Methods and systems for watercraft control

​ The watercraft of claim 1, wherein the watercraft further comprises one or more of:

• an auxiliary motor rotatable about a steering axis and configured to generate a vectorable thrust output;
• and
• a water redirection subsystem operatively coupled to the jet propulsion system and configured to selectively divert a portion of pressurized water from the jet propulsion system to one or more lateral nozzles so as to form side thrusters capable of generating lateral or rotational thrust components,
• wherein the electronic control unit is configured to generate coordinated control signals to the auxiliary motor and the water redirection subsystem to adjust thrust direction and thrust magnitude, and
• wherein the auxiliary motor and the side thrusters are each operable to provide enhanced thrust vectoring when the watercraft is operating below a predetermined speed threshold.

A control unit for a watercraft, comprising:

• a module configured to receive a plurality of user inputs including at least a steering input and a throttle input;
• a module configured to determine a target gate angle, a target nozzle angle, and a target rotational speed of a propulsion device based on at least one of the plurality of user inputs;
• and
• a module configured to generate control signals to a gate actuator and a nozzle actuator to produce a thrust vector having a longitudinal component, a lateral component, and an amplitude, wherein the control unit is configured to facilitate propulsion of the watercraft into a thrust vector domain of the watercraft.

A method of controlling a watercraft, comprising:

• receiving, by an electronic control unit, a plurality of sensor inputs including at least one of a speed input, an acceleration input, and a steering input;
• computing, by the electronic control unit, a target reverse gate angle based on at least one of the plurality of sensor inputs;
• computing, by the electronic control unit, a target nozzle angle based on at least one of the plurality of sensor inputs;
• computing, by the electronic control unit, a target rotational speed of a jet pump based on at least one of the plurality of sensor inputs;
• and
• generating, by the electronic control unit, control signals to a gate actuator and a nozzle actuator to produce a thrust vector having a longitudinal component, a lateral component, a vertical component, and an amplitude.