MBY has teamed up with an entrepreneurial reader to launch Lifecord – a new type of kill cord that you can’t forget to wear
Four years ago, Motor Boat & Yachting issued an open challenge to the industry to design a better kill cord. Only now, after countless hours of research, development and testing are we able to reveal the result of that challenge – a revolutionary new kill cord that we believe is the solution we’ve all been waiting for.
Called Lifecord, for reasons which will become apparent, it is as simple as it is clever. Rather than trying to replace the kill cord with something completely different, its designers have stuck with tried-and-tested technology and focused instead on the problem of people forgetting to attach it.
In other words, it’s still a kill cord but a ‘smart’ one. It uses the same hardware and works in the same way as a conventional kill cord. It fits any new or secondhand boat that already has a kill switch and requires no specialist installation. And, most importantly, it will cost less than £100, so everyone can afford it.
The reason it’s so much better than a conventional ‘passive’ kill cord is because Lifecord has an intelligent alarm system built into it that knows when you’re wearing it and, more importantly, when you’re not.
If it senses that you’ve forgotten to attach it, after a ten-second pause it will start to flash and beep, gradually increasing in volume, until you do. The really clever bit is that it can sense when it’s round your leg or attached to a lifejacket rather being looped o to itself, so you can’t easily deceive it.
Remarkably, Lifecord hasn’t been developed by one of the big boat or engine manufacturers but by an entrepreneurial Motor Boat & Yachting reader who responded to our challenge and came to us with his idea.
Sensing he was on to something, we put him in touch with a trusted marine supplier and helped him to develop his idea into a sellable product that will soon be available to buy in chandleries the world over.
Only now that patents have been granted and full-scale production is about to begin are we able to reveal the full story behind this remarkable new lifesaving invention.
Read more about Lifecord in the February and March issues of MBY and find out more on the Lifecord website.
