How to Drive a Speed Boat
Driving a speed boat is an enjoyable experience, especially if you love water. However, driving a speed boat for the first time can be a scary experience, if you are unfamiliar with how to drive a speed boat. Basically, if you are able to drive a car, you should be able to drive a speed boat.
Supply List
- Cell phone
- Life jacket for each person on the boat
- Flares
- Water
- Food
- Dry clothes
- Navigation device(s)
1. Pack the appropriate items to ensure you have everything you need in case something happens. Bring flares and a cell phone, so you have some method of communication if you get lost. Take enough life jackets for each person who plans on boarding the boat. Include enough food, water and dry clothes for a few days, no matter how long you plan to go out. Be sure to bring some form of navigation equipment such as a GPS.
2. Let people know you are going and for how long you are planning to boat. This way if anything should happen, someone knows where you are and how long you should be gone.
3. Board the boat. Start the engine in the boat and begin learning basic boating technique. If you know anyone who has driven a boat before, ask the person to join you to assist you with your first time.
4. Drive in a straight line as slowly as you like. As you become more use to driving, increase the throttle.
5. Counteract the boat's torque by moving the steering wheel with a choppy, downhill motion.
6. Turn the boat a few times to the left and a few times to the right, to teach you to maneuver through the water. As you get better at learning to turn, you may wish to set up buoys to learn to steer around obstacles.
7. Keep practicing, because you never will master driving a boat if you do not continue to use what you learned.