How Can I Get My Jet Boat to Steer Better at Slow Speeds?
- 1). Launch your boat and find a secluded area with few boats so you may practice steering your boat with its engines, rather than a rudder.
- 2). Reduce your boat's speed early, as you enter your chosen practice area, by reducing throttle or by applying power astern gently. Remember that by applying full power astern, you can stop the boat in one boat length.
- 3). Turn your wheel well in advance of the turn, since moving the wheel has no effect: You have no rudder in the water to change direction. Remember to set up the wheel so you make a large, sweeping turn.
- 4). Engage and disengage the jet to turn the boat in small increments. "Bump" the jet nozzle and watch how small, incremental applications of power affect the movement of the vessel. Try applying power in very short bursts -- less than one second -- to see how the boat moves before you commit to a longer burst of power while turning.