The Enemy Lies Beneath

“Tis best to weigh the enemy more mighty than he seems.” ~William Shakespeare

It’s a lovely day…the sun is shining, the air is mild, the water is smooth as glass.  What could be wrong in the world today?  Gah-whooomp!  Just as you were getting into that euphoric zone of how perfect the world is at that moment, your ski’s RPMs suddenly redline, and you slow down to an unthrilling 4 MPH despite a lack of releasing your tension on the throttle.  WTF just happened?!  Chances are better than outstanding that you have just become the latest recipient of an obstructed intake!  Let the fun begin!



An evil mat of floating seaweed.  Beware!



Now here’s the good news…more often than not, it is totally not a big deal, and can be completely remedied at the mere cost of having to get a little wet.  So what happened exactly?  The way jet skis work is by drawing water in at high suction from the bottom of the craft, via the intake.  Then it is spit back out the rear of the boat through a precision-milled jet pump that supplies the power to your internal propeller, inside a housing called a wear ring, that does not allow the thrust water to escape around the edges of the prop blades, but rather is pushed through them.  That is what gives a jet ski such a massive amount of thrust compared to a boat with an exposed prop on an outboard or any other outdrive.  In other words, it is what makes skis awesome and thrilling to ride.



Enemies, enemies everywhere!



Now let’s discuss the pitfalls of the jet-drive technology.  Your ski sucks up water with a frightening amount of force…but guess what?  It will also suck up anything else lurking in the water around you!  One of the biggest rules of thumb when riding is simply watch where you are going, and look at what’s in the water in front of you.  That simple rule will help you avoid 90% of all the possible obstructions.  I always wear polarized sunglasses when I ride, to give me an edge on being able to see through the glare to what enemies might be hovering just below the surface, like plastic shopping bags and other debris that might not float at the water’s surface. 

Common enemies include: mats of seaweed, plastic bags, crab trap ropes, branches and plant litter, sticks, rocks, to name a few.  Anything floating on or beneath the surface can be quietly hovering, just waiting to ruin your ride.  Between my riding friends and I, we have sucked up an intriguing array of objects over the years…huge lawn & leaf plastic trash bags, nylon coated ski ropes, palm fronds, logic-defying chunks of wood (that are mysteriously wider than the gaps in the intake grate), a sea cucumber (eww), a t-shirt, hunks of coral rock, one’s own dockline.  Any object other than water is fair game!



Attached to tree = Good; floating in the water = BAD!



What is a fellow to do if the speed dives and you have a sandbar party to get to?  Fear not!  If the water is really cold and you were hoping not to get soaked, you could first try to pull the key, stand up, and shake your ski aggressively back and forth.  Some obstructions that haven’t wrapped around the driveshaft may just come loose and float out.  I can oftentimes get away with this when I hit a mat of seaweed.  The next step involves taking a swim.  Hop in the water, and reach under the rear-center part of the ski.  This is where your intake grate is.  The grate is there to try and prevent foreign objects from getting pulled into the intake/driveshaft area, but obviously, it doesn’t catch everything.  If your obstruction is something big, you may even feel it sticking out.  Grab a hold and pull!  If it comes out, great, get back on and ride away.  If not, you are probably dealing with something that is wound around the drive shaft.  I ALWAYS keep a stainless steel fillet knife in my ski.  Not for filleting fish though!  It will be your best friend today, and what good warrior would head into enemy territory without a pointy weapon!  Use the knife to poke up inside the intake grate and try and work loose whatever is in there.  If it is a plastic bag, you may be able to use the knife to gradually saw through it at the shaft.  Same thing with a rope.  The thing to remember is patience.  And if at all possible, try and at least get your ski out of a busy traffic area before attempting this.  Keeping goggles or a dive mask in your ski will enable you to get underneath and see what is going on.



Sea cucumber (eww)



If all else fails, and you cannot shake it out, cut it out, and work it free, you can either slowly ride it back to the ramp, have a buddy tow you, have Boat US tow you, or if you are with a group try riding to a shoreline or island where you may be able to beach it and have friends help you roll in onto its side to assess the problem/work on it out of the water.  Certain objects, once ingested can be sent to your prop.  It is not uncommon to suck up rocks, and then find that your ski now cavitates and loses some top end speed.  A wear ring replacement might be required if it got gouged during the ordeal.

So!  Now that we have established that the waters are teeming with Unfriendly Objects That Want To Eat You, it goes without saying that the best medicine is prevention.  WATCH where you are going…learn to be alert.  If you see something sticking up out of the water in the distance, just avoid it.  It could be a small part of something bigger.  When approaching shallower water, get off the throttle; your ski, when on full throttle, can pick up things as much as 5 feet below the surface!  Sometimes a field of debris cannot be avoided.  In this case, slow down, shut off the engine and float over things when possible, and be prepared with your fillet knife if/when you ingest something. 

Now get back out there and have some fun!  You are empowered with the knowledge of how to safely clear your intake, so you won’t have to miss the sandbar party for fear of sucking up Loch Ness.  Enjoy, and don’t forget to sunblock!



Sandbar party!