Thank goodness for Engine start/stop buttons!

[James McDougall]

Well, at about 50mph today......on a perfectly flat lake I spotted a large piece of driftwood suddenly float up to the surface directly in front of me.....had I had keys rather than two buttons, I would have never managed to turn the engines off in time.....the piece went right under the hull with a good old bang but I managed to get both buttons pressed turning both off before anything could get sucked in........and there I was thinking the buttons are just fancy stupidity I paid extra for vs. the older keys!

 

[swatski]

I agree, push start/stop buttons rock! not just for show.

Some of us actually have ONE red button to stop BOTH engines, courtesy of @Mainah.
Super handy - in emergencies.


That said, I'm not sure I follow the logic of coming off plane to mitigate an impact of hitting a log/drift wood. I've been super lucky so far and always managed to swerve, plenty of drift wood where I boat, but this is a very interesting topic to me.
I don't have an opinion formed, but would think having the bow up would be beneficial? (when jumping a log not hitting a concrete wall, lol)
Watched some "small jet boat jumping over logs" vids - they always seem to blast over obstacles.

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[Ronnie]

Glad to hear it all worked out for you but doesn’t your boat have a safety lanyard that kills the engine(s) when it’s pulled out of its mount?

It is rare that I have to use mine to kill the engines but I do so when one of my crew screams that I’m about to run over the tow rope. When this happens I usually kill the engines as I get up to check out what’s going on. Faster than turning the keys or pressing buttons? I think so.

 

[Jgorm]

I made an e stop pull for my lanyard to do the same. Two keys is way too much time!

 

[Ronnie0471]

Not sure what type or year boats yr referring to ? but 2 keys on Scarab are attached to lanyard kill switch ( just like a jet ski). Faster to kill both engines with just a single tug

 

[James McDougall]

I should have pulled the lanyard....but panicked, basically. I was worried about sucking shit up rather than hitting the thing. It wasn't just a dead log....it still have branches and leaves attached to it.....and reading posts here about ropes and other shit going into impellers and making for a really shit day makes me .......weary!

 

[James McDougall]

I agree, push start/stop buttons rock! not just for show.

Some of us actually have ONE red button to stop BOTH engines, courtesy of @Mainah.
Super handy - in emergencies.
View attachment 77565

That said, I'm not sure I follow the logic of coming off plane to mitigate an impact of hitting a log/drift wood. I've been super lucky so far and always managed to swerve, plenty of drift wood where I boat, but this is a very interesting topic to me.
I don't have an opinion formed, but would think having the bow up would be beneficial? (when jumping a log not hitting a concrete wall, lol)
Watched some "small jet boat jumping over logs" vids - they always seem to blast over obstacles.

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wasn't just a log....my description of the object was very poor in the original post. It still had thin branches and leaves on it.....and I'm petrified of sucking shit up.

 

[Ronnie]

Totally understand @James McDougall , I don’t know about scarab boats but all it takes is a twig a half inch long to get stuck in the intake to cause cavitation in Yamaha jet boats. I’d you had the sense to shut down the engines before hitting / driving over something it doesn’t sound like you panicked at all.