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"Downshifitng" vs Neutral


amartin

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Probably not the best title, but couldn't come up with any better...

Am I doing any damage when, for instance a skier @ 30 mph falls, coming back to "idle" (still in gear) vs going all the way back to neutral?  I obviously want to slow down quickly to minimize the idle back to the fallen rider, but when leaving it in gear, it almost seems like I have downshifted (yes- I know that it is a single speed transmission!) and that the boat momentum is driving the prop faster than the engine.  Obviously it doesn't last too long, but I have stated to wonder if this is doing any damage vs going all the way to neutral and re-engaging the transmission to idle back.

Thoughts?

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I personally just hit er to neutral immediately after a fall.  Wait until the boat stops (pretty quick) then engage in gear and idle back to skier.

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It is not damaging, but why add stress to the system when a neutral coast down is very short.  One thing you don't want to do is stop faster than a skier is and inadvertently turn towards them as they are still settling down in the water (tends to be more a short line event occurrence).   I slammed in to the back of my platform during a barefoot dismount when the driver did what you describe, surprised the heck out of me and even my padded butt felt it for a week.  Yep, I was the b**t of all our corporate meeting jokes that week...

As for returning to pick up the skier, if they are not injured, best practice is to idle slowly towards them so you don't swamp them with the rollers off your boat.  It is a skier responsibility to give the appropriate 'I'm ok' wave so you don't have to rush over.  Also, the power turn is a bad habit many get in to thinking it is the fast way back to the skier, it is not simply due to all the extra distance traveled and it is dangerous to the boat crew followed by swamping your skier.

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1 hour ago, Woodski said:

It is not damaging, but why add stress to the system when a neutral coast down is very short.  One thing you don't want to do is stop faster than a skier is and inadvertently turn towards them as they are still settling down in the water (tends to be more a short line event occurrence).   I slammed in to the back of my platform during a barefoot dismount when the driver did what you describe, surprised the heck out of me and even my padded butt felt it for a week.  Yep, I was the b**t of all our corporate meeting jokes that week...

As for returning to pick up the skier, if they are not injured, best practice is to idle slowly towards them so you don't swamp them with the rollers off your boat.  It is a skier responsibility to give the appropriate 'I'm ok' wave so you don't have to rush over.  Also, the power turn is a bad habit many get in to thinking it is the fast way back to the skier, it is not simply due to all the extra distance traveled and it is dangerous to the boat crew followed by swamping your skier.

I would not consider this unless the skier had fallen, thus stopping much faster that the boat.  My 5k lb boat keeps going for a while!
 

I think that my last power turn was back in the MBO days (and not close to the end of those days!). I think that it drives people that don’t know any better crazy How slow I am to turn around and creep back to the rider - especially when surfing, as it takes a lot longer to turn around that heavy boat and let the rollers pass.

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I also pull the throttle to idle and use engine braking, then shift to neutral just before the boat comes to rest.  The boat stops quicker that way.

@Woodski, I promise to watch you so you don't hit the boat if I ever give you a pull.

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23 hours ago, Woodski said:

As for returning to pick up the skier, if they are not injured, best practice is to idle slowly towards them so you don't swamp them with the rollers off your boat.  It is a skier responsibility to give the appropriate 'I'm ok' wave so you don't have to rush over.  Also, the power turn is a bad habit many get in to thinking it is the fast way back to the skier, it is not simply due to all the extra distance traveled and it is dangerous to the boat crew followed by swamping your skier.

 

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