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Boats and their LACK of pedals.

I have managed to discover something that would shock you. People do not know how to drive boats. When it comes to boats, the majority of people think its just like getting in a car. I have been working at a boat dealership that rents boats and I am in charge of rentals. I would ideally like to take a fishing rod and snap it in half. Every time someone comes up and asks a truly dumb question I would then take my fishing rod and smack them in the face. I want to update everyone on the basics of boat driving and handling. First off… Boats do not have pedals, boats do not have breaks and finally boats do not drive like cars. Boats are driven by a throttle which is usually just to the right of the steering wheel and looks like an extended handle. When the throttle is straight up its in neutral and there is no movement. The throttle has to be pushed forward and that puts the engine in gear and starts to move it forward. The farther you push the faster you go. Similarly if you push it backwards it will engage reverse and move backwards. I will say that some boats such as bass boats and drag boats do occasionally have pedals, so there is an exception to the rule. However, in general that’s the basic layout of boat driving. Its stunning to me how often I get asked “where is the gas pedal?” I have to resist the urge to grab a fishing pole and leave a nice big red welt on their face as a mark of their dumb questions. However, my purpose for writing this post was to generally cover the one thing about boats people seem to not understand. I will be posting much more about boats and jet skis over the upcoming weeks so get ready for it.