It’s probably all a function of how you operate the boat. I can’t recall a time when I needed to rapidly decelerate during a high speed turn for example. I'd expect loss of directional control with outboards and stern drives in that circumstance as well. I could see that adding more of a control surface would add control in that circumstance though if that were important to you.
And I’m used to losing speed in turns with outboards and stern drives also, so I’m conditioned to add throttle commensurate with turn radius to keep the speed up. Again, I can see though that having an additional control surface would minimize the need to add throttle.
Clearly people find utility in these types of products and that’s super. Neither of my stock Yamaha jet boats experienced anything that I'd consider high speed control issues (2003 AR230 and 2023 222XD), but if they did, that'd be something that I'd care about and would want to improve.
I'll say that the fourth (slalom) video was certainly impressive. I'm going to assume that I couldn't do that on my stock 222XD, but it's just not something that I'd ever likely try. I mainly use my boat to go places and secondarily to do water sports. In both cases, the way I operate the boat, the stock configuration is great. I'm operating on large bodies of water though, so I'm typically not needing to go fast and precise at the same time.
I'm definitely not trying to suggest that these products don't do what's advertised. But I do think that for many people, they might be surprised by how much they'll be rewarded by a little practice in terms of low-speed operations and that for high-speed operations, some of the reported issues may not apply to all folks.
like I said it's the class of 2024 and there are a lot of opinions out there but if you went to my Facebook page and read what people have to say remember I have been focused on this for nearly 23 years and have had boats since I was 14 years old back in 1966.
I have made Yamaha customers very happy at all speeds in all conditions and addressed other shortcomings with these boats like a balanced tie rod setup and plaining surfaces for a smoother ride in chop and a faster hole shot.
But if you were towing tubes you would want the boat to steer like a sports car on a dry road and also want to be able to turn and decelerate without loosing control, especially if you are picking up a downed water sport participant, so you don't run them over.
You would also want very good and responsive steering if you were in rough conditions needing to tack waves.
I design steering to provide all the features and benefits these boats need to make them handle better and more fun .
I have experienced years of people telling others to just learn to drive a jet boat but why settle for that when you can get the jet boat to do what you want not what it wants. Even off power steerage and the admirals get to sit back and enjoy driving the boat as well as guest operators . Making it a far more valuable commodity so you get the most out of your time on the water with family and friends.
That is what it's all about more fun and more relaxation and making good memories . I raised my 4 children out on the water and now they are in their 40's and still recall all the memories, as do my 11 grand children and a couple of great grand children all love the water.
The boat is safer and more enjoyable And that is priceless .
And I get to play on the P W C's with my steering and do things that you just can't do without real full time steering.
So if you are happy with what you have that is fine it's your boat but don't try to convince others to make the same decision because I hear all the time that they wish they had added the steering day one. Remember everyone has different needs and I make systems that have adjustments to be set to the personal preference of the owner and also can be changed if the owner's needs change.
just a few of my P W C videos for the class of 2024
