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Working with Personal WaterCraft
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A look at professional applications.
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 The appeal of a Personal WaterCraft with its responsive handling and lively performance is well appreciated by leisure users around the world, but recently you may have also noticed that many professional maritime organisations are also increasingly choosing the PWC for their needs.
This growing trend should be no surprise really, because whilst the obvious performance qualities of a PWC make the craft perfect for patrol and high speed response duties, other inherent features also make them ideal for rescue and support duties.
For example the use of jet pump propulsion means that the PWC is a very safe craft to operate around people in the water as there are no exposed moving parts like a propeller. The PWC is therefore perfect for beach patrol and rescue duties and is now employed at many different locations around the UK being chosen by local rescue organisations, local authorities and of course the RNLI Beach Rescue organisation which we have come to know so well from the BBC Beach Rescue TV series.
The introduction of floating “rescue boards” that attach to the rear of a PWC, which in this application are often referred to as RWC or Rescue WaterCraft, can carry one or two people increasing the capabilities of the craft. Use of these boards is now widespread especially in surf conditions where a small inflatable, which was traditionally used in this area, might get swamped by a wave or overturned by the wind, neither of which can happen to a PWC which has a “sealed” hull design.
Other similar, but less well known applications, include Swift Water rescue use in flood areas where the shallow draft and maneuverability of the PWC has proved invaluable. In the New Orleans floods for example many stranded people were bought to safety by PWC.
A growing number of high profile harbor authorities have also turned to the PWC to provide a high speed patrol facility. Painted bright orange, the Portsmouth QHM craft for example patrol the harbor and approaches of this busy port helping to control vessels. In a similar way that the police use motorcycles on road, the PWC provides a highly visible and flexible resource for the harbor master.
Commercial use of the PWC seems set to grow in the UK and this flexible and versatile craft has already won the hearts of many professionals.
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