3 OPERATION
TURNING THE BOAT
WARNING
•Do not pull the throttle levers back to idle when trying to steer away from objects – you need throttle to steer.
•Be sure passengers are hold- ing on before making turns. An unprepared passenger could lose balance and fall.
Steering control depends on the combination of steering wheel position and the amount of throttle.
Water sucked in through the intake grate is pressurized by the impeller in the jet pump. As the pressurized water is expelled from the pump through the jet thrust nozzle, it creates thrust to move and steer the boat. The higher the engine speed, the more thrust is produced.
The amount of jet thrust, in addition to the position of the steering wheel, determines how sharply you turn.
A. More throttle produces high thrust, so the boat will turn more sharply.
B.Less throttle produces low thrust, so the boat will turn more gradually.
C.Pulling the levers back to idle or Neutral produces only minimum thrust. If you are traveling at speeds above trolling, you will have rapidly decreasing ability to steer without throttle. You may still have some turning ability immediately after pull- ing the throttles back to idle, but one the engine slows down, the boat will no longer respond to steering wheel
input until you apply throttle again or you reach a trolling speed.
At trolling speed, the boat can be turned gradually by steering wheel position alone using just the amount of thrust available at engine idle.
D. If the engines are stopped, there is no thrust. The boat will go straight even though the steering wheel is turned.
YOU NEED THROTTLE TO STEER.