The vital importance of Lanyards, PFD's & Maintenance, scary ejection.
08-25-2024 | 09:07 PM
#1
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Posts: 88
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From: Locust Valley, New York
The vital importance of Lanyards, PFD's & Maintenance, scary ejection.
Not my video, but sharing because of the essential lessons it reminds us of & how quickly things can go wrong.
08-26-2024 | 10:35 PM
#3
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From: naples,florida
They both came out rather unscathed considering the driver ended up in the water , he can thank that high quality life jacket for that , and the boat didn’t hook and flip.
I’ve told this story before but I think this example of when steering goes bad warrants telling it again.
Back in 83 I was out running my recently purchased 18 Baron on a little inland lake back in Michigan to test it out before heading to Holland for the weekend after doing some tuneup and impeller changes .
I had my girlfriend wife with me that midweek night and we were just cruising along at 30 mph right before sunset on this flat calm tiny lake taking in the evening . I decided it was time to put it on the trailer and opened it up to a Blistering 58 mph for the run back.
Trimmed up and running level but on the last 3 feet it happened so fast. The boat hooked hard left as the drive continued to push the stern up in the air and the boat floated through the air rolled up 90 degrees momentarily. Than it landed and tripped on the right chine and dug in and rolled the boat to a 90 with my body submerged.
The boat righted itself and I came to my senses with my girlfriend crying in pain as she had flown across the cockpit into me as I took the brunt of both of us into the side wing of the windshield
I have no idea what happened at the moment and all I thought was it possibly spun out but I had 100s of hours running these Barons and never spun one out .
Girlfriend is almost in shock and with a couple hundred gallons of water in the boat I restart the motor and put it in gear only to go in left handed circles. I wave down a reluctant fisherman that pulls me back to the ramp where I can rush my girl to Emergency. She ended up with a dislocated shoulder and 2 fractured ribs and me with a sore shoulder and bruised ribs.
Turns out back in the old pre Alpha MR Mercruiser drives they had a 12 splined tiller arm with same splined pin and gimbal ring. . The splines stripped out and we’re replaced by a square pin and arm and gimbal ring.
The boat was only 4 years old when I bought it and barely used compared to how I used them. But what’s scary is I was out on Lake Michigan jumping waves in late March with it just months earlier.
I’ve told this story before but I think this example of when steering goes bad warrants telling it again.
Back in 83 I was out running my recently purchased 18 Baron on a little inland lake back in Michigan to test it out before heading to Holland for the weekend after doing some tuneup and impeller changes .
I had my girlfriend wife with me that midweek night and we were just cruising along at 30 mph right before sunset on this flat calm tiny lake taking in the evening . I decided it was time to put it on the trailer and opened it up to a Blistering 58 mph for the run back.
Trimmed up and running level but on the last 3 feet it happened so fast. The boat hooked hard left as the drive continued to push the stern up in the air and the boat floated through the air rolled up 90 degrees momentarily. Than it landed and tripped on the right chine and dug in and rolled the boat to a 90 with my body submerged.
The boat righted itself and I came to my senses with my girlfriend crying in pain as she had flown across the cockpit into me as I took the brunt of both of us into the side wing of the windshield
I have no idea what happened at the moment and all I thought was it possibly spun out but I had 100s of hours running these Barons and never spun one out .
Girlfriend is almost in shock and with a couple hundred gallons of water in the boat I restart the motor and put it in gear only to go in left handed circles. I wave down a reluctant fisherman that pulls me back to the ramp where I can rush my girl to Emergency. She ended up with a dislocated shoulder and 2 fractured ribs and me with a sore shoulder and bruised ribs.
Turns out back in the old pre Alpha MR Mercruiser drives they had a 12 splined tiller arm with same splined pin and gimbal ring. . The splines stripped out and we’re replaced by a square pin and arm and gimbal ring.
The boat was only 4 years old when I bought it and barely used compared to how I used them. But what’s scary is I was out on Lake Michigan jumping waves in late March with it just months earlier.
Last edited by tommymonza; 08-26-2024 at 10:46 PM.
08-31-2024 | 07:17 AM
#4
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Posts: 710
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From: West Michigan
If I'm on Lake Michigan I use the lanyards and this is the first year I also wear an inflatable life jacket. I've never had a bad experience where I was tossed out but if it were to happen Im quite sure I couldn't swim the distance to the boat especially if the water is rough. I suppose I should always use the safety equipment regardless but on the river I have the feeling that nothing can happen.
