The slower the pump rpm, the less steering force no doubt. If one is going fast and needs to turn fast, idle rpm's are not going to do it. Yet I have seen jet skis maneuver at slow and moderate speeds so I know they can.
I have no idea what Arild is talking about when he says a jet ski cannot stop in compliance with the COLREGS requirement about stopping in half the distance of visibility. Jet skis can and do stop. The distance required to do so depends on the characteristics of the craft and determines the safe speed in limited visibility conditions, just like all other vessels. In fact, I'd bet that any jet ski could come to a complete stop from full speed in a much shorter distance than my own vessel can. When one commands a vessel that takes an unusually long time to stop or turn then one must plan ahead and compensate, no matter what the size or type of vessel. I have been on vessels that take a mile or more to stop or turn and have traveled all over the world in relative safety. I see no reason to prohibit jet skis from running at night. Young or inexperienced operators perhaps, rental units maybe, but jet skis are no more inherently dangerous than any other sort of small, fast, boat.. One of the worst collisions of this sort I recall was the drunken USCG sailor in Charleston SC who drove a CG Boston Whaler at full speed into the dinette of a anchored houseboat whilst the family was dining. Should we ban the Whaler or the Coast Guard from operation at night? Irresponsible, inept, careless or overly aggressive vessel operation is not determined by the type or size of craft - from canoe to containership - I can attest to that from personal experience. It is all in the operator. Norm S/V Bandersnatch Lying Julington Creek 30 07.695N 081 38.484W > > > Ken & Norm, > > > > ON JETSKI TURNING: > > Ken says if the Jetski was going other than high speed it could have > > turned. I seem to remember a few years ago that some young student > collided in Miami Harbor and was killed when he collided into the back > quarter of Gloria Esteban's boat. > > The jetski cut its power when the boat went in front of him, and then > > tried to turn. That Jetski would not turn without power on, and if power > > was cut it just went forward! > > > > Ed > > > > > REPLY > Jet skis and PWC in general are prohibited from operating after dark > precisely because they must be run at a fast throttle to have steering > and braking. To slow down you must accelerate while deploying the > reverse bucket on the jet discharge strean. > > By definition operating a jet ski after dark is not only illegal but > reckless since you cannot stop within the limit of visibility as defined > under the col regs (normally applied to fog and other reduced vizibility > conditions) > > It is because PWC are prohibited from operating during darkness, they are > exempt from being fitted with navigation lights. > > Therefore it is neither conjecture or a supposition to say that the > operator was careless (not to mention breaking the law) in running the > PWC after dark regardless of the speed involved. If the operator was in > fact a competent operator and conversant with the law, he was knowingly > breaking the law. That is also careless. > They would know that at slower speeds they lacked the ability to quickly > steer around or to apply strong braking action suddenly. If they did not > know that they were unskiled. Either way they were negligent in > violating the law and careless in the operation of the water craft. > > In Canada where NASBLA also applies; it is illegal to run a PWC after > sunset. NASBLA is American in origin and as far as I know is adopted and > enforced by all states at this point. I somehow doubt any state has made > it legal to operate any kind of PWC after sunset. > > Arild > _______________________________________________ > Liveaboard mailing list > [email protected] > To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard > To subscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ > > To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
