Powerturns

[lightning59]

Buy a $1500 PWC and do power turns, its hard on the underwater gear on tournament boats even though they can do them well.

[tigesinaus]

yeah it doesant look good for them, never done it to my boat, dont see the need.

i also found this clip on youtube, i cant figure out how/why someone can do this... i think its definately a case of more money then sense.

[skyski_tige]

One MC flooded out! It is a good start

[Fit to be Tige]

Unbelievable... I hope he had a turbo bilge pump.

[whitlock87]

That a lot more radical then what I do.
I do a u-turn at about 30mph in about 15 feet of room.
Tosses the people in the back boat all into one side ( if there not hanging on)

[jwanck11]

I've gone all the way around several times but paying attention to where you are going and what is coming is part of the deal.

[Fit to be Tige]

Did the guy just hit a rogue wake or does this really happen often or is it a risk? Looks like he was starting to bounce just prior to the turn.

[tigesinaus]

i was watching other videos of similar happenings in those see doo speedster things, and i think you have to jam the boat hard in reverse to get it to sink like that, but im not 100% sure.

either way looks like its a quick way to root ur boat.

[Duncan]

i was watching other videos of similar happenings in those see doo speedster things, and i think you have to jam the boat hard in reverse to get it to sink like that, but im not 100% sure.

either way looks like its a quick way to root ur boat.

Right before the dive, you can see the driver yanking back something, presumably the throttle but perhaps some super-secret flapped water brake ;-). Even while under water through the end of the video, the boat is moving backwards. So I am with Tigesinaus with the reverse theory.

I would hope that maneuver is not possible by "accident". Various threads on this forum have me spooked enough to be putting in two extra high capacity bilge pumps. Overkill? And any suggestions for candidates other than Tsunamis?

This one might be accidental?

[turbonine]

Someone pass this thread on to all the Tige owners out in AZ. Over 75% of them powerturn, no lie. It drives me insane. Had one Monday morning a week ago. Only two boats on the water and the Tige is powerturning.

[wakeboarder247]

Haahaa 150%

hahahahahaha great find! I told you! 150%!!!

kinda reminds me of the Little Giants.. "Football is 80% mental and 40% physical."

[Matt Garcia]

My next poll will be "Do you know how to share a line?"

[Jason B]

My next poll will be "Do you know how to share a line?"

Now that you mention it...nope. Please enlighten us.

Power turns are a blast. Definitely a time and a place though. Last week we were the only boat on the entire lake; we did some cicles for the tubers enjoyment. Crowded lakes or near shore is not the place.

[Coach]

Power turns serve no purpose.

Come out on the Colorado River with me and you will power turn almost every time to get your riders on a Saturday. It is very narrow and a lot of boats are on the water ways. You end up needing to power turn to protect your rider in the narrow areas of the river. Now on a Sunday or Weekday we might only need to throw one hear and then because we don't have the traffic. It is much better when you can let your wake pass you buy and then go get the rider but when it come to water or safety safety always wins.

[dogbert]

I am on the Colorado river, but probably not the same one as you.

It's very narrow and in many instances, there's actually no room for a power turn, especially with a fully loaded boat. I always come off of plain and 180 the boat. If I have to perform a defensive maneuver to protect a rider, I'll speed up past 5 Mph to position my boat between the rider and any oncoming traffic. In these instances, the other members of the crew are already pulling in our tow rope so there's minimal chance for any kind of accident.

Believe it or not, this actually is faster than a power turn because as my boat is coming off of plane, I'm already initiating the turn. I learned this little trick from Chris Bischoff. It also eliminates any chance of burying the bow.

Let me give you my perspective as a driver of the other boat when I see you doing a power turn.

• My first thought is, "WTF"! Now I'm distracted by the boat and I've taken my eyes off the fallen rider.
• What are this guy's intentions? Now I'm checking my own rider because I might have to stop suddenly to evade someone coming directly at me at speeds of 45+ Mph instead of 25 Mph. This has me further distracted and stress is building.
• Now I've moved off of his fallen rider, my own rider and am busy worrying about where I can put my boat because my navigable area in front of me has virtually evaporated because I have to respect the fact that the guy coming at me will now require significantly more room than I had previously anticipated.
• In Texas, I actually have the right-of-way and this guy in front of me is not granting me a viable course that doesn't endanger my boat or my rider. This really pisses me off and makes me wish they required this lesson in boater's safety class.
• Any hope of water staying smooth goes out the window and now my rider will be crabby, too.

That's what's going through my head when I'm following you. We're fortunate on Lake Austin because most folks know to avoid these, but there's always the few that don't. Lake Austin has rocks/retaining walls in a few spots where power turns really chew up the water to the point where it's dangerous to ride through because of all the wave reflections off of the walls.



BTW, I used to think power turns were ok, but with ballast and the wake that my Tige throws, it sucks for the rider, it sucks for my passengers and they were actually more stressful for me to do in close quarters. That's why I say you don't need 'em.