A word of caution...and a reminder about safety behind the wheel.

[OscawanaSkier]

I think the skiing community on the whole is very safety conscience. But I thought I'd share the details of an incident from last weekend.

 

My buddy (who has taught me a ton about boat/skiing safety) was skiing me and we dropped at the shore end of our course. After the boat went around and was aligned with the course, my buddy got up to give some skiing advice, and while he was talking to me, he began coiling up the rope. Without him realizing it, he had accidentally hooked the rope around the throttle, and when he pulled to make the next coil, the rope pulled up on the throttle lock, and pulled the throttle into full-speed reverse. Luckily I was off to the side, the boat was far enough from shore to avoid the rocks, and the boat threw him towards the captains chair so he was able to quickly reach the throttle and throw the boat back into neutral. All was fine - but certainly a dramatic event, and one that could have been tragic in a number of ways.

 

The take away for me was - don't leave the captain's chair with the motor still running. It's certainly something I've done many, many times - but if you think about it, there's really no need to leave the motor running if you're not at the throttle. I'm curious what the rest of you think, and if you already follow this rule?

[BraceMaker]

I pull the neutral knob and I keep the safety lanyard hooked up where I can grab it easy.

[Golfguy]

Good advice, the capitan should never leave the cockpit empty while on auto pilot. I'm turnig of the motor from now on.

[bishop8950]

Thanks for sharing and glad no one got hurt. That’s scary for sure.

 

If you do any boat safety training that is the number one rule. Turn the motor off when you get out of the seat. If you violate this rule in training it results in an instant fail. I now do this all the time, every time. Any thing else seems wrong. I coach quite a bit and even when driving. Ever time I get up to talk to the skier I shut the boat off. Felt like overkill at first but now it’s normal.

[Orlando76]

I’m shocked at the number of skiers that don’t use the kill switch. In fact, I’ve NEVER skied with somebody who uses it. Heck, I’ve added kill switches in all my boats that didn’t have them.

[ThomasAlive]

My wife and I ski together without a 3rd and always wear the safety kill switch. Right before we jump off the swim deck before a set whoever is driving repeats the speed, letter, whether cruise control is on, and if the safety is attached (the kill switch). Every single time. No exceptions. Too many things can go wrong especially with no one else in the boat.

 

Most of us have heard the story of the driver who reached over the side of the boat to pick up a ski and accidentally hit the throttle and was thrown out of the boat. The boat circled both of them in the water and didn’t end well.

 

Even with a spotter or judge in the boat, I’m surprised the kill switch isn’t required.

[eleeski]

Kill switches add another potential failure mode. Having the engine quit at an inopportune time can be more dangerous than randomly being thrown from the boat. What is a necessary item for a jetski is inappropriate for a driver sitting in a ski boat.

 

Shutting the boat off (or pulling the neutral pin on the throttle) is a good idea anytime you get out of the seat. Reasonable to fail a driver test for not doing so.

 

Not all of us have nice new boats with new reliable kill switches and batteries (engines) that restart on command. Shutting off an engine is not always an option if your focus is on skiing. Be safe and aware within the limitations you have. If the rope is wrapped around the prop, turn off the engine and pull the key out even if you need a jump. But pick up the released trick rope with the engine running - like the thousands of other times. Be aware of what can happen, pull the neutral pin, be ready to shut off the engine when needed regardless of the restart. Apply your personal rules to stay safe.

 

Skiing is a safe sport. Stressing over improbable possibilities is not a good thing.

 

Eric

[OscawanaSkier]

I don’t know...as someone that was almost on the receiving end of a 6L TXi in full-throttle reverse - I’d say the inconvenience of turning off the motor, or wearing the safety lanyard is a small price to pay for being sure your buddies make it home that day!

[Stevie Boy]

Choose who you ski with carefully, sticks and stones may break your bones but Boats, Handles and Ropes can do way more damage.

Club Rule, No One Stands Up In The Boat with the motor running.

[skispray]

Yeah, I would think there’d be no reason to leave a boat like a TXi running when the driver stands up. I think Eric was referring to older boats that may have trouble restarting. Seems like the appropriate amount of precaution needs to be applied depending on the situation. This is a great story to share to make people aware of a risk they may not have considered before.

 

Although it isn’t nearly as good of advice as shutting off the engine, you also mention this was caused by the driver coiling up the rope while talking to you in the water. If not for coiling up the rope (and mistakenly getting it around the throttle) this also wouldn’t have happened. Another potential lesson is to be aware of what you’re doing with the rope and never do things with it that are unnecessary. Not that I don’t agree with ‘shut off the engine when you stand up’ being the best lesson to take away from this, but also be careful with the rope!

[OscawanaSkier]

Totally agree! Both are important lessons to remember!

[Orlando76]

Some of these arguments sound like the crap non seat belts folk dream up.

[jhughes]

Also consider the new boats are throttle AND shift by wire. The only thing between the throttle lever and the motor/trans is firmware. The boat could actually shift itself into reverse and floor it if it wanted to, I suppose.

[BraceMaker]

@jhughes they could but unlikely. DBW systems usually have sensors in pairs and watch for errors between the pairs, where a worn throttle barrel snapping at full throttle has no return mechanism.

[dbutcher]

Texas recently passed a law that takes effect 9-1-19 that makes it a criminal offense ($200 fine) to fail to use a kill switch under most circumstances. I'm not positive, but it may not apply on private lakes. Civil liability to a third party for damages proximately caused by failure to use the kill switch probably already exists. Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer.

[Stevie Boy]

Be aware in most cases the propeller still rotates with the boat in neutral

[Andre]

@Stevie Boy

What?

[quinne]

This is a tough one and I can see both sides. In the past we always followed the rule of turning off the engine in between runs or when folks were getting in and out of the boat, including little ones. We drive an older red Dixie. It doesn't always crank on the first turn.

 

Not exaggerating here... About two years ago we had an experience that nearly killed everyone on the boat, which was three moms (my two sisters and me) and our collective 5 children all under the age of 6 at the time.

 

It was about 7AM, glass, not another boat on the lake. We were sitting at the entrance to the cove in plain site. One of my sisters was just getting in the water with ski on and I was getting the rope set. We saw a boat coming toward us pulling a skier from pretty far off in the distance. We decided to sit and wait for them to finish their pass and being that the cove was really wide with space all around us we didn't worry. As the boat approached closer we realized they didn't see us. How could they not see us? Surely they see us. They're driving a nice ski boat and out as early as us, they know what they're doing. We were right in front of them. They got closer and closer, FAST. My sister started swimming frantically back to the boat, my other sister stood up on the engine cover and started waving her arms and yelling. We were all yelling. I was scrambling to get to the drivers seat to turn on the boat, but then, which way do I go once it's started... I can't know which direction they will correct once they realize we are here.

 

Their skier saw us, started yelling and pointing and at the very last second threw the rope in the air and let go, knowing that would be the only way his driver would turn off, which is exactly what happened. They were so close to us that we were able to hear the driver say in a low voice to her skier and spotter "I didn't see them." She was sitting so low in the drivers seat, obviously only looking into the mirror at her skier that she didn't see us sitting dead center in the middle of the cove... in a red boat... with three adults waving arms yelling.

 

I sat down shaking and cried. Nearly everyone I love was almost gone in an instant... My parents, our husbands, all would be left with nothing. I don't think I have ever felt that kind of fear in my life... How fast it all happened, seconds. The constant replaying in our heads "what should we have done differently?" We've grown up boating and are diligent about safety. The bottom line is that when you spend as many hours on the water as we do, you are going to have close calls. Usually they happen in a split second and can't be predicted. We do the best we can to pay attention to small details that could make a life saving difference. Now, our spotter always has an airhorn in hand. Now I leave the engine running, but in neutral. We only ski and kneeboard early in the morning or on weekdays. Otherwise we're towing a HUGE bright super mabel.

 

We always assume they don't see us.

 

I'm not sure there is any best or right answer. As for us, certainly a prayer at the end of the day for a safe, fun day of boating.

[ski6jones]

@quinne the air horn is a great idea. Glad the crisis was averted. Goes to show that even when traffic on a public lake is low you need to be vigilant about your surroundings. I can hardly stand to be on public water when it's busy. Just go sit at the boat ramp for a little while to see the kinds of people you're boating with. It's plain scary.

[ReallyGottaSki]

Yeah

While stopped we were almost cut in half by a slowly approaching new tournament boat, empty lake, seems he was asking us something, I let my guard down because it was a tourny boat, shut off my engine. tuned out it was looking for directions, but what he said made no sence, then he was heaving back and forth with the gear and throttle as i was restarting to get away.

As i was restarting to escape he lurched forward at us again, i heard glass cracking and his bow was over my head. With strength i didn't know i had, i threw his bow off of my boat while he must have reversed again. then made distance and cursed him to stay away from us.

 

Turns out his friend thew him the keys to take it for a spin, didn't know the lake nor the boat.

 

I mistakenly let my guard down on a fall weeknight because it was a modern tournament boat. never again.

 

I've twice had fisherman try to ram us. Once one had his grandson in the bow of his 12' aluminum utility boat.

 

Best to just assume they all aim to kill you