Patent ID: 7775844

Claim:
An electronically assisted reverse gate system for a jet propulsion watercraft, the watercraft including a reverse gate pivotable in and out of a path of a water stream from said watercraft, said reverse gate thereby having a variable gate orientation, the watercraft further including an operator interface for obtaining commands from an operator of the watercraft, said reverse gate system comprising: control electronics in communication with the operator interface for receiving said commands therefrom, said control electronics evaluating target settings for the gate orientation in response to said commands, the target settings being evaluated based on at least one operating condition of said watercraft in addition to said commands, the target settings comprising: a full forward setting wherein the reverse gate is in a position out of the path of the water stream; a full reverse setting wherein the reverse gate is in a position into the path of the water stream; and a neutral setting wherein the reverse gate is set to an intermediate position; the control electronics evaluating said intermediate position based on calibration values, the control electronics being operable to monitor said at least one operating condition, compare said at least one operating condition to predetermined criteria, and automatically set the reverse gate to the neutral setting if said predetermined criteria are met, said predetermined criteria comprises at least one of a threshold value for an engine rotational speed, a threshold value for a speed of the watercraft, an operator overboard detection, a throttle input and activation of a brake control, the control electronics issuing control signals based on said target settings; and an actuating device operable to adjust the gate orientation in response to said control signals.