If the steering had really jammed, it would more than likely be steering the boat round in circles. Quite often, autopilots can be switched from standby to auto by people without them noticing. Autopilot controls on sailing boats are often set into the cockpit coaming where crew sit and, shuffling about, they can hit the auto-on button by accident.
Worth remembering – most motorboat engines won’t start when they are in gear – it’s a safety feature… or if the kill cord isn’t attached. Most yacht engines will start when in gear. Never drive a boat with a kill cord attachment if the kill cord is not attached to your wrist or thigh. Carrying a spare kill cord will enable a passenger to start the engine and pick up the original driver who fell out of the boat and is now 30 or more metres behind, with the kill cord still attached to them!
p As it says…
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Stress-free engine maintenance
Engine maintenance.indb 12
02/03/2022 19:03
