Man Over Board systems (MOB) #1 safety device on my boat!

[RyTek Marine]

Hey All, reading all the heart breaking stories about the lost fellow fishermen this week and reading stories from many others on the page and a few referrals to MOB systems I thought I would share a video I put together on my own Fell Marine system on my Lund. I personally went up and above what everyone else (at least at the time) had done with their installations.....Being a Great Lakes fisherman in a smaller boat, while trolling I 99% of the time steer with my trolling motor and use my kicker or main motor for propulsion (pushing)!!!

Fishing alone often or with my young kids, my main fear was falling overboard and having the boat drive off without me while trolling....Even if I had the kill switch properly attached to my waist and the kicker shut down the second I fell in...the boat would continue on its way heading way from me while I tread water or worse....

In my boat I used the Fell Marine System and tied the trolling motor into the system via a switched relay that cuts the flow of power to the trolling motor in the event of activating the system!

Besides the safety aspect of the system it is also great for theft prevention as the Fob's have to be within aprox 30-50ft of the boat, so for the guys that have their boats moored at a marine you can take the FOBS with you at the end of the day with piece of mind that someone else won't be able to get the boat started very easily!!!

Anyway, here is the video (yes its long and detailed). If you have any questions please just respond on this post so I can share it with everyone!

Stay safe.... Ryan

 

[Crummybun]

An investment in safety, you hope to never use. Great setup!

 

[bguest89]

That's an insurance policy I don't mind paying for.

 

[RyTek Marine]

For the few hundred bucks it costs....worth every penny! A PLB (personal locator beacon) is the only other thing I would invest in before the fell!

 

[sronza]

I just wanted to add this.
on my boat i use a travel restrain. It allows me to reach the sides of boat but i cannot go over.
Reason is this. If you fall over. on a windy day. Even if your motor cuts out. Most people will not be able to catch the boat as it will drift faster than you can swim.
i used to sail. Even with that boat inverted in the water on a windy day i could not catch up if left behind.

 

[King Joe]

My Horizon handheld has man-overboard feature....and was the main reason I got that model.

King Joe Outa Here!

 

[murph]

Thanks for the info, just purchased one and awaiting it arrival

 

[Bandwagon]

A PLB should be the first item everyone should have before a radio, man overboard feature or tether. It applies to all emergencies. I can also take it with me when fishing in someone else's boat.

 

[one.last.cast]

Does it work on a manual 9.9 kicker. I have an extra lanyard I attach to the existing kill switch lanyard when I am solo.

 

[caught them by the ton]

Yes i have one on a 9.9 mercury kicker.

 

[caught them by the ton]

Should have mentioned its the MOB wireless kill switch.

 

[Nautibouy]

There is another option then MOB and that is the 1st mate by mercury.. it does shut off the engine and it also will send a message to someone in your list and tell them. Someone has fallen over board with the location to within 30 meters. I have installed on my boat.. it did my main but not my 9.9 kicker

 

[RyTek Marine]

My Horizon handheld has man-overboard feature....and was the main reason I got that model.

King Joe Outa Here!

Unfortunately a handheld is very limited in distance...especially on big bodies of water where the arc of the earth limits the distance it can be used! This means that even if you hit the MOB key on the radio...the Coast Guard or anyone else may never even hear or see the incoming message! This is why Fixed base VHF's with higher wattages and taller antenna's are the best way to go when boating on the Great Lakes.

 

[RyTek Marine]

There is another option then MOB and that is the 1st mate by mercury.. it does shut off the engine and it also will send a message to someone in your list and tell them. Someone has fallen over board with the location to within 30 meters. I have installed on my boat.. it did my main but not my 9.9 kicker

Both are actually made by FELL Marine actually and the original unit that I have is now being fazed out to all being the style of the 1st Mate style (this is also available for other engine MFG's and not just Merc). The new systems are tied into the NMEA2000 network, your GPS and your VHF radio which will send out the DSC MOB signal which is how they described it to me while inquiring on the phone last week! I just moved my original system to my new boat and because I am running a miss matched Mercury main motor and a 15ho Evinrude Kicker they said it would be best to run the original for now yet even though I have a full blown Nmea network on boat. I also have a PLB on my self at all times boating.

 

[RyTek Marine]

Does it work on a manual 9.9 kicker. I have an extra lanyard I attach to the existing kill switch lanyard when I am solo.

Works with basically any brand of motors or combination of motors! Its best to get the multi-engine harness and tie it into both so you have high speed + trolling if you use a kicker!

 

[RyTek Marine]

A PLB should be the first item everyone should have before a radio, man overboard feature or tether. It applies to all emergencies. I can also take it with me when fishing in someone else's boat.

110%!!!! I also have a PLB on my self in the boat and take it along with me hunting in the fall!

 

[King Joe]

Unfortunately a handheld is very limited in distance...especially on big bodies of water where the arc of the earth limits the distance it can be used! This means that even if you hit the MOB key on the radio...the Coast Guard or anyone else may never even hear or see the incoming message! This is why Fixed base VHF's with higher wattages and taller antenna's are the best way to go when boating on the Great Lakes.

Appreciate that....no room for a fixed station and BIG antenna on my KAYAK.

King Joe Outa Here!