Sonic Blue
Jet Boat Junkie
- Messages
- 258
- Reaction score
- 252
- Points
- 137
- Location
- Ontario Canada
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2021
- Boat Model
- 252SD
- Boat Length
- 25
Ok. Here it is. Salient facts;
1) New to boating.
2) First boat. First jet boat.
3) Yamaha 252SD 2021
4) I bought both steering systems.
5) I’m in Canada
6) The way both companies ship, you will get nailed with around $100 duty and customs. (Free trade and we are each others largest trading partner???)
Both systems have very intuitive install videos and instructions.
Both companies are excellent to deal with.
Both systems provide very welcomed steering assist at low speed. I now question the effectiveness of the stock articulating keel at all. It is directly perpendicular to the flat stern of the hull and I just question how much water effectively flows over its surface.
The Vectors arrived first so I put them on. I had 12 hours on the new boat stock. I put 3 hours on the vectors in Lake Erie at a bunch of different speeds, anchoring and docking. (Note: the Vectors DO NOT hang below the keel on the 2021 25 footers. No kickstand needed at the beach) After Erie, I pulled the boat, put on the Cobras and trailered to Lake Huron. Big water compared to the inlets and sandbars by my slip in Turkey Point, Lake Erie.
Nothing new here…the Cobras shine at speed. I just love them. It’s been said to me that some boat owners like to drift in turns. With the Cobras and the 2021 hull design, my boat clearly “carves”. When performing a hard turn to starboard, the port side gets lifted in the air and the hull is pretty much point and shoot.
Beside my Dodge Ram, I drive a sports car. So I appreciate the added responsiveness.
i have to admit I really love the new feel of my boat….and I was prepared to put the vectors back on if I didn’t. But I won’t be doing that.
my biggest challenge is reminding myself I DON’T need to oversteer. I find myself doing it when all I need to do is small corrections. I’ll break that habit soon.
I tried a few manoeuvres where I cut the throttles and cranked the steering. I was in light chop and had passengers so I didn’t really get to assess the “no power” steering. And as for getting on plane faster…. I don’t crank the throttles…I go to speed gradually so I didn’t assess.
But my final decision is to leave the Cobras installed, and move on. I’m really happy with them.
today I am installing my new gas lift pedestal for the captains chair. I’ll circle back to my thread on that with pictures and hopefully a success story this evening.
thank you Will, thank you Jeff….you guys are such an important part of jet boat culture.
and thanks to those who read my observations.
EDIT. I forgot to mention…. Jeff & Cobra state the importance of aligning the jet nozzles before the install. It’s shown on the video And documented in his install instructions. My brand new boat’s nozzles and articulating keel were noticeably out of whack. Once I knew what to look for, I could see it right away….so, regardless of the system you install, I highly recommend going through that exercise.
1) New to boating.
2) First boat. First jet boat.
3) Yamaha 252SD 2021
4) I bought both steering systems.
5) I’m in Canada
6) The way both companies ship, you will get nailed with around $100 duty and customs. (Free trade and we are each others largest trading partner???)
Both systems have very intuitive install videos and instructions.
Both companies are excellent to deal with.
Both systems provide very welcomed steering assist at low speed. I now question the effectiveness of the stock articulating keel at all. It is directly perpendicular to the flat stern of the hull and I just question how much water effectively flows over its surface.
The Vectors arrived first so I put them on. I had 12 hours on the new boat stock. I put 3 hours on the vectors in Lake Erie at a bunch of different speeds, anchoring and docking. (Note: the Vectors DO NOT hang below the keel on the 2021 25 footers. No kickstand needed at the beach) After Erie, I pulled the boat, put on the Cobras and trailered to Lake Huron. Big water compared to the inlets and sandbars by my slip in Turkey Point, Lake Erie.
Nothing new here…the Cobras shine at speed. I just love them. It’s been said to me that some boat owners like to drift in turns. With the Cobras and the 2021 hull design, my boat clearly “carves”. When performing a hard turn to starboard, the port side gets lifted in the air and the hull is pretty much point and shoot.
Beside my Dodge Ram, I drive a sports car. So I appreciate the added responsiveness.
i have to admit I really love the new feel of my boat….and I was prepared to put the vectors back on if I didn’t. But I won’t be doing that.
my biggest challenge is reminding myself I DON’T need to oversteer. I find myself doing it when all I need to do is small corrections. I’ll break that habit soon.
I tried a few manoeuvres where I cut the throttles and cranked the steering. I was in light chop and had passengers so I didn’t really get to assess the “no power” steering. And as for getting on plane faster…. I don’t crank the throttles…I go to speed gradually so I didn’t assess.
But my final decision is to leave the Cobras installed, and move on. I’m really happy with them.
today I am installing my new gas lift pedestal for the captains chair. I’ll circle back to my thread on that with pictures and hopefully a success story this evening.
thank you Will, thank you Jeff….you guys are such an important part of jet boat culture.
and thanks to those who read my observations.
EDIT. I forgot to mention…. Jeff & Cobra state the importance of aligning the jet nozzles before the install. It’s shown on the video And documented in his install instructions. My brand new boat’s nozzles and articulating keel were noticeably out of whack. Once I knew what to look for, I could see it right away….so, regardless of the system you install, I highly recommend going through that exercise.
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