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Power boat drivers: wear your kill cord |
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winging it
Really should get out more Joined: 22 Mar 07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3958 |
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Topic: Power boat drivers: wear your kill cord Posted: 18 May 13 at 7:47pm |
There are quite a few reasons why foot throttles are not the best idea. A lee shore recovery is a good example of where you need to keep the engine running whilst at the same time being able to move around your boat. Not ideal, but necessary.
Driving a rib for race management or safety duty is not the same as driving a powerboat for waterski-ing. If you cannot steer effectively with one hand whilst operating the throttle with the other then there is something seriously wrong with your steering! In pb2 we teach that is it far more important to have a hand on the throttle than it is to sterr - a good well maintained steering mech will ensure this is safe and possible. I would have thought it much more possible for a foot throttle to become jammed or accidentally knocked in a busy boat than it is for a hand throttle. As for pb2 being an inefficient course - nonsense! It's actually the best way there is to learn to operate a powerboat and safely in almost any environment, and the best way there is to pick up good habits. Everyone I have ever taught has thoroughly enjoyed the course and said how much they had learned (including those already driving pbs) not just about driving, but about safety afloat at all times. Edited by winging it - 18 May 13 at 7:48pm |
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the same, but different...
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iGRF
Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6496 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 18 May 13 at 7:47pm |
iGRF
Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6496 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 18 May 13 at 7:51pm |
Wing wang with all due respect you're talking bollox.
The first thing they teach you is to come alongside and kill the engine. I had to write to them to point out the error of their ways, it may be OK piddling around puddles with a hand throttle, one on the wheel one on the throttle but it is not in waves. And really kill the engine near a lee shore? If that guy had been forced to sit in rather than sit up he'd still be alive today and so would his daughter. Edited by iGRF - 18 May 13 at 7:52pm |
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winging it
Really should get out more Joined: 22 Mar 07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3958 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 18 May 13 at 7:59pm |
.what would I know, I'm just a powerboat instructor. I don't think I've ever taught anyone to come alongside and automatically kill the engine. And if you read what I said more carefully instead of instinctively disagreeing with me, you'd see I said NOT to kill the engine on a lee shore.
Yes, powerboating is different on the sea, but a hand throttle is still safer than that anitquated hinge thing you've shown. I can't imagine what would happen if something/someone got wedged in or on that. Look at pictures of the rib that was driven in the accident - and put your glasses on this time - very secure seating, just plain stupid driving. Edited by winging it - 18 May 13 at 8:02pm |
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patj
Really should get out more Joined: 16 Jul 04 Location: Wiltshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 640 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 18 May 13 at 8:43pm |
And a kill cord is just as important on a little Zodiac with a 3hp outbard as on any bigger RIB. We won't drive without it but then we've done our PB2.
The club ribs we drive now have knobs on the steering wheel making driving one handed easier and you are taught to keep your hand on the knob!
Even when I was driving a 25hp Orkney without any training common sense dictated the use of the kill cord. Personally I wouldn't have a problem with a requirement for a qualification but I also would suggest the government taxes caravans by length and boats by engine horsepower (wind is free). At least a few of the "Romford Cowboys" might be tamed. Edited by patj - 18 May 13 at 8:45pm |
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alstorer
Really should get out more Joined: 02 Aug 07 Location: Cambridge Online Status: Offline Posts: 2899 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 19 May 13 at 12:02am |
You can cheerfully have 20-30hp on a lightweight boat on a tiller control - and it can make a lot of sense from boat layout to do so. A foot control on such layouts would be tricky, to say the least. On 10hp or less set ups, a tiller control is ALL that makes sense- and those don't stop the prop unless you stick them in neutral or pull the kill cord.
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Al |
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Contender443
Really should get out more Joined: 01 Oct 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1211 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 20 May 13 at 9:16am |
I also don't think a foot throttle is a good idea especially in the small ribs we use. I like both feet firmly fixed to the floor just to keep my balance. If one foot is using a throttle this will not be the case.
Then what happens when you slip or bounce off of a wave. You could get more (or less) power just when you don't want it. There also the racing marks to consider, you just need to be bringing one of those on board and drop the anchor on the foot throttle and you are off unexpectedly. What about a foot pedal that operates just to put the boat into drive so that the boat will only move when it is kept down. That way you can keep a firm and steady footing. Of course the real proble could be the way that we sit and perch ourselves especially in the larger ribs.
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Bonnie Lass Contender 1764
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winging it
Really should get out more Joined: 22 Mar 07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3958 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 20 May 13 at 9:20am |
the rules around seating in training RIBS have been changed for those training centres that offer the more advanced pb courses or operateon the sea. Seat backs are becoming compulsory partly for safety and partly to prevent spinal damage that is so prevalent in those that use ribs a lot. i've used a fair few seagoing RIBs that have foot holders for rougher conditions.
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the same, but different...
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iGRF
Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6496 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 20 May 13 at 10:33am |
The whole point of a foot throttle is that is forces the driver to be seated in, rather than on or astride those ridiculously unsafe benches that raise of the centre of gravity whilst increasing the windage.
Little sit behind with egg whisk inflatables are surely not what is under discussion here, surely we're talking about the high performance end of the spectrum. We raced the very first ribs back in 1976, we had to flip it and totally rework the rocker initially, then strip the bench out and fit side by side seats, it still didn't prevent it, I swear to God, going round one buoy up on it's side at full ninety degrees, they are the most inherently unstable of crafts at high speed. After that we ditched it and returned to a slightly more conventional boat. I've since owned two more and nothing much has improved from then 'til now, diabolical things, all accidents waiting to happen. Foot throttles are the very least that should be legislated, I've seen them set up with no Engine offset, no weight forward, fuel tanks and batteries not secured, I've given up going anywhere near them rather than spot all the probabilities for disaster. Edited by iGRF - 20 May 13 at 10:34am |
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alstorer
Really should get out more Joined: 02 Aug 07 Location: Cambridge Online Status: Offline Posts: 2899 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 20 May 13 at 11:03am |
You mention the word "spectrum" there. Trouble is legal restrictions don't like "spectrums", they like lines. So, at what combination of power and boat size would you draw the line requiring a proper seat and a foot throttle?
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Al |
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