it's a kawasaki

[Betik]

Again, that wasn't a Kawasaki. It was a Yamaha....

IMO skis should have a blower to evacuate the vapors just like all other inboards or enclosed engines.

Yea but how to you manage not to get any water inside of the ski flips upside down?
Sound like I might have to install a bilge pimp

 

[haknslash]

Today's PWC's are like the size of a freakin couch so they should be much harder to flip over. However I'd do like you suggest and install a bilge pump. Have to weigh out your choices: want to blow your kabob sky high or want to get some water in the hull (which happens anyways)? I'd take manufacturer's install blower and bilge just to be safe

 

[Neutron]

Today's PWC's are like the size of a freakin couch so they should be much harder to flip over. However I'd do like you suggest and install a bilge pump. Have to weigh out your choices: want to blow your kabob sky high or want to get some water in the hull (which happens anyways)? I'd take manufacturer's install blower and bilge just to be safe

My FZS came factory with a bilge pump.
Lots of Yamaha skis do. But nowadays its on the higher priced skis. Whereas before just the budget skis didn't have them

 

[haknslash]

That's good to know and should make using a blower a no-brainier for them moving forward. They won't do it until it's required by the USCG though. MFG's gotta save them pennies at all costs lol.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Most do have bilge pumps now but that would not help unless you rewire the pump to be able to turn it on when you need it.
I recall when I blew an oil filter this year and had to be towed in, several boats made a lot of wakes that rolled over the hood while I was in tow so I would need to tap the start button to trigger the bilge pump just to be sure water was not getting onto the hull.
The bilge will start and then turn off after 20 or 30 seconds it also turns on each time you shut down the engine. You can add vents if you know where to put them and I may do it , I added them on my sea doo 4 stroke skies to help them breath due to having the bellows in the exhaust system since some exhaust would leak into the hull through those. And this can reduce your top speed.
Now here is one that blew up at 113 mph but it was the pump that failed.

 

[Betik]

So I am gearing up for the summer and I am very seriously thinking about making those mods.
In regard to the bilge pump; I have a very good idea where to exit, but I am not so sure where to vent the 4 inches. That kind of diameter is REAL big on ski.
Any recommendation on where is the best place to vent ?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

remember water can't get in if air can't get out so a ski upside down is ok

 

[Betik]

remember water can't get in if air can't get out so a ski upside down is ok

So you are thinking that I need to only worry about water spray ?

I was thinking that the air would compress and let water in !!!

 

[Betik]

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC I take it that the ski are either right side up or completely upside down.
They cannot be sideways because once they are sideways, they will flip right side up ....

 

[biffdotorg]

This is getting to be way off track. There is a reason why PWC engineers have kept these machines as water tight as possible since nearly day one. The catastrophic nature of getting water in your intake is amazing. Ask me how much a short block was on my old WaveRaider 760 back in the day.

Seriously, all this takes is a good habit of of just opening the seat for some fresh air daily before the first fire up. This habit is much less costly, then installing a blower, and getting in the habit of turning it on, while risking getting water in your intake. If these things were blowing up every day, the MFG's would have addressed it with a blower. It's just in the day of cameras everywhere, a few got caught on camera and it's blowing up the internet as if it's happening daily.

DO NOT OPEN YOUR HULL TO WATER. Just change your habits. On the two strokes it was part of the drill to open the seat to check the oil tank level before taking off. These new four strokes are like cars and are driven that way. So treat the seat opening as a seatbelt if you have to.

 

[natocamp55]

dang...wow

 

[swatski]

This is getting to be way off track. There is a reason why PWC engineers have kept these machines as water tight as possible since nearly day one. The catastrophic nature of getting water in your intake is amazing. Ask me how much a short block was on my old WaveRaider 760 back in the day.

Seriously, all this takes is a good habit of of just opening the seat for some fresh air daily before the first fire up. This habit is much less costly, then installing a blower, and getting in the habit of turning it on, while risking getting water in your intake. If these things were blowing up every day, the MFG's would have addressed it with a blower. It's just in the day of cameras everywhere, a few got caught on camera and it's blowing up the internet as if it's happening daily.

DO NOT OPEN YOUR HULL TO WATER. Just change your habits. On the two strokes it was part of the drill to open the seat to check the oil tank level before taking off. These new four strokes are like cars and are driven that way. So treat the seat opening as a seatbelt if you have to.

Thank you for being the voice of reason!
KISS, before someone starts installing multiple bilge devices and fume detectors, lol.

--

 

[gwrace1]

I don't ever want my wife or kids to see this. We spent years on the lakes in a 1997 Kawasaki 1100 STX. A really fast awesome JetSki that never gave us any problems. Paid a whopping $6700 for it brand new.