A watercraft has a pivoting, shock absorbing component that absorbs forces applied
to its hull. The watercraft includes a hull, a deck coupled to the hull, an engine,
and a jet propulsion system movably coupled to the engine. In one embodiment, a
forward hull portion couples to the deck and a rearward hull portion movably couples
to the deck and/or the forward hull portion. The jet propulsion system mounts to
the rearward hull portion, while the engine mounts to the deck. A suspension element
is disposed between the hull rear portion and either the deck or the hull forward
portion. In another embodiment, the hull and deck are movably coupled to each other.
