Frankenstein Reverse

[flying_nun]

Howdy! Been lurking for a while soaking up the knowledge. Looking to purchase my first boat over the winter when the deals are aplenty.

Seems every make has their advantages. For instance, I prefer the design of the Rotax reverse gate to Yamaha. But I can't see living without Yamaha's clean outs. So, has anyone put a Rotax reverse gate on a Yamaha?

 

[Speedling]

The ski's actually have a similar reverse gate. Why not use it on the boats is beyond me.

 

[Speedling]

Fxho bucket from boattest.com

 

[haknslash]

Yamaha has a similar design to the Rotax they use on their PWC's. Personally I don't have an issue with slow speed handling or reverse but perhaps something like this could be retrofitted on the boat?

edit - @Speedling beat me to it

 

[Matt Phillips]

I think it depends on the model year of boat you're looking to buy. The newer boats do have enhancements to back up better than the older style. That being said, I have fins and fangs on my 09, and I can back it easily into an appropriate slip.

Like all things in life, there are advantages and disadvantages to each make/model. The key is to look at what is more important to you. When I was looking, the availability of cleanup ports was far more important than the stock ability of the boat to back up. Looking back, I'm so glad that I did get the Yamaha as with the water level in my slip vs. milfoil, every time I back out, I have to clear the pumps. For me, the clean-out ports are a "must have" in a jet boat.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Remember that fixed reverse bucket " ONES THAT DO NOT TURN WITH THE NOZZLE" steers BACKWARD when traveling in reverse, I have learned with the skis to think where I want the nose to point and turn the steering in that direction I can maneuver very precisely .