure I had a licence (not that it confers any boat-handling skills, merely indicates that you paid some money).
A lot of speculation in here but, until the MAIB have fully investigated that's all it is.,
I've had high powered RIBs and when they are at high speed they need to be respected - especially doing tight turns. They can get very twitchy.
Kill switch may or may not have been attached to the person at the helm.
A terrible tragedy for a family enjoying a bank holiday weekend.
I've had high powered RIBs and when they are at high speed they need to be respected - especially doing tight turns. They can get very twitchy.
Kill switch may or may not have been attached to the person at the helm.
A terrible tragedy for a family enjoying a bank holiday weekend.
croyde said:
Turns out my ex-wife knows the family, they are local to us in SW London
The lanyard thing is a puzzle to me for if the driver fell out and thus killed the engine, how would any passengers be able to control the boat with a dead engine, say to turn it around to pick the driver up?
Kill cord normally loops over an encapsulated toggle switch. Put loop over, push switch up. Kill corp gets pulled, it pulls the toggle switch down, cuts engine. Nothing stopping someone clicking the toggle switch back up and restarting engine if kill cord wearer gone overboard. The lanyard thing is a puzzle to me for if the driver fell out and thus killed the engine, how would any passengers be able to control the boat with a dead engine, say to turn it around to pick the driver up?
Keep thinking about this accident. Must have gone from a wonderful day out with family to a scene from a horror movie, last thing that bloke would have seen is the boat hitting his family and then circling toward him. Horrific.
Ari said:
Kill cord normally loops over an encapsulated toggle switch. Put loop over, push switch up. Kill corp gets pulled, it pulls the toggle switch down, cuts engine. Nothing stopping someone clicking the toggle switch back up and restarting engine if kill cord wearer gone overboard.
All of ours are sprung loaded so you can't toggle back on you would have to wedge it, in which case you may as well use the correct cord.garyhun said:
A lot of speculation in here but, until the MAIB have fully investigated that's all it is.,
I've had high powered RIBs and when they are at high speed they need to be respected - especially doing tight turns. They can get very twitchy.
Kill switch may or may not have been attached to the person at the helm.
A terrible tragedy for a family enjoying a bank holiday weekend.
Agreed on the investigation and it would be wrong to speculate on driver error or failure of a part as an initial cause or I suppose even the failure of the kill cord to stop the boat.I've had high powered RIBs and when they are at high speed they need to be respected - especially doing tight turns. They can get very twitchy.
Kill switch may or may not have been attached to the person at the helm.
A terrible tragedy for a family enjoying a bank holiday weekend.
One thing with the above though is that it matters not whether a boat is a rib, hard boat, bowrider or whatever, they all have the same capacity to bite in a tight turn as the planing running surfaces are largely the same. Neither does it need 300hp on an 8m boat to do it. Common misconception sometimes by those who favour ribs as being inherently safe.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff