Daxxer
Jet Boat Lover
- Messages
- 16
- Reaction score
- 7
- Points
- 82
- Location
- Cape Coral, Florida
- Boat Make
- SeaDoo
- Year
- 2002
- Boat Model
- Islandia
- Boat Length
- 22
I'd first like to say hello to everyone here at JetBoaters.net! I run a Harley forum with thousands of members so if any members here also have Harleys, I invite you to stop by and join the www.HDRidersUSA.com forum.
Anyway, let's talk about the Sea Doo jet boats and their steering issues! I recently bought (Nov 2014) a 2002 22' Sea Doo Islandia deck boat that seemed to be the perfect starter boat for this boating newbie. Here in SWFL we have some seriously shallow water. Almost immediately after purchase, I discovered the monster issue with jet boats ... low speed steering. Horrible, freaky, dangerous, and more. In Cape Coral, FL, we have about 400 miles of canals, most averaging 80ft width. With docks and lifts on each side there isn't much room to maneuver, especially with traffic. And the worst of it is no wake idle speed throughout. The boat was basically drifting with EXTREMELY limited control. It required constant throttle hits to not cause any damage to property on what felt like a long narrow bowling alley ... where I was the ball. Doing this BTW is neither idling or "no wake". And docking is, in a word, frightening. Other great descriptor words are discouraged and depressed ...
Then I learned about ThrustVectors through a local watersports dealer and suddenly there was hope!! I called and talked to Will @JetBoatPilot in December 2014. I then learned the awful news ... Their product did not work on Seadoo jet boats older than 2007. I was discouraged but Will offered to work up a version for my boat if I would send him my nozzle. After closing on my house in Jan 2015 I climbed into the canal, stood on a ladder in 10 feet of water with a strong current (right by the river), and removed the nozzle from my boat on its lift. I sent it off to Will with a big smile on my face! Week or two later I get a call that they couldn't do anything with the nozzle and needed the boat (500 miles away) to make the product. I was about to find a trailer and get it up there when he told me it would be at least a month they'd need to keep the boat and they couldn't get to it until October, 10 months away. Talk about a letdown.
After receiving the nozzle back (exactly same as when I'd sent it) I took the boat for a spin to see if maybe I was overreacting to the steering situation. It wasn't a pleasant experience and I vowed to just sell the beast and be done with it.
Then ...
I found Jeff @Cobra Jet Steering LLC ! I wrote a plea for help and advice. He called and said his product could easily help. While installation actually looked quite simple, I was just "over it" and he stepped in and offered to install the Cobra Jet Steering product if I'd send him the nozzle. After some Deja Vu, I did the canal nozzle removal dance and shipped it off. A week later I had it back with the Cobra Jet Steering firmly attached. I excitedly dragged my ladder into the canal and reinstalled the nozzle, grabbed a couple friends who'd previously tried steering the boat in the canal, and took off idling down towards the river. OMG! Night and day. A tiny bit of drifting but oh so controllable! Wow, wow, wow! Did some low speed donuts in the canal and headed off to a waterfront restaurant watering hole nearby. I was worried the steering system didn't lift up at speed like Will's. Nope, not an issue. No drag at speed from the fins, boat topped out at 44 mph just like before. Not heavy steering. Turned on a dime. Awesome!
Then I docked like a pro at the restaurant and it was that moment I realized that the boat literally had a new life now! And so did I. Sell the Islandia? Are you kidding? It's been about 2 weeks since I have been using the boat daily and love the transformed steering. It's simply fun to use the boat now. Jeff @Cobra Jet Steering LLC really knows his stuff, gives great customer service, and has an awesome product that WORKS!
If you have a Sea Doo Boat, ski, or Yamaha setup you MUST GET THIS. Turn that frown upside down for real!!
Hopefully I'll be able to attach some pix below:
-- Dax
Anyway, let's talk about the Sea Doo jet boats and their steering issues! I recently bought (Nov 2014) a 2002 22' Sea Doo Islandia deck boat that seemed to be the perfect starter boat for this boating newbie. Here in SWFL we have some seriously shallow water. Almost immediately after purchase, I discovered the monster issue with jet boats ... low speed steering. Horrible, freaky, dangerous, and more. In Cape Coral, FL, we have about 400 miles of canals, most averaging 80ft width. With docks and lifts on each side there isn't much room to maneuver, especially with traffic. And the worst of it is no wake idle speed throughout. The boat was basically drifting with EXTREMELY limited control. It required constant throttle hits to not cause any damage to property on what felt like a long narrow bowling alley ... where I was the ball. Doing this BTW is neither idling or "no wake". And docking is, in a word, frightening. Other great descriptor words are discouraged and depressed ...
Then I learned about ThrustVectors through a local watersports dealer and suddenly there was hope!! I called and talked to Will @JetBoatPilot in December 2014. I then learned the awful news ... Their product did not work on Seadoo jet boats older than 2007. I was discouraged but Will offered to work up a version for my boat if I would send him my nozzle. After closing on my house in Jan 2015 I climbed into the canal, stood on a ladder in 10 feet of water with a strong current (right by the river), and removed the nozzle from my boat on its lift. I sent it off to Will with a big smile on my face! Week or two later I get a call that they couldn't do anything with the nozzle and needed the boat (500 miles away) to make the product. I was about to find a trailer and get it up there when he told me it would be at least a month they'd need to keep the boat and they couldn't get to it until October, 10 months away. Talk about a letdown.
After receiving the nozzle back (exactly same as when I'd sent it) I took the boat for a spin to see if maybe I was overreacting to the steering situation. It wasn't a pleasant experience and I vowed to just sell the beast and be done with it.
Then ...
I found Jeff @Cobra Jet Steering LLC ! I wrote a plea for help and advice. He called and said his product could easily help. While installation actually looked quite simple, I was just "over it" and he stepped in and offered to install the Cobra Jet Steering product if I'd send him the nozzle. After some Deja Vu, I did the canal nozzle removal dance and shipped it off. A week later I had it back with the Cobra Jet Steering firmly attached. I excitedly dragged my ladder into the canal and reinstalled the nozzle, grabbed a couple friends who'd previously tried steering the boat in the canal, and took off idling down towards the river. OMG! Night and day. A tiny bit of drifting but oh so controllable! Wow, wow, wow! Did some low speed donuts in the canal and headed off to a waterfront restaurant watering hole nearby. I was worried the steering system didn't lift up at speed like Will's. Nope, not an issue. No drag at speed from the fins, boat topped out at 44 mph just like before. Not heavy steering. Turned on a dime. Awesome!
Then I docked like a pro at the restaurant and it was that moment I realized that the boat literally had a new life now! And so did I. Sell the Islandia? Are you kidding? It's been about 2 weeks since I have been using the boat daily and love the transformed steering. It's simply fun to use the boat now. Jeff @Cobra Jet Steering LLC really knows his stuff, gives great customer service, and has an awesome product that WORKS!
If you have a Sea Doo Boat, ski, or Yamaha setup you MUST GET THIS. Turn that frown upside down for real!!
Hopefully I'll be able to attach some pix below:
-- Dax
Last edited:
to the forum.
