Stop the boat!

Gilbert Park installs a wireless kill cord on his planing sports cruiser

Lightweight, planing motorboats are very susceptible to being blown off course when not under power. This is can be awkward when coming up a channel to a mooring and there’s a need to put fenders and warps out. It’s manageable when you have crew, but by yourself you may need an autopilot to help you out. The problem is that if you fall overboard the autopilot will just take the boat in the direction you’ve set until it hits something and you’ll be left in the water.

Of course you can use a kill cord, but to get up to the bow or the stern you’ll need a very long kill cord that can easily snag.

The answer is a wireless kill cord, such as the OLAS Guardian. You wear a Bluetooth transmitter which can be a wristband or attached to a lifejacket or belt loop. There is also a transmitter that features a small strobe light, and on the boat there’s a receiver. Once the transmitter is out of range the receiver shuts down the engine(s), sounds an alarm to alert any crew and can be programmed to send a SMS to a nominated number to say contact has been lost.

It seemed ideal for me, but the only problem was I have a twin outboard engine motorboat and until June 2020 OLAS would only work for a single engine boat. But there is now an additional wiring loom for up to three outboard engines. If you only use two then you simply isolate the unused wires. The information online says it is easy to fit but is it?

The kit comes complete with most things you will need, but be prepared to buy a fuse holder and have some additional connectors and wire ready. You’ll also need a 21mm hole saw.