2003 YAMAHA FX emergency towing

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A second person should be on board as a
spotter to watch the skier; in many places
it is required by law. Let the skier direct
the operator’s control of speed and direc-
tion with hand signals.
The spotter should sit securely on the
passenger seat and hold onto the hand-
grip 2 with feet firmly on the floor of the
footwell for proper balance while facing to
the rear to watch the skier’s hand signals
and his or her condition.
Your control while pulling a skier is
affected by the skier’s ability, as well as
water and weather conditions.

When preparing to pull a skier, operate
the watercraft at the slowest possible
speed until the watercraft is well away
from the skier and slack in the towrope is
taken up. Make sure that the rope is not
looped around anything.
After checking that the skier is ready and
that there is no traffic or other obstacles,
apply enough throttle to raise the skier.

Make smooth, wide turns. The watercraft
is capable of very sharp turns, which
could exceed the abilities of the skier.
Keep the skier at least 50 m (150 ft),
about twice the distance of a standard
towrope, from any potential hazard.

Be alert to the hazard of the towrope han-
dle snapping back at the watercraft when
the skier falls or is unable to get up on the
skis.

Towing heavy or bulky objects other than
skiers, such as another boat or watercraft,
can cause loss of steering control and
create a hazardous condition. If you must
tow another boat in an emergency situa-
tion, operate slowly and cautiously.
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Location of main components
1Handlebars
Use to control direction.
2Rear seat
3Front seat
4Footwell
Use to place feet for balance.
To keep proper balance while facing to the rear
to watch the skier.
5Sponsons
6Gunwale
7Bow eye
Use to attach rope for transporting, mooring or
towing the watercraft in an emergency.
8Hood
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TROUBLESHOOTING
AND EMERGENCY
PROCEDURES
Troubleshooting ...................................... 5-1
Troubleshooting chart ............................ 5-1
Emergency procedures .......................... 5-3
Cleaning the jet intake and impeller ...... 5-3
Jumping the battery ............................... 5-5
Towing the watercraft ............................ 5-7
Submerged watercraft ........................... 5-8
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Towing the watercraft
If the watercraft becomes inoperative in
the water, it can be towed to shore.
If the watercraft must be towed in an
emergency using a towline, the operator
should ride the watercraft, holding onto the
handlebars.
CAUTION:@
Tow the watercraft at 5 mph (8 km/h) or
less, otherwise water could enter the
engine through the exhaust passages
or through the air intake and flood the
engine compartment if it is towed too
fast.

Tow the watercraft using the bow
eye1 only.

The bow must be kept up out of the
water during towing to prevent water
from entering the engine compart-
ment.
@
WARNING@
The watercraft should only be towed in
an emergency.

The towline should be long enough so
that the watercraft will not collide with
the towing boat when slowing down. A
good rule of thumb is a towline that is
three times the combined length of the
towing boat and the watercraft.

The operator of the towing boat must
keep speed to a minimum and avoid
traffic or obstacles which could be a
hazard to the rider on the watercraft.
@
UF1B71.book Page 7 Tuesday, November 12, 2002 4:17 PM