longfinner
2009-01-27 11:09:49
First, I want to thank Jon for this website! A wealth of information. This is one of those, a day late dollar short, or I was just thinking about that the other day, ideas that many of us have through out our days. It starts like this: I solo fish most of the time. My wife deckhands on the good months but it is when she wants to go fishing and that's ok. When I am on a solo trip she admits that she worries until I arrive home. I have tried many things to reduce her worrying. I think I found something. I was surfing the internet using words such as: tethers, solo fisherman, or tethers for fisherman. I received a hit from this website autotether.com I am not a sale rep and I am not representing this company in any fashion. I just want to pass on this information.
As a solo fisherman, the thought of falling over board (MOB) and watching your boat motor away puts a little fear in me. And tying a cord to me will not happen, but clipping on a beacon device is a possible solution. This auto tether device may fit my bill. Not only as a solo fisherman but this system will protect crew members.
I believe the system communicates with its own radio waves and when there is a communication break, an event has occurred. For an example MOB. The system knows the difference between the skipper (solo) and crew member. Skipper (solo mode) if there is a MOB the auto tether will kill the engine and the skipper is able swim back to the boat and climb aboard. If a crew member MOB's the auto tether sound an alarm, but does not kill the engine so you can return to the MOB's position to retrieve your crew member. The radio wave beacon device that you wear is about the size of a zippo lighter and you can clip to your belt or velcro around your arm. With (1) AAA battery it's estimated life is around 100 hours. Not to bad. Cost is just over $200 for skipper (solo) and just under $300 for Skipper and one crew member. Both include the kill switch. Additional crew member devices are around $70.
There are many applications with this device not limited as a crew member watch. I wonder if this will reduce my insurance! I hope this will help someone. I will test mine soon.
Now there was something else I was thinking about the other day. Oh well, that will be another post.
Jeff ...
JYDPDX
2009-01-27 18:15:17
Anyone have any ideas on how to hook the kill switch up to a diesel. I have a jerry rigged pull cord to my kill switch(on the engine). I thought about getting a product like this last year but it seems incompatible with my setup.
Also my brother and his wife and I have had an ongoing debate on whether or not a person who has fallen overboard could be able to swim to a float to save themselves. Anybody ever heard of this happening?
Ever heard of a person getting picked up by another boat on the drag?
f/v henrietta w
2009-01-28 00:47:20
I called the company this morning and asked about the diesel question. He said a lot of east coast yachts have these installed aboard for twin diesels - they already have an electronic kill switch which shuts off the fuel pump. For the average troller, you could install an electric valve just upstream from the injector pump, this would function as a 'kill switch', shutting off fuel after the mechanical fuel pump. It would work, and this is really something to think about for those of us who fish alone. You could also drag a trailer bouy off a pole close to the boat, with knots tied every two feet or so. This would give you something to climb up with. I still think the best advice is don't get off the boat unless you step off the mastlight...