WIRELESS KILL CORD FOR EVERYONE ABOARD

A new wireless engine kill switch for fast boats acts as a virtual ‘kill cord’ that will stop a boat’s engine within two seconds of any person going overboard writes Dag Pike.

For smaller workboat operators and for RIB crews the wearing of a kill cord is becoming mandatory but the standard mechanical cord type means that the driver has to be physically attached to the boat and the kill cord only operates if the driver leaves the helm. With the Olas Guardian system it means that both the driver and the crew are protected if they become separated from the boat with the boat stopping in an instant should the skipper or a crew member go overboard. This can greatly reduc the chances of a serious accident if the boat were to continue unmanned close to people in the water.

The Exposure Olas Guardian works by wirelessly logging up to 15 crew members to the engine kill switch attachment via small, wearable transmitters. If one of these wearable transmitters is submerged, or it becomes separated by distance from the helm, it instantly breaks the connection, cuts the engine and triggers an inbuilt 85 decibel alarm and, if connected, an alarm signal to a mobile phone. The system allows the engine to be restarted after a five second delay so that a rescue can be effected.

The system allows crew to move around the boat without the need to constantly remember to disconnect and reconnect a physical cord. It can be particularly suited to RIB ride and thrill ride boats with all passengers tagged.

Olas Guardian works using the latest wireless technology to log and track the personal Olas transmitters. Each time the engine ignition is switched on, Olas Guardian scans the nearby area for 30 seconds, and automatically connects all working tags within range. This means the system automatically reconfigures itself to the number of persons aboard for each trip. The App provides easy monitoring and tracking for each tag, which can be personalised, and displays which tags are connected to the boat.

The Olas Guardian has two pre-set options, enabling the skipper to choose whether all or some of the crew tags are connected to act as a kill cord, or just trigger the MOB alarm, should someone go overboard giving flexibility as to how the system is used.