Opinions on jet boats

[fatlazyless]

A spinning motor boat propeller can very quickly slice and dice your arm, leg, and head, and a jet does not have a spinning propeller. Seems like a jet would be a big safety improvement for a water ski boat ...... no worries, kids, it's a jet!

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

A spinning motor boat propeller can very quickly slice and dice your arm, leg, and head, and a jet does not have a spinning propeller. Seems like a jet would be a big safety improvement for a water ski boat ...... no worries, kids, it's a jet!

That could not be more false. Jet drives don't have an propeller, but they do have an impeller.

Jet drives can be quite dangerous in a couple different ways. First of all, they work by sucking in water through an intake grate to the impeller. Hands/feet can be sucked in to the grate.
Another way is the jet propulsion itself. It sends out a high volume of water with great power. If that jet stream hits your body, it will leave bruises etc. And if it hits you in the wrong places (ie: body cavities), it can kill you.

As is the case with ALL power boats, kill the engine if anyone is in the water near your boat.

[fatlazyless]

On a water ski boat equipped with a jet, it still seems like any danger is a lot less than a slowly spinning propeller. Is pretty common for a water ski boat to be close to a skier in the water, close to the back of the boat, when getting in and out of the boat, or positioning a fallen skier for another try. With the slow motor speed in setting up a skier, it seems like any danger with a jet is greatly reduced, plus there is no danger because there's no whirling propeller.

A jet has no propeller present in the water, nearby, spinning around to make an injury.