Tag Archives: K38

DO NOT USE HIGHLY FLAMMABLE PRODUCTS ON YOUR RWC ENGINE

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Never use any type of anti corrosive spray that say ‘highly flammable’ in the Information section.

I have come across far too many of my k38 students who have been given poor advice by others.

This advise could be dangerous or even deadly.

This is why the manufacturer’s of Personal Water Craft give direct advice and guidance for the types of products
they would like clients to use. Many ignore their safety warnings and place themselves and their crews at risk for explosion or injury.

The second threat is to the exhaust cooling rubber hoses. If the hoses lost their structural integrity they will fail. This means a Rescue Water Craft can take on water suddenly and sink. This could end up as a total loss.

Your preventative sprays are to be used with a cooled engine after washing down the engine compartment or completing the fresh water rinse/flush of the exhaust cooling lines.

Pay attention to all your actions and research the information and get other opinions if you are learning.

It does not require much effort and you will do better with your program in many ways.

Shawn Alladio – 6.14.2018


Shawn cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

K38 COLLECTIVE

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Imagine the nautical miles our students have covered and how many times they could have driven around the world since we began in 1989?

Over 37,000 hours of training. 350 Rescue Water Craft used.
When we do the math by the hours and add the Rescue Water Craft fuel tank capacity.
The weight on board and the conditions, we start to see the circumference of the world navigated!

Let alone our Never Quit Challenges, in 6 days we had 1,600 miles covered with 10 watercraft at one time underway!
Add in the truck hours, the trailer hours, tire replacements, bearing kits, and the perspective broadens.

This is not limited to the United States, we are a global company. But it is limited to outstanding professioanls who care enough to bring us into their story, one hour at a time, one kilometer at a time, and together we built the culture!

This is no small feat.

It happened because professionals cared about their work.

I thank each of you!

Shawn Alladio – 5.31.2018

Shawn cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

MAINTAIN THE TRAILER JACK

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TRAILERS!

Maintain your trailer jack for safety and for economy.

Yes, they need your attention! There is something wrong with this picture? Do you see it! LOL

When it gets this bad, something is missing. There is no respect for the program. If there is no respect for the transport device, imagine what is going wrong with the Rescue Water Craft and the safety of personnel?

How much is your life worth? Don’t think trailer maintenance is not important. Getting on the road, a damaged trailer can kill others, your driver or you.

When I see items like this, I know my work is cut our and probably there will not be much I can do. It is up to the students to take 100% responsibility for their education towards capability.

When a trailer jack gets to this point, expect associated costs to soar for repairs.

When a trailer jack cannot be moved, that means the physics of the device are wasted and humans will literally bear the burden.

Back damage, trailer potential to fall on a foot and crush it, medical costs, time off duty and a lifetime of aches and pains. Is it worth it?

Get out your trailer check list and starting giving it some of your attention. #donotdothis

NEEDS
1. Grease Gun with marine grease (for the handle zerc fitting)
2. Anti rust product such as Naval Jelly
3. Fresh water rinse the trailer immediately after every use in salt water conditions (buy a galvanized trailer not powder coated)
4. Inspect the crank handle and spray down with silicone spray after every use
5. Make sure your wheel jack is compatible with the weight load of the trailer and that the tongue weight of the trailer is accurate.

Trailer Jack

Shawn Alladio – 5.30.2018


Shawn cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

TRAILER BUNK DAMAGE

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Yes this trailer bunk damage is bad. It doesn’t have to be this way.

This is from repeated use with trailers and totes.

When the end bunk on your trailer or tote is damaged, it will effect your Rescue Water Craft. When you push the RWC onto the bunk, the end points will bear the full weight load on that pivot point. That weight bearing contact point is going to create an immediate pressure point.

If there is any damage such as a broken piece of metal, exposed bolt, sharp edge of the trailer exposed, wood sliced or the bunk is bent, problems will be imminent and they may be hidden by the bunk location.

Make sure you have checklists for your trailers and totes and take them out of service until they are repaired.

If you have a failed bunk you will immediately begin to distress the bottom deck of the Rescue Water Craft hull.

Depending upon the constructive materials such as fiberglass, the gelcoat will fleck away and expose the fiberglass mat. This can lead to a delamination underway when the hull makes surface contact with the speed, creating ventilation to the damage area. This can be a costly experience and should be caught in your post operations check inspection.

Good luck!

RWC trailer damage

Shawn Alladio – 2018

Shawn cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

RESCUE BOARD FRICTION

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Unfortunately Rescue Boards (TAD-Towable Accessory Device) do more damage to our Rescue Water Craft astern due to vessel designs changing but the Rescue Boards designs are not adapting to the newer models. Do Rescue Boards work? Absolutely.

However, the use of these (TAD) Towable Accessory Devices have assisted in the recovery of many persons in distress and we are thankful for their utility.  Let’s take a look at considerations of repair and contact points.

Inflatable type designed rescue boards/sleds are not approved for Rescue Water Craft (RWC) safety use due to stability and connectivity.  This discussion refers to fixed core rescue boards that cannot be deflated.

It takes a lot of effort to maintain your Rescue Water Craft and Rescue Board. This requires of Public Safety Agencies to have effective training and proper inspection lists to note when Rescue Boards or RWC’s need to be removed from service due to safety maintenance or repairs.

Some models of Personal Water Craft (PWC) interface to the various Rescue Boards or Towable Accessory Devices (TAD) do not interface well with the variety of Rescue Water Craft (RWC) hulls from year of production, makes and models.

Please refer to the Rescue Water Craft Association recommended RWC’s for 2018:

Approved 2018 Rescue Water Craft

It is not an easy interface for sure!  Make sure you are watching the attachment points from each use and inspect your hull for wear through the top deck. This requires your RWC Operators to understand what to look for, why it is important and how to inspect and maintain their equipment before a mishap occurs from negligence.

This is especially true for NanoXcel hulls in comparison to fiberglass/gelcoat hulls. These lighter hulls tend to have more flex and the newer models have a concave top deck astern. This is also true for some Sea Doo models.

  

Will this cause harm to your Rescue Water Craft? What should you be concerned about?

The center load bearing pressure point and the pivot from port to starboard along with how the Rescue Board is designed oftentimes do not have a complimentary fit. Problems may occur from compression indentations against the Rescue Board.  Remember, we are not permitted to drill only holes through the RWC hull and we cannot add any metal fittings on the top deck due to safety risk and liability.

Also take note of any entrapment from extension on port/starboard connector points of the Rescue Board, catch points and flexion caused by poor handle placement. These all lead up to contributing factors of friction and Rescue Board contact points to the RWC.

Think one word exclusively: PHYSICS

This means the pressure points from a rescue board are going to be pressed downward at the port/starboard sides and can wear completely through the top deck. This can result in a wear hole through the top deck surface

  

Bondline Molding damage and damage to contact point of the TAD Point of Contact

Remember: These are recreational Power Water Craft. They are not designed for Search and Rescue or Patrol work. They are designed for recreational activity use. (With the exception of the AlumaSki, Sea Doo SAR and RescueRunner which are occupational manufactured craft).

When you employ the use of a Rescue Board it will require of your agency effective ‘use, inspection and care‘ guidelines for liability and for safety underway. Failure to do so can result in loss of the Rescue Board, damage that cannot be repaired and budgetary needs for RWC maintenance and care. This can also lead up to agency liability issues.

Is this in your annual budget? Do you have maintenance repair items in stock ready to go?

K38 can help your agency set up your RWC program through professional consultation.

  

Friction points caused by the forces of action and unequal distribution of load, contact, drag or movement against he rescue board and the bond line or top stern deck.  Make sure inspections are thorough and replacement parts a readily available in your cache load maintenance gear.

Rescue Board

You may need to alter the material on the stern deck to raise up the void between the two substrates. Refer to your warranty first before you proceed on any modifications and adhere to the guidelines and rules of the warranty.

1.  Rescue boards can also pull off or damage the rail bond line or molding exposing the rivets. This can result in a safety hazard. Remove the RWC from service immediately if this happens.

2. Friction and impact can affect or damage the stern top deck or removable stern compartment covers on some models of RWC.

3. Re-boarding steps can be damaged or damage the underside of a Rescue board or cause a slight shock loading effect if the step makes contact on the underside of the rescue board and slides forward or back, this can result in issues with the center load bearing connector point.

4. Rescue Board friction pads or covers can splinter, break of fracture. They can even be ripped off the Rescue Board.
There are so many variables that come into play with physics and the actual weight load on the Rescue Board. Primarily it is the connective interface between the RWC and the Rescue Board that is most important.

 

Is your rigging causing harm or creating a solution? What are you willing to give up to gain?

There is no defining interface for rescue board use. It depends upon the make, model and year of production of RWC you have.

One thing is for sure, take some time to study the contact points, friction and how the Rescue Board is hooked up to the RWC to try to reduce the impending damage your RWC will suffer.

Shawn Alladio – 2018

Shawn cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

Use at your own risk. Please take a qualified Rescue Water Craft training course and maintain proper records and respect all the PWC, RWC, PPE, and gear OEM manufacturer warning labels and cautions.

Become a member today of the Rescue Water Craft Association: JOIN THE RWCA

FACTS ABOUT BLEACH

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FACTS ABOUT BLEACH #1

You need to effectively clean your gear, but what do you know regarding using bleach in some situations?

Natural and normally occurring events, floods, inclement weather, industrial areas, runoff, the list goes on! Your equipment and Personal Protective Equipment are exposed to harsh exposures. Don’t take this for granted, its a serious economical consideration for when to replace, how to care and what are the cause and effects of decontamination on specific products!

SPRAY AWAY
Sprayers come in all sizes, from handheld pump spray bottles to larger spray cannisters. Depending upon which one you use, the nozzle and interior pressure will result in good or poor spray control.

Sodium hypochlorite is the chemical compound we call ‘bleach’.

Bleach is used often for disinfection protocols employed by water rescue teams and for the purpose of cleaning rescue gear and other equipment.

Be careful with the effects of bleach mixed with water as a spray, do not inhale, use proper PPE.

It is used for bio hazard contact and a variety of contaminated aquatics. It is widely known for killing bacteria.

It is often used diluted and placed in spray canisters for spraying down gear/PPE in the field.

If you have responded to a disaster zone and have operated your Rescue Water Craft in contaminated water you may have a bigger problem than simply washing down!

The same goes for your personal protective equipment. Both may need to be destroyed.

You will have to contain and trap the water from the exhaust cooling system and dispose of it in a Hazmat situation.

Spend time now to prepare for the future

Hopefully you have not endured any issues from exposure, but your PPE may be a total loss. Prepare for replacement.

That begins with annual budget planning if you are in high risk zones for potential flooding. Make sure you price out by today’s economy a full replacement value on your equipment and PPE and have it prepared in advance. Emphasis is placed on this critical budget assessment repeatedly in this article from experience.

Rubber hoses and plastic may be destroyed on your Rescue Water Craft.

You may have to replace your seats as well and will need to clean out your bilge.

Budgets must be adjusted for ‘total loss’ or replacement.  There may not be recovery funds such as grants or disaster relief. Volunteer departments may be affected most for deterioration of PPE/equipment.

Plan on your agency disposable clause for gear for situations of exposure, loss or damage.  Make sure your budget includes this annually for a buffer so that your program can continue to thrive responsibly.

Not a feat for anyone, and could be very expensive to remedy.

This is one of the associated costs or risks of service work. Depends upon which way we look at the solutions.

Rule of thumb-everything is disposable and will be replaced, but not you!

Shawn Alladio – 2018

REVIEW
Chlorine bleach is a chemical that is a common household product with properties that make it useful for cleaning and disinfecting and may have from four to six % concentration or in some cases up to nine %. It’s a diluted mixture of sodium hypochlorite (the active ingredient) and water. Sodium hypochlorite is a powerful oxidizer. Oxidation reactions are corrosive and solutions burn skin and can cause permanent eye damage in concentrated forms.

In closed areas with poor ventilation use an appropriate mask and or proper PPE.

Safety handling recommendations:
1. Wear effective eye protection and clothing protection from spills
2. Use of rubber or nitrile gloves to avoid hand contact
3. Clothing will be stained if contact is made or fade colors and break down material
4. Use only in well ventilated areas, vapors will build up and cause eye or respiratory irritation
5. Vigorously wash hands wild mild soap
6. Have an eye wash rinse readily available in case of contact
7. It is corrosive to bare metals
8. Do not drink
9. Do not blend with other cleaning agents or ammonia, explosions can occur if sufficient quantities are
mixed
10. Follow all the applicable safety precautions and product label instructions.

Bleach is hazardous when combined with other products.

Bleach will dry immediately when making contact with skin. It can be an irritant and will dry your skin out right away.  The natural moisture in your eyes combines with liquid bleach to form an acid. Rinse your eye with lukewarm water right away, and remove any contact lenses, and it can be inhaled.

Be sure when using bleach to IMMEDIATELY rinse, rinse, rinse with fresh clean water. Do not leave bleach residue on your gear. It is corrosive!

Have any questions? Join the Rescue Water Craft Association
and discover what your community is doing to modernize standards, safety and reduce liability!

Content Creator – Shawn Alladio cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

EXPENSE VERSUS RISK

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Expense is not a problem for a Rescue Water Craft program, its an asset against risk.

Effective training can prevent mishaps and reduce future problems. This only works if the department personnel responsible for the RWC program enforce the standards entrusted to them. If not, watch out, dodging bullets only last so long, eventually one is going to hit the target.

If you or your department can’t afford to maintain a marine boat unit, you may be heading into a whole lot of trouble real fast.

Don’t be seduced by photos or videos, look behind the curtain. How much does it cost to maintain a professional boating unit for one year’s service?

A pretty picture can be very costly.

Make sure you are evaluating and not creating a cult following. Look for the professional edge.

Evaluate so you can visualize and develop in your mindset what a professional program and action should look like.

If its too loud, it the water movement is too large, if the angles are to sharp if the body language is severe, instead raise a red flag and learn from the images. Glean the truth.

Don’t be seduced by your own nature, think of how you can defend all actions in a court of law.

Teach yourself how to be led to professionalism, don’t be a hack RWC operator.

We need a strong community. We are depending upon you to enforce the strength through professionalism.

-Shawn Alladio K38 Founder

2018

Shawn cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

Become The Strength

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DEFINE THE PROBLEM

Become the Strength.

Do not be lazy or weak. The sea is full of driftwood.

In the moment of it will be important to have your behaviors accountable to the mission, if you can't do this weakness will not give you an option. Failure is imminent.

That's not what we are about at K38. That's certainly not who you are.

-Shawn Alladio

K38 Founder

Content Creator - Shawn Alladio cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

Become the Solution

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DEFINE THE PROBLEM

Inventory is critical.

Check your bag.

Inspect what issues arose, address them with strength, don't let pride hold you hostage!
Who has TIME for that!
Not you!

You are a winner and you have things to do. It's called success.

Now let's get out that checklist so we can get you stronger tomorrow and up and running!

Content Creator - Shawn Alladio cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

RESCUE WATER CRAFT BATTERY ISSUES

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MELTDOWN

RESCUE WATER CRAFT BATTERY ISSUES

Rescue Water Craft batteries require your constant attention. Battery inspection needs to be a daily feature in your pre and post operations inspection.

It is only avoidable if there is knowledge. So now in the aftermath of discovery it is avoidable if the knowledge is retained. Before this it is just 'learning'.

That's a dead short you are looking at in the images above. It is the result of way too much current flow. How do you know that? The posts are molten where your cables would have been connected. That is one way to explode a battery, and could become a very dangerous situation quickly.

The Rescue Water Craft fuses should have helped to prevent an explosion. It would be important in these instances to inspect your fuses ASAP.

First off you need to refer to the make, model and year of production of your Rescue Water Craft and adhere to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Questions
Is there too much slack in the lead wires or the battery strap harness inside the RWC while operating with this battery?

Is it missing the traction pad below it rests on? Is it the right type of battery?

Did this happen inside the Rescue Water Craft or was the battery brand new and being charged for use?

Jet Pump

Yuasa Battery

LOOSEY GOOSEY

Loose battery connections on the lead cables create resistance and turn into ‘heat’. If the cable was not tightened enough it could create resistance for the battery when it tries to bridge the gap and arcs with a high heat. There should be no white powder on the terminals and they should not move when touched and tugged to see if the posts swivel or move.

Tight terminals are a must, as are using an inspection daily check list post and pre-ops. Be consistent, its a bad deal when problems come your way when you are out on the water. It's better to catch them while the RWC is on the trailer. Don't splash your RWC until you are 100% seaworthy.

HINT: do not use a screwdriver, use a ratchet with a properly sized socket to adjust the Pos/Neg cables!

With a loose connection the wires which are small and the load is high, what does that mean? If a battery is loose inside a Rescue Water Craft, such as the straps are connected improperly or using the wrong strap sizes or one broke free or the battery size is wrong and does not fit into the stock tray, problems are imminent.

Take a close look at the battery tray location. Does your battery shape fit fully in the tray? If not, consider heading back to a stock battery, saving money is not gonna happen in this situation.

If the battery is the right size the straps may be problematic. Friction and movement of the battery can be an issue causing the wire connections to crack or fracture and this is the kind of a situation that can cause sparks. If the battery is bouncing around those sparks are like the same heat as an arc welder. A bad situation is at hand and fully preventable.

Or you could have a short inside the battery. Even a partial short and/or poor connection on the terminals can create significant problems. In these images it looks like the pos side had a meltdown.

This kind of a situation can create other problems such as the relay or starter motor engine could have experienced damage.

Jet Pump

Vents and Distilled Water

JUICED

Never jump a Rescue Water Craft from another running vehicle or charger, it will feed more amps into the system and can damage or destroy the MPEM or ECU units.

Also if jumping the battery, make sure you are using the right size cables, you need the smaller cables, larger ones will not correlate with the proper amperage, and would be a wasted attempt.

I would definitely inspect the fuse and the leads pos/neg cables for rust or corrosion. Sometimes this happens when people jump their RWC batteries off a vehicle that is running, which should NEVER be done. Our Rescue Water Craft are not set up to run the amps and voltage beyond 2.5 amps in their system, this can be very destructive.

There is not much difference in voltage between a nearly full battery and a depleted one, its less than 1.0 volts. If the RWC engine is running the charging system makes an attempt to maintain a specific voltage output to the battery. This depends upon the battery ability to absorb the charge translated as Amps and the charging system delivery of the full current the battery demands.

There is a lot of demand placed on a battery and its electrical partners; from the voltage, charging, stator alternator, solenoid and starter. Never jump your battery from a vehicle, you will overcharge the system. Stay under 2 amps while charging your battery.

A solenoid is an electrical switch which causes electrical contact from the starter circuit to ground power the coil and can handle the high voltage for the starter which begins the rotation of the motor. Solenoids make a distinct click sound. If you are jumping the battery and the solenoid cranks poorly then it’s not the solenoid, it could be just a bad connection.

You can check with a volt meter on the posts to get a reading. Then press the ‘start’ button and note if the voltage is lower. It may be a weak battery.

It is important to remember to protect the electrical system and the battery by not holding down the start button longer than 5 seconds and waiting 15 seconds prior to the next start.

Frequent starts will engage a quick shut down cycle on the battery if the engine cannot run. You don’t want to burn out your starter motor. Patience goes a long way and will help you understand the temperament of your RWC electrical system.

Don’t rush, take your time to troubleshoot and be patient.

Jet Pump

Waterproof Battery Tender

VOLTAGE

When the battery voltage drops low it’s time for a new battery. It is also possible to purchase a new battery that was not fully charged and it drops its voltage and becomes worthless pretty fast, requiring another new fully charged battery.

It is important to follow the directions for using the appropriate battery charger that can fully charge a new battery. Many times people do not follow suit properly and they waste time and money.

Waterproof battery tenders are often used for long time storage to help protect battery life. For some watercraft there are other contributing factors it could be a bad DESS key for a BRP Sea Doo as well. A simple replacement of the DESS key and coding might be the answer.

Always check a battery on a multi meter to see what the voltage level is. Make sure you are using the right battery that is recommended by the OEM manufacturer as well. Low voltage can be really bad for electronics and relays. Good batteries should be 12.3-12.5 volts but refer to your RWC brand to be specific.

Cheap batteries yield cheaper results and some of the batteries like Yuasa require a special charger to load the batteries, so that can be problematic and not getting a full charge. Use dieletric grease on the terminals in the future, you will be glad you did.

Rescue Water Craft batteries work best when the charge is maintained. Maintenance free batteries are highly recommended. Batteries get hot when working hard, so don’t overload the amperage by adding accessories to the craft that need an electrical draw.

Answer: Tight connections and Clean Cables are required, good straps and the appropriate fully charged battery. This was a brand new battery in the images above being charged.

Recap:
1. Bad Battery Sealed or Cell, gel cells or AGM (vented or not vented) Wet cell batteries need distilled water.
2. Poor Battery Connection-Partial short
3. Wrong Battery Used
4. DESS post failing (inductive arcing)
5. Fast Charged Battery
6. Inspect Fuse Box

This is not a tutorial, it’s a basic Q & A regarding battery connectivity. Take your RWC to a qualified mechanic for servicing and follow basic preventative maintenance schedules to ensure the longevity of your operations and underway safety.

Content Creator - Shawn Alladio cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.