Gotta Remember Which Boat I'm In

Last year, while I still was fishing from the SX-170, a situation arose in which my partner, Rob, suddenly had to drop down into the driver's seat and back us out of a tight spot. I should point out here that Rob drives a boat with a hotfoot.

Given the urgency of our situation, he momentarily forgot I didn't have the same setup and slapped the throttle hard into reverse. I subsequently was left grasping for anything solid to prevent doing a nose dive off the bow. I still can remember hearing Rob apologizing in the background as I scrambled to regain my balance on the front pedestal seat.

I bring this up in light of something that happened yesterday. I was giving a father and son a demo ride in the SX-170. They had contacted me the previous evening about perhaps buying my boat but first wanted to see it and have me give them a ride. I was more than happy to oblige.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten about the earlier incident I just described. Thankfully, I waited for both fellas to take a seat before I grabbed hold of the throttle..and, yes, did the same thing Rob did to me last year. In the next half-hour or so, I found myself constantly bumping the throttle too hard and/or reaching for a nonexistent hotfoot like the one I have on my SX-190.

I explained what was happening to my two captive riders but can't be sure if they believed me or not. At least, I didn't throw either one of them out of their seat or otherwise injure them, so I shouldn't have to file any insurance claims. Don't reckon that would be a very good way to endear myself to a couple of prospective buyers.

After using a hotfoot for nearly five months now, I'm just like everyone else I've talked to or read about online--I have no desire to go back to a hand throttle. It's really nice being able to keep both hands on the wheel all the time, and having increased throttle control to power up and back off, especially when dealing with the swells created by "big boys" like you meet on the North Landing. As I understand it from what I've read, you only have to be careful not to "feather" the throttle too much in the rough stuff because that taxes the motor.

And there's one overriding caution I keep seeing when it comes to using a hotfoot: Keep the area around it clean. I just recently read an account about an Elite Series pro who had a bottle cap get wedged in his hotfoot, causing it to stick wide open. Rather than pull the kill switch, the pro cranked the wheel (because the boat was headed toward shore). This misguided action tossed the marshal from the boat.

As I see it, I only have to remember which boat I'm in when it comes to giving prospective buyers a demo ride in the SX-170. I'm totally comfortable in the SX-190--and enjoy it more every trip I make.