Engine Cut-off Switch / Wireless option

[Smindustries]

For the record, this is where I mounted mine:



I also took some photos of the installation, should anyone need help.

[William_Zane]

Smindustries Do you mind providing some more info on your install. Thinking about ordering this and curious how you installed it. Some initial questions, did you remove the existing kill switch? What did you use to drill into the fiberglass? do you have any photos of your installation process?

[Smindustries]

Smindustries Do you mind providing some more info on your install. Thinking about ordering this and curious how you installed it. Some initial questions, did you remove the existing kill switch? What did you use to drill into the fiberglass? do you have any photos of your installation process?

I removed the existing kill switch. It's not required to be removed, and can remain in place and functional. I removed it because of personal preference.

Here are some photos of the process with several missing because I'm only one guy:

The harness is short. You'll need to extend the power and ground wires to reach under the helm:



I bought this stuff at West Marine:



Done with the harness end:



Pick a spot to mount the unit, trace a hole, and kinda guesstimate the middle:



The instructions call for a "common 2-1/16" holesaw." There's nothing common about that size in my toolbox, friends' toolboxes, or stores near me. I bought one on Amazon. Starrett. Then I drilled a hole:



Big hole in an expensive boat. At least it's on the inside:



Skipping a step, you'll see that I have a green fish tape on the driver's armrest and am holding the other end with blue tape and the connector for the harness:



Getting the fish tape to come out under the helm required me to take off the starboard bow seatback. Once that's off, you can see the back of the helm electric compartment with a jagged passthrough:



With the connector taped to the end of the fish tape, it can be pulled or pushed through the jagged passthrough. This is from the helm side:



This is from the seatback side:



After the connector for the MOB+ has been pulled through to the driver's armrest, you can cut off the excess cable and then terminate the ends:



There's a nice ground block on the starboard side. I ran the power to the main power switch. No photo of that, so here's the ground block:



The other wires on the harness are for the cutoff switch itself. On my boat, the kill switch circuit is normally closed. That means it equates to the 'OPEN TO STOP (OS)' configuration. I connected the blue and grey wires, then looped the orange back onto itself and into some shrink-wrap tube:



The MOB+ has a threaded body and a collar that screws onto it from the backside. I ran the harness through the collar, then connected it and the antenna to the unit, and threaded the collar on from inside the armrest cavity. There are a lot of turns to get it tight. A lot.

I snapped everything back together, programmed the fobs, then tested it. Worked perfectly.

[William_Zane]

Smindustries Thank you very much. That is very helpful!

[azeus17]

Great install. I think this is a good idea, but doesn't this law only apply to federally monitored waters like the great lakes, oceans, etc.? That's how I read it anyway.

[Stevemo14]

It does for now, But states are starting to adopt the laws too. I would say in the next few years most will have a law like this.

Long story short, I was on Norris maybe 10 years back and we came across a center console just circling. The owner had been thrown off because he let go of the wheel at a high rate of speed. We picked him up, and waited for help to come. He had a huge prop gash on his leg from where he tried to swim back to it and get on while circling. Turns out he was the local recovery guy, so they were calling him to rescue himself. His wife brought his Baja out, and nosed in to get him back on the boat, and he went and got fixed up.

They next day we were at Shanghai Dock, and they were doing boat safety checks, and handing out stickers. the 3rd thing they checked for was the ECOS, and made us prove it worked. That might the 3rd year we had done it, and the first time they asked for that. I don't think it was a coincidence. we have been asked ever since.

I don't know if the TVA is enforcing anything with it, but they were / are checking.

[srock]

I can see a center console but how do you get thrown from a Nautique?

[Smindustries]

Great install. I think this is a good idea, but doesn't this law only apply to federally monitored waters like the great lakes, oceans, etc.? That's how I read it anyway.

The law applies to navigable waterways using the federal definition. The Clean Water Act of 1977 made much of the country's water bodies and their tributaries navigable waterways. Definition:

https://www.epa.gov/nwpr/final-rule-...rotection-rule

Here in Georgia there are no natural lakes. All of them are manmade, and many, if not all, are under the control of the Army Corps of Engineers. Federal waters.

[Smindustries]

I can see a center console but how do you get thrown from a Nautique?

Who cares? The law saws you either tether yourself or use another system. I don't like the tether.

My application is more for my peace of mind while I'm out with my kids. The device is named MOB, which stands for Man OverBoard. It syncs with up to four fobs. One for the driver and three others. One of those three others is a fearless four year-old. It only takes an instant for a kid go go over the side, and if that happens while we're underway, I'd like to know immediately. This system does that. It's more than an ECOS.

[g_force]

The law applies to navigable waterways using the federal definition. The Clean Water Act of 1977 made much of the country's water bodies and their tributaries navigable waterways. Definition:

Here's the relevant CFR section:
§328.3 Definitions.
For the purpose of this regulation these terms are defined as follows:
(a) Jurisdictional waters. For purposes of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. and its implementing regulations, subject to the exclusions in paragraph (b) of this section, the term “waters of the United States” means:
(1) The territorial seas, and waters which are currently used, or were used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide;
(2) Tributaries;
(3) Lakes and ponds, and impoundments of jurisdictional waters; and
(4) Adjacent wetlands.

Is this an accurate paraphrase? - Seas and bodies of water currently or previously used for interstate or foreign commerce and any connected bodies of water. That's most lakes/rivers where I am.

[Smindustries]

Is this an accurate paraphrase? - Seas and bodies of water currently or previously used for interstate or foreign commerce and any connected bodies of water. That's most lakes/rivers where I am.

I agree with your paraphrasing, and yes, most water in the US falls under the Act. Looking at what isn't covered almost makes it easier to see the scope of what is. According to the EPA's site:

What's Covered:

The proposed guidance will help restore protections for waters by providing:

• Clarification that small streams and streams that flow part of the year are protected under the Clean Water Act if they have a physical, chemical or biological connection to larger bodies of water downstream and could affect the integrity of those downstream waters. Agencies would be able to evaluate groups of waters holistically rather than the current, piecemeal, stream-by-stream analysis.
• Acknowledgment that when a water body does not have a surface connection to an interstate water or a traditional navigable water, but there is a significant physical, chemical or biological connection between the two, both waterbodies should be protected under the Clean Water Act.
• Recognition that waterbodies may be “traditional navigable waters,” and subject to Clean Water Act protections, under a wider range of circumstances than identified in previous guidance.
• Clarification that interstate waters (crossing state borders) are protected.

What's Not Covered:

This new guidance does not change any of the existing agriculture exemptions under the Clean Water Act. All of the Act’s exemptions from permitting requirements for normal agriculture, forestry and ranching practices continue to apply. The guidance also clearly describes waters not regulated under the Act, including:

• Certain artificially irrigated areas
• Many agricultural and roadside ditches
• Artificial lakes or ponds, including farm and stock ponds

Basically, if it's wet and you didn't make it wet, the government considers it a navigable waterway.

[MN Ryan]

Basically, if it's wet and you didn't make it wet, the government considers it a navigable waterway.

Gigitty.


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