Over 10,000 people have voluntarily attended the RYA PW training course in the UK, which is widely regarded to be the best in the world. The RYA’s Ellie Williamson explains why getting trained to use PW is a must.

There has been a lot of talk amongst bureaucrats and legislators about safety on the water. A common perception among them is that people should be forced to gain qualifications before they can use a boat or indeed a personal watercraft. It is believed that people are simply too irresponsible to be left to learn how to use their craft correctly and safely off their own backs. However we know that over 10, 000 personal watercraft users have voluntarily taken the RYA PW course, which suggests that the PW community is in fact quite a responsible lot!

After the prop, the battery is probably the most neglected part of a ski, so what can we do to ensure that it doesn’t let us down? Chris Plunkett explains.

A lead acid battery, as used to start PWs, boats, cars and motorbikes is essentially an energy storage device – if you don’t put anything in then you won’t get anything out. And if you neglect it, then it will let you down.

WHAT DOES THE BATTERY DO?

It has one main function and that is to turn the engine over using the starter, with a number if other minor functions such as the clock and speedo (where fitted), and also for immobilizers and similar devices.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT BATTERY

Batteries are given an Ampere-hour (or A-h) rating. A typical size for a PW is 19 A-h, meaning it can give 19 amps for one hour, or how much power it can supply to the starter. But only if it is fully charged and has been maintained properly.