What is a kill cord?
A kill cord (sometimes called an engine cut-off lanyard) is a small but seriously important bit of boating kit.
It clips the driver to the engine ignition, so if the driver gets knocked off balance, falls overboard, or moves suddenly away from the helm, the cord pulls out and the engine immediately stops.
That means the boat won’t keep going on its own or, as often happens, start circling back towards you.
Kill cord secured around thigh then attached back to itself
A kill cord, unattached.
The danger of being in the water in the vicinity of an unmanned powered up boat cannot be overstated and there have been too many accidents of this type. Watch this brief powerful video from the RYA to fully understand the danger:
Search online for videos of unmanned out of control RIBS - a good way to fully appreciate the importance of the kill cord.
A kill cord is a critical piece of safety equipment whether you are alone in the boat, or have passengers. It is one of those simple things that is easy to forget, but using one can make all the difference in an emergency and helps keep you, your crew, and everyone else on the water much safer.
However, kill cords have to take a fair bit of wear and tear from sun, saltwater, and repeated stretching, so can get damaged. But perhaps more importantly, it may not be possible to restart the engine without a kill cord if the driver has fallen overboard. So it is sensible to have a spare onboard , stored somewhere safe and accessible. This ensures you are not left without a working safety device if one gets damaged or lost overboard, and means a passenger can quickly restart the engine to help the person in the water, to secure the boat and crew’s safety.
All Royal Yachting Association powerboat courses, RYA Powerboat Level 1, Level 2, and higher-level courses (such as Advanced and Safety Boat) provide comprehensive training on how to use a kill cord, emphasising that it is a critical safety device for preventing accidents.
