Some larger power boats, speed boats and motor boats will have a second small outboard engine attached to their transom. This is for use in an emergency. If the main engine fails, this small second engine will be able to get the boat back to shore, but not at any great speed.

Smaller speed boats don’t have room on their transom for a second, reserve engine. So I strongly recommend that you keep some paddles on board as your back-up “engine”!

If you are out at sea and your engine stops and won’t restart, it would be very difficult to paddle your speed boat against the wind or tide for any distance, but having paddles on board is better than nothing.

I bought two pairs of pre-owned wooden paddles as part of a job-lot of boating equipment and accessories on eBay – and I’m very glad I did!

Our reserve "engine"!

Our first pre-owned speed boat didn’t have a very reliable engine and one day it stalled out at sea and I couldn’t get it re-started. It was quite a windy day and we would have been blown out to sea quite quickly.

Using the paddles we were able to row the boat to another boat that was anchored and tied our boat up to it until a kindly chap came and towed us in!

So I STRONGLY recommend that you keep some paddles on board in case of emergency. If you buy them pre-owned, they will be very affordable. I bought mine on eBay as part of a job-lot of boating accesories.