They are designed to keep you upright. It is very important to pay close attention to the limits of a personal watercraft (PWC) before operating it. If you're going too fast and you make a sharp or sudden turn, then yes, jet skis are easy to flip. A personal vessel is designed to stay afloat, so under normal circumstances it is quite difficult to turn it over.
Riding a jet ski is a great way to enjoy a summer's day. While most are easy to handle, accidents happen, including turning it over. When this happens, it's important to know what steps to take so as not to permanently damage the jet ski or engine. Here's what you should do if you tip over your jet ski.
Overweighted or misdistributed weight: Again, refer to your manual for weight tolerances and weighting instructions. With larger, more stable helmets and improved engines, jet skis go further and faster. Attaching gas cans, coolers and equipment to skis with an uneven weight or in the wrong areas will make the ski unstable and more likely to tip over. Jet skis are designed to move smoothly on the water and can reach top speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, depending on engine power and size.
Inevitably you'll fall down at some point, so you'll also need to know how easy it is to flip personal watercraft. This condition can be diagnosed by attempting to start the jet ski once it has turned over correctly in the water and cannot start. In addition, follow-up actions include returning the jet ski to its original vertical position and turning off the engine. While there have been some skis with self-righting helmets since then, such as the '97 Sea Doo SPX, there is still a real opportunity to tip over modern jet skis.
Seated jet skis are often considered to be the easier of the two, as they are more comfortable and allow you more control rather than dividing your attention between balancing and controlling the machine. A flipped jet ski won't sink because its helmet is specially designed to float even if it goes into the water. Loading your personal watercraft into a trailer or docking it at home can be difficult if you don't have enough experience. Some jet skis don't need the accelerator to be pressed continuously, so you don't want it to fire without a driver, as this can pose a huge risk to spectators or swimmers.
Other necessary safety measures include a ventilation system that works on the jet ski, a fire extinguisher approved by the U.S. Coast Guard, and ensuring that your ski has enough fuel for the trip. As a safety labeling requirement on jet skis and other personal watercraft, there will be a sticker located on the stern of the boat, near the exhaust, detailing the proper direction and procedure for proper flipping. Avoiding unnecessary risks, such as trying to surf waves or operating the jet ski while intoxicated, means being able to fully enjoy this exciting experience.
It's important to always know the terrain you're going to ride on and pay attention to what the jet ski tells you. Reboarding: Attempting to re-climb the ski from the side and not from the back deck may cause the ski to turn around. To be honest, it's not something I recommend and you can read more about pregnancy and jet skiing here. To avoid hydraulic lock, if your personal jet ski or personal watercraft has flipped or sunk and hasn't died yet, turn it off immediately.
