Rough Water Or Poor Visibility Operation; Stopping/Docking; Beaching - Sea-doo Sportster 1998 Operator's Manual

F04L0AY
WARNING
Do not start engine(s) until all
passengers are properly seated.
Rough Water or Poor
Visibility Operation
Avoid operation in these conditions. If
you must do so, proceed with caution
and prudence using minimum speed.
Turn on navigation lights if necessary.
Crossing Waves
Substantially reduce speed and cross
the wave head on to assist steering.
WARNING
When crossing waves, operator
and passengers should brace
themselves. Wave or wake jump-
ing can be dangerous and illegal.

Stopping/Docking

The jet boat is slowed by water drag.
The stopping distance will vary de-
pending on weight, speed, water sur-
face condition, presence and direction
of wind and current.
The operator should familiarize him-
self with the stopping distance under
different conditions.
Low-Speed Steering Control
System
Reduce speed, reduce RPM to IDLE
and use the low-speed steering con-
trol feature as described previously.
For more details, refer to Low-Speed
Steering System Control in Turning
section earlier.
You may change the position of the
shifter to Forward, Neutral and Re-
verse to perform different maneuvers.
With some practice, you can use
these maneuvers to approach the
dock from the side of the boat to dock
laterally. The neutral is effective for
that.
WARNING
Become familiar with this feature
during your first ride.
When close to the dock, shut off the
engine(s).
Low-Speed Control
WARNING
With jet propulsion systems, less
directional control is available
when the throttle(s) are closed
and not available when engine(s)
are shut off.

Beaching

-
CAUTION
It is not recommended to run the
jet boat to the beach.
Proceed the same way as for docking
except for the following:
Come slowly to the beach and shut off
the engine(s) using the safety lanyard
when reaching about 90 cm (3 ft) of
water under the hull, then pull the boat
to the beach. Ensure that all accesso-
ries are OFF.
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