A 23' bow rider weighs something like 4000 to 4500-lbs. A 12' aluminum jon boat with a 3-hp gas outboard weighs 70-lb boat and 50-lb motor & oars, about 125-lbs total.
Both are same legal motor boats but 4250-lbs vs 125-lbs is a huge difference in terms of EVERYTHING and using a shut-off lanyard on the small row boat is a very smart thing to do.
www.youtube.com/shorts/jTdxsV6EZzg ...... passed out behind the wheel ..... look closely .... how 'bout that!
So you see, this is what happens when you don't wear that lanyard! You end up all smashed up on the rocks! Looking closely at the crash, it looks like the driver fell backwards into the water or onto the rocks and actually stands up?
Motorcycles and cars have spring loaded controls that return to zero speed when the hand or foot is no longer in control. This is not the case with motor boats because the throttle is not spring loaded. A motor boat will keep moving forward and the safety lanyard is designed to stop the boat.