New rudder designed to improve s

New rudder designed to improve safety for PWC

By Willie Howard, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 21, 2001

Bob Murray hopes his blow-back rudder for personal watercraft will make the high-speed water scooters safer someday by making them easier to steer without power.

The patented rudder, which attaches to a PWC nozzle, blows back out of the way when the engine is pumping water. When the rider backs off the throttle, the rudder drops down and improves steering. Murray hopes to sell his idea to a PWC company or a manufacturer of aftermarket products for PWCs.

Murray's rudder is one of several devices being tested that make PWCs steer better without power. His rudder has been evaluated by the Coast Guard, which is working with manufacturers on a steering standard for PWCs.

Phil Cappel, chief of recreational boating product assurance for the Coast Guard, said the industry appears close to approving a standard, possibly in time for the 2003 models. The lack of off-throttle steering on PWCs is a contributing factor in some PWC accidents. Inexperienced or panicked riders let off the throttle, much as they might in a car, and lose steering at the very time they're trying to avoid a collision.

Murray and Ryan Nagel are teaching law-enforcement officers and boating educators about the dangers particular to PWCs. Because PWCs are generally faster than most powerboats, normal boating skills might not be effective on PWCs, Murray said. High speed requires operators to watch and think farther ahead.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, nine people died in PWC accidents in Florida last year, and 293 were injured. Nearly half of all boating accidents in the state last year were related to PWCs, and three-fourths of the PWC accidents happen on rented or borrowed machines.

Capt. Paul Ouellette, a boating law administrator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said FWC officers will be paying special attention to PWC rental liveries during the July 4 holiday, traditionally a busy boating weekend.

Nita Boles, co-founder of the Coalition of Parents and Families for Personal Watercraft Safety, lost her 16-year-old daughter in a PWC accident in Texas on July 4, 1998. She and other members of the organization (www.pwcwatch.org) are trying to improve safety through education, lobbying the industry for safer machines and pushing for state laws stipulating minimum ages and license requirements for PWC operators.

The minimum age to ride a PWC in Florida is 14 (except rented machines). Young riders born after Sept. 30, 1980, must complete an approved boating safety class and carry a boater safety identification card to operate a PWC or other vessel with 10 or more horsepower.

The Chapman School of Seamanship in Stuart offers a 12-hour course specifically for PWC operators. The course costs $175 and can be completed in one weekend. For more information, call (561) 283-8130 or visit www.chapman.org.