In January 2016 The Leash was released as a means of preventing bass boat outboard motors striking submerged objects from breaking off and flipping into boats. Previous to The Leash we saw examples of individuals and one state government agency creating their own tethers. We found the Coast Guard recommending home built tethers on bass boats back in 1972.
We previously wrote of two 1969 Brunswick / Mercury Marine tether patents.
More recently we found a 1992 Suzuki patent for an outboard motor tether, JPH04243690.
Suzuki defines the problem to be solved as, “If the speed at which the lower portion of the outboard motor collides with an obstacle is high, the release valve (tilt cylinder relief valves) cannot operate completely (cannot open fast enough), and the hydraulic cylinder and the outboard motor cannot be operated. The gear case at the bottom of 1 (the outboard motor) may be damaged, and a high repair cost may be required.”
Suzuki tether Japanese Patent
