Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Do you turn your boat on and off when picking up a rider


Roush611

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...

Always off when someone is on or near the deck.  Been doing this for 15+ years.

I should add that we never boat in flowing water like the river, where there is more urgency to get in and out of the water.  I could see wanting to leave the motor running in that situation.

Link to comment
On ‎2016‎-‎08‎-‎27 at 6:10 AM, oldjeep said:

I thought that both the smoking and cup of coffee comments were funny. People still smoke? When we ski the course it is early, but never occurred to me to bring the coffee cup from the truck to the boat.

 

 

 

way you will get a ride from me in the morning is if I have a hot coffee and a warm sweater! 

Link to comment

Vacation mornings (the only mornings I get to head out early) one cup of coffee during the uncovering and set up. This is done while the family meanders around the house bumping into each other until they get directed toward the door and head out. Second cup goes in the cup holder and off we go. That cup will be finished before I get in the water. I love those mornings. 

Oh, and the boat still gets turned off between riders on those mornings.

Edited by Falko
Link to comment

Morning ski's for me start with a fifteen to twenty minute dog walk in the woods. Then a quick trip to the throne room. Then drop a boat or go out to meet one of my ski bud's. After I return I fire up the coffee pot and whip up a breakfast.  But then the dog walk starts every morning! 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Just now, Sixball said:

Morning ski's for me start with a fifteen to twenty minute dog walk in the woods. Then a quick trip to the throne room. Then drop a boat or go out to meet one of my ski bud's. After I return I fire up the coffee pot and whip up a breakfast.  But then the dog walk starts every morning! 

Yup, the dog always wants first run in the morning ;)

Link to comment

Used to leave on for quick switch outs.  Then one day while sitting the lever got bumped (no one in water) by and elbow and boat started to go into gear.  Now always off.  I thought about spinning the drivers seat and bumping the shifter into reverse accidentally with someone around boat and it gave me the chills.................

Link to comment
47 minutes ago, Tracktor said:

Used to leave on for quick switch outs.  Then one day while sitting the lever got bumped (no one in water) by and elbow and boat started to go into gear.  Now always off.  I thought about spinning the drivers seat and bumping the shifter into reverse accidentally with someone around boat and it gave me the chills.................

Scary thought :shocked:

Link to comment
1 minute ago, formulaben said:

Scary thought :shocked:

My friends '88 malibu skier does not have any sort of shift lock on it.  If the boat is on, the neutral switch is pulled until someone is actually driving. It has been bumped into gear with way more throttle than you would ever expect.  It has happened more than once.... That one gets shut off every time.

Link to comment

I turn it off.  I turn back on only when the rider is in the water and has said "clear", AND I have determined that they are clear.  No motor on if anyone is on the swim step either on the way in either.  All in or all out before motor on my boat.  

Link to comment

We don't surf, so there is anyways some sort of gear change when switching riders.  The boat is always off then, but more because of the time it takes to change riders (and thinking about the exhaust).  If it's the last rider and we are heading back to the dock, then the engine will normally stay on, but obviously in neutral when boarding.

As far as entering the water, everyone gets geared up on the platform and then slides into the water.  Skiers (which is what we do 95% of the time) always slide off the side of the platform because of the ski length. With experienced crew, we do that with the engine running and the boat in idle.  However the skier tells us when they are ready to go and we don't start the engine until that point generally.  (There are times however that one skier drops or falls early and we will idle back to an end of a cove to start.  Many times an experienced crew will be getting ready including getting into the ski while under way). 

Of course this is with an experienced crew of adults only.  Kids or newbies and the boat is going to be turned off every time until they are geared up, already in the water, and pushed away from the boat.   Kids generally have a fear of a running boat (and rightly so), so whether or not I think it is safe for other people, it isn't worth the risk of scaring a kid. Same thing with a new person.  The last thing I want is to scare them and have them think I'm reckless.

Link to comment

Engine off when getting out of the water and getting gear on. Most of the time we wait 5 to 10 minutes between skiers to let the wake dissipate and the lake return to glassy glass, but will fire the boat up with the skier standing on the platform and taxi the boat into position for the hole shot.

Link to comment

I think by the variety of answers here the only real good rule of thumb is to evaluate the people in your group, the water you're on and use common sense to find the safest way to do things.  I think one might assume the safest thing to do is always turn the engine off, but when its just me and my wife I think is safer to keep the engine on because we drop in and go.  Turning the engine off would create a delay that would give the boat time to drift, get hit by waves, wind etc...

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Depends on the crew and location.

Normal crew...leave boat running.

Newer/less regular crew back to the skier and kill the motor, unless the situation requires for a quick pick up and maneuvering to avoid the shore, or a large wake.

Link to comment
  • 6 years later...

I have always shut down for in and out, perhaps because we always have kids onboard and through a safety first Lense, it seems it seems like too easy of a process (start/stop) to skip for any benefit gained, juice not worth the squeeze. Also, maybe extreme example but IF there where an accident I would not want to be in a position to explain to the insurance company why the boat was running with a 10 YO climbing aboard. In fairness we mostly have ideal weather conditions, so no one is ever in any rush on our boat. 

Link to comment

I’m pretty sure I always turn it off when a rider is boarding. I leave it running while the rider is getting ready while I’m in south Florida. I feel like it is somewhat of a gator deterrent. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment

We leave it on. We're experienced crew and are fast. Nobody hangs out at the back on the platform or in the water when motor is running. If peeps want to have a swim break I Dump ballast and shut motor off

Link to comment

I had never really considered the exhaust factor, always thought, oh it's safe because the props under the hull.  Time to adjust my habits folks, thanks for the thread.

Link to comment

Just depends on the crew and activity.  If we are surfing or tubing and swapping riders it’s stays on, if we are wakeboarding or switching activities it usually goes off.  I turn off really just for safety overall, so there’s no chance of a prop accident and it’s quieter for the crew.  My boat doesn’t have a surf pipe and for the life of me I have never noticed exhaust, even riding on the bench seat waiting for the wave to form up.

Edited by PNWoke
Link to comment
On 9/7/2016 at 3:59 PM, Tracktor said:

Used to leave on for quick switch outs.  Then one day while sitting the lever got bumped (no one in water) by and elbow and boat started to go into gear.  Now always off.  I thought about spinning the drivers seat and bumping the shifter into reverse accidentally with someone around boat and it gave me the chills.................

The only comment needed in this thread to know the correct thing to do.  It can happen to any boat.  It will be some out of the ordinary event that will trigger a bad event, something as simple as a spilled drink or flying cheetos.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...