I grew up on I/O boats, and owned one for 5 seasons prior to moving to a jet. I've been around boats my whole life, and I've been a "gear head" since I was old enough to reach the pedals on anything with a motor.
Captaining a jet propelled boat is different. Not bad, not worse, and certainly not a problem. It's literally just different. You don't drive a sports car the same way you drive a pickup do you? You brake later, turn slower, and watch clearances more in a pickup. A jet is exactly the same premise. It's the same "class" of vehicle as an I/O or outboard, but it drives a little different. You brake, turn, and accelerate differently in a jet than a more "standard" boat. Go check YouTube and you'll find just as many videos of wake boats as jets and how to dock them. There's an art to a v-drive or regular inboard as well. Those aren't considered to be "faulty" or to need modifications to drive "normal", they're just different. I believe fully that jets are the same way, they're just different.
Learn to use these different capabilities to your advantage and you can navigate, park, and maneuver your craft with the same precision as any other boat. The idea that you need "aids" to make it handle "better" is a huge fallacy IMO. Those aids just make it different than it was before, and make it act more like something you are familiar with. Doesn't make it better, just different. This is also ignoring other benefits that might come from some of those aids (like the faster planing from CJS Vipers, or the reduced jet wash of the JBP products), those other benefits are a separate conversation IMO.
NOW......with all that said.....it took us about 1/2 the first season to get "good" at piloting the jet as compared to our I/O before it. Going into season 4, I have no desire to add fins to my boat at any level, and am actually somewhat concerned I'll lose some of the jet capabilities I've learned to use and love. Here's some tips that helped me learn.
- You can shift in/out of forward/reverse as often as you like. Use reverse to scrub momentum and slow down. Use forward for adding momentum. Either direction works for making heading corrections. I like to come in slow, hit reverse to almost stop, and use the wheel to adjust the heading while in reverse by "sliding" the rear one way or the other.
- Don't approach anything faster than you're willing to hit it. This slows EVERYTHING down a bit, and gives you time to adjust to changing conditions as you approach.
- No thrust, no control. No revs, no thrust. This is KEY in a jet boat. When around a dock, leave no wake mode on the 1st or second click. Then use your forward/reverse/neutral controls to maintain speed and heading. It's OK to be physically moving forward, and slide the controls into reverse for a few seconds to slow/stop your progress. There is NO transmission, shift as often as you need to and use this to your advantage.
- When coming off plane and require directional control, DO NOT drop back to idle. Remember no thrust no control. Leave those revs up around 3k as you come down and you'll have plenty of attitude control. Back off as you slow down, and remember if you need to STOP right now, throw it in reverse, there's no transmission to damage, and the rest of the boat can take the occasional hit. You can stop a jet boat from full speed FAR FAR faster than any other boat because of this feature alone.
With a little time practicing, and some patience you can make a jet do things an I/O can only dream of. My wife got good enough in season two that she now comes in slow, and spins the boat and backs into the dock, so I step off the dock after parking the truck onto the swim platform instead of the bow. She gets compliments from others on just about every outing. You simply can't spin an I/O or outboard like that.
