GL: Kill switches

[Keith]

Bob wrote: "Here is an article from Boat US on kill switches, lanyards.  I'm 
surprised
no one has mentioned the wireless lanyard that kills the engine when the
wireless switch attached to your body hits the water.

http://www.boatus.com/foundation/Findings/findings42/closer_look.html

http://www.yachtsee.com/virtuallifeline.htm

Bob Clinkenbeard
24' custom trailer trawler
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These are fine for folks with gasoline powered boats, where just turning off 
the ignition power will stop them. For diesels, it becomes a lot more 
problematic. I can turn off my ignition switch and all that happens is that 
the dashboard instruments go out. To stop a diesel, you have to actually 
send power to a stop solenoid until the engine stops. I imagine there are 
gadgets that will do this, or you could fabricate a relay, etc. but the 
bottom line is that a "kill switch" for a diesel just isn't that easy.

Also, that second link says they have discontinued the product. It had the 
same problems. It was a gadget that attached to your kill switch lanyard, 
and yanked the lanyard out when you hit the water. But you had to have a 
kill switch with a lanyard anyway...


Keith
_____
Raising teenagers is like trying to nail Jell-O to a tree.