Many modern luxury boats fitted with hydraulic swim platforms have clever built in safety features.
These are designed to make them idiot proof to stop them being ripped off. Sometimes they fool even the most diligent boatie…like myself.
Essentially the swimboard operating systems are designed to shut down when the engines are running. This means they won’t go down when the engines are fired up and you can’t start the engines when the swim platform is down. Many a skipper has scratched his head wondering why the engines won’t start. A simple walk to the rear of the boat and soon it becomes obvious…the platform is down and the kids are still mucking about on it.
What do you do though if you can’t raise your platform due to a fault in the hydraulics for example? How do you start your engines and how do you get home or to safe waters if required?
Here is one trick to over ride the system on one particular Sunseeker 66 Manhattan. But remember, steaming anywhere with the platform down must be carried out with extreme caution and minimal speed!