MERCURY GOES WIRELESS
Mercury takes the lead on safety by offering 1st Mate, its new factory-fit wireless kill cord system
The world’s biggest manufacturer of outboard engines finally launches its own First Mate wireless kill cord system
even years after we launched Motor Boat & Yachting’s campaign to get boat and engine builders to develop a safer, more user-friendly kill cord, Mercury has become the first major engine manufacturer to respond to the challenge with its own factory fitted solution. Called 1st Mate, it is a variation on the wireless kill cord idea pioneered by Coast Key and now offered by a number of other companies such as the OLAS Guardian and Fell MOB+ systems. However, as well as
Mercury 1st Mate being the only factory-fit option from a major engine builder, it also claims to offer a number of technical advantages over its aftermarket competitors. In a bid to make this technology the new normal, it will also be offered as a retrofit device for other makes and models of engine.
CAPTAIN’S MATE
So how does 1st Mate work and why does it differ from existing wireless kill cord systems? The first thing to know is that it consists of three main components: wearable fobs that the captain and/or crew clip to their clothing or wear on their wrist; a vessel hub that is fitted behind the helm console and links into its NMEA circuitry; and an app that you download to your smartphone. Together they enable a greater degree of functionality and connectivity than a more basic wireless kill cord as well as a faster and more robust connection.
The primary kill cord function operates in