I've no doubt the fibers in the rope would hold up, but I do wonder about bolt shearing with the force and mass involved. I suppose it's probably like any other safety feature. It offers a level of protection. Airbags can do wonders in a car wreck, but nothing is going to save you if you hit an oak tree head-on at 80 mph. Risk/reward mileage will vary by the individual and use case on whether it's worth the cost.

I got this figured out.
Tether it at the top bolts as designed --then a longer one to the transom eye bolts... Be like a crumple zone.

What I was alluding to earlier. It's less than $300 and "could" save a life or horrific injury like the young man this week. It's worth it to me. I've spent tens of thousands on electronics that "could" help me catch more fish, baits that "could" help me catch more fish, Rods/reels/flouro/braid that "could" help me catch more fish. To my knowledge the only true guarantees in life are death and taxes.

It would be irresponsible for a company to test a safety product before making claims it works? That's the first time I've ever heard that argument.
How would the company know to inform the consumer if upgraded hardware is needed due to the extra stress on certain parts with no testing?
From reading the threads on the leash, it seems like quite a few folks have the same legitimate concerns. I hope it does work for the safety of all involved.

After reading through the post here I have came to the conclusion on this.

1- It seems some here think this will not work and will not get it. That's fine some people do not get life insurance and they know they are going to die. But to get that money, you have to die.
2- It seems some people here are more willing to spend money on the next greatest lure that will fill your live-well up in 10 minutes than to possibly save your or your co anglers life.
3- It does not matter if it is a rubber band back there, it has to help in some degree. Could it possibly not hold the motor back from coming in on you? Yes.
4- Could the "Leash" possibly keep the engine from coming in on you and your co-angler? Yes
5- What steps have you taken or going to take from this ever happening to you? Plan on the luck of the draw? Plan on it never happening to you? Plan on it not hitting you or your co-angler if it does happen?
6- Could you spend $279 and increase your chances to have it not happen to you. Let's say it helps out 50% of the time. I'll take that for $279. It a start its a plan, its something that is way better than nothing.

Bottom line then
You can spend $279 on lures that will never catch a fish or you can spend it on something that could save your life.

I will get one. I have 5 kids that need their dad. I have life insurance so if for some reason God wants to take me home, they are covered. If it is my time nothing will save me. My step dad had a heart attack while drive with my mom, wife and 2 kids and he hit a tree at 90 miles per hour. His foot stayed on the accelerator. No one died that day. All the air bags and seatbelts worked. There are days when if you wear your seatbelt you still might die in a crash but your odd's go way up if you are wearing a seatbelt. The leash is just added insurance that might save a life.

I think someone has spent so time designing it since it's not a universal one size fits all safety device. It's an excellent investment for tournament anglers, guides with paying clients and anyone who feels the need to run 50 mph up a creek. I bet the owner of that boat will have one put on his next boat.

I pray the two fisherman make a speedy recovery.

Not to get into the dogpile, but I was talking to a friend about this a couple days ago. The earliest I can remember hearing about a motor shearing off and coming into the boat was 2012 I think. In 1985 or so, I hit a telephone pole that was floating crossways in the Colorado River running down into Lake Havasu, Arizona. I was driving an 18.5' Hydrasport with an XP 150 Evinrude which was a pretty fast boat at the time. I only hit it because the jet boat I was behind went right over it and pushed it under and it floated up about 50 feet in front of me and there was nothing I could do at around 65 -70 mph but hold on. It broke the motor mounts and the front of the cowl actually hit the back deck (confirmed by the hole the little flip latch on the rigging compartment punched in the front of the cowl). My point being, the motor didn't shear of and go into the lake or the cockpit. So what has changed? Are the manufacturers using inferior materials in the mounting system? Did steering cables help keep the motor corralled vs rubber hydraulic hoses? Are boats just that much faster or built from lighter materials sacrificing safety for speed? I don't know, what are your thoughts?

Every time a new motor comes out, one of the selling points seems to be “less weight than previous models and so and so’s four stroke”. So there is that. Maybe the companies are saving weight in areas that maybe they shouldn’t be saving weight. I dunno.

More power and less of the motor in the water mean less to slow it down on the way up is my guess. The motor itself weighs more now I assume so the bracket is stronger not weaker than old designs.

The only thing that has changed is now we have the internet. If this had happened in the 80's the only people that would know about it would be locals. These days when it happens everyone knows.

That’s very true Dubee. Same thing goes with a lot of stuff nowadays. Gun violence, drug overdoses. The list goes on. Maybe the world ain’t that much different, we just hear about everything.

I hate to admit this, I actually agree with you!

It's all about how risk adverse each person is individually and what one wants to spend "just in case" you hit a submerged object or have a mechanical failure that could result in an outboard motor entering the passenger area of a bass boat.

I've read about it happening several times and saw it on a Champion at Tawakoni at a Bass Champs tournament more than a decade ago.
That was a 2 stroke 250 ProXS and he said he didn't hit anything. Same thing, the bracket broke.


I will call out some weaknesses I see in the design of The Leash and how it may or may not have performed from this particular accident.
The main tether of the leash attached to the engine mounting top holes and through the swivel pin of the motor. The piggyback tether that goes around the back end of the motor has hooks that attach it to the main tether.
If you go to The Leash installation video it shows this.
This boat had one side still there were the bracket and bolt attached The Leash to the motor mount. On the starboard side however that part of the motor mount was gone, broken down below and you can see in the pic where there is a clean unpainted area.

So one part of The Leash would be attached to the motor bracket and the other broken off piece would be drawn up to the swivel pin as the motor started moving up and away. What you would be left with is one bolt holding the motor from going forward, halving the stopping power The Leash would have if both bolts were still holding the motor from moving.
I do not understand why they do not have an anchor that attaches to the transom since even the set back plate has been known to fail. If that happened The Leash would not have done anything.

I would get The Leash but alter it to do more than what it looks like it does now.