Water gets into the engine if you sink the nose and the air intake takes water, or if you lie on the board a long time and it comes in through the rear exhaust. If it won't start, don't fight it — get to shore and work through this.
0:47 — If it floods and won't start, do not keep trying to start it — enough water in the engine can damage it. Swim the board back to shore.
0:59 — At the beach, stand the board on its tail and drain as much water as you can out the back, then get it on the stand and take the engine lid off. Don't set the lid in the sand.
Remove the spark plug
1:32 — Pull off the red plastic cap holding the spark plug HT lead on; set it aside.
1:44 — Pop the spark plug lead off the plug — it can hang there, it won't fall.
1:52 — Put the plug wrench over the plug, give it a knock, and undo it (turn toward the back of the board).
2:08 — Wind it out by hand. The plug can be very hot if the engine was running — let it cool first.
2:21 — The plug will be soaked. Dry it with a towel, or fit the spare from the toolkit.
Get the water out
2:34 — Sit the board in the side of the stand so the spark plug hole faces the ground — water drains out by gravity.
3:01 — Wake the electronics: magnet into the handle, then out. The green light flashes (it may show a different colour with water in the engine).
3:20 — With the board on its side and no plug fitted, put the magnet into the light/start point to crank the engine over. It sounds different with no plug in.
3:35 — Crank it a few times until nothing more comes out of the plug hole. A milky, watery spray is petrol mixed with water — keep going until it's clear.
3:48 — Leave it to dry for 5–10 minutes.
Refit the spark plug
3:54 — Board back on the stand. Fit the plug — the dried old one, or a new one (better after a heavy flood).
4:10 — Wrench it in and nip it up — not too tight, just to the natural stop.
4:41 — Push the spark plug lead back onto the plug until it's fully seated. It's fiddly.
4:58 — Refit the red plastic cap over the HT lead — it slots into the plug where the wrench sits and clips home. It's what holds the plug in while you ride.
Start the board
5:22 — Clear any remaining bay water — lean the board back on the stand so it runs to the bilge pump, and let the pump clear it.
5:42 — Normal start: magnet in to initiate (you'll hear the fuel pump and bilge pump), then out.
6:00 — Magnet in a second time to start. On an injection board, don't pump the throttle — it meters its own fuel.
6:13 — Lean the board back, hold it, and it should fire.
6:30 — If it won't start, pull the plug again and lay the board on each side — water can be trapped on the far side of the engine from the piston. Get it all out.
6:48 — Keep at it. Don't pump the throttle to force fuel in — that just floods it again.
6:58 — Once it starts you're good to ride. When you're done, shut the engine off and refit the lid.
Tip: after a serious flood, just fit the spare plug — a wet plug that's been cranked is unreliable, and you want the best chance of it catching first try. Dry the old one at home for next time.
Caution: never keep cranking a flooded engine to clear it on the water — water doesn't compress and you can bend the rod. Get to shore, pull the plug, and crank it out with the plug removed. Don't pump the throttle at any point.
Keep riding
More guides on the way
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