US Patent 7708609 Watercraft reverse gate operation

A method of controlling a watercraft comprises actuating a lever, controlling a speed of rotation of an engine to be at or below a reverse gate actuation speed in response to the actuation of the lever, moving the reverse gate in response to the actuation of the lever without further driver intervention once the speed of rotation of the engine is at or below the reverse gate actuation speed, and controlling the speed of rotation of the engine in order to decelerate the watercraft in response to the actuation of the lever and the reverse gate moving without further driver intervention. A watercraft and a method of controlling the watercraft based at least in part on an angle of a helm assembly are also disclosed.