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Author Archive for Gary – Page 13

Mercury patented outboard motor tether in 1969

With all the chatter about The Leash we thought we would point out the first commercially available outboard tether for larger outboards was invented and sold by Mercury Marine. Mercury’s efforts preceded The Leash by nearly 50 years. This post is best viewed on a laptop or desktop computer. This post in no way belittles […]

Mercury Marine Aluminum Alloy patents & propeller safety

As noted before, outboard motor swivel brackets take tremendous loads during a collisions with submerged objects. On occasion swivel brackets fail, sometimes allowing the outboard motor to break off and flip into the boat with the engine still running and the propeller turning a few thousand RPM. Driveshaft housings (the lower leg of the outboard) […]

Rex Chambers speaks on The Leash: video

Rex Chambers, well known professional bass angler and his fishing partner were injured 3 May 2014 on Wheeler Lake in Alabama when they struck a submerged log, the 250 horsepower Mercury outboard motor broke off, and flipped into the boat still under power. His fishing buddy was struck in the head by the skeg. Rex […]

Stages of grief: boating industry resists proposed safety devices

The recreational boating industry has long used a series of objections in their efforts to resist proposed safety devices, including propeller safety devices. The industry raises different objections during different stages of the process. Overall the process resembles the 5 stages of grief people pass though when a loved one dies. The five stages of […]

Randy Howell runs The Leash: video

Randy Howell and The Leash recently posted a video of Randy explaining why he runs The Leash, a tether to prevent large outboard motors from breaking off and flipping into boats after striking submerged objects or when running in rough water. Several outboard motors have flipped into boats while the outboard motor is still under […]

Propeller Guards: ABYC Marine Law Symposium

ABYC’s Marine Law Symposium 2018 was originally scheduled to be part of ABYC’s annual Standards Week in Charleston, South Carolina in January 2018. However, a major east coast snowstorm postponed the event until 10 April 2018. The theme of the topics selected was, “The Anatomy of an Accident”. The day long event featured sessions titled: […]

Barhanovich case update 6 April 2018

The Barhanovich case resulted from a boat accident off Biloxi Mississippi in which a large Suzuki outboard motor allegedly struck dredge pipe, broke off, flipped into the boat and killed Mark Barhanovich on Sunday morning 16 September 2012. In our last update we updated the status of the Barhanovich case as of 5 November 2016. […]

MagBlade Safety Propeller awarded U.S. Patent

The MagBlade safety propeller that came on the scene a half a dozen years ago in South Africa, has been acquired by MagBlade Limited based in Hong Kong. U.S. Patent 9,909,600 was issued to Russel Iwan Hawkins, one of the individuals in South Africa we spoke to a few years ago, on 6 March 2018 […]

2018 Bassmaster Classic won by Jordan Lee, Yamaha, & Ranger

Congratulations to Bassmaster for once again putting on a great event, this time on Lake Hartwood, South Carolina March 16-18, 2018. We salute all the contestants and their families, especially Jordan Lee of Grant Alabama for becoming a two time, back to back winner of the Classic, and to Ranger boats, Yamaha outboards, and Carhartt […]

Farewell to Charlie Strang

Mercury Marine released a statement saying “Mercury Marine mourns loss of Charlie Strang” on 13 March 2018. In that statement, Mercury notes Charles “Charlie” Strang served as Carl Kiekhaefer’s top engineer for 13 years at Mercury Marine. He later served as Director of Outboard Marine Engineering (OMC) and later CEO and Chairman of the Board. […]