Jet boat on Lake Erie in Cleveland area?

[BaddawggOH]

Hi all,
I am looking at a 2005 Yamaha SX230 that looks solid for $23k and best of all, it comes with a slip at Whiskey Island in downtown Cleveland. I realize this is a Michigan regional forum, but it's the closest one to my area. If I should repost this in a different place, please let me know.
I was asking about dockage here in Cleveland and some of the posters in a different boater's forum warned me about jet boats:
"Jet boats on Lake Erie tend to lose power in any kind of sea due to cavitation especially in a following sea and they do burn more fuel due to the higher revs. They don't respond well to the helm. Maintenance is also an issue as there are very few servicing dealers in your area."
Anyone have thoughts about this? I haven't had a boat in about 25 years (used to have a 24' SeaRay with twin 165s and a flybridge) so I'm not exactly up to speed on jet boats. I have heard they can be hard to control at slow speeds (although the boat I'm looking at does have the Cobra Jet add-ons) and if there aren't many dealers around when I need service, I'll be in trouble.
Anyone have any knowledge of my area, or thoughts about the warnings above?
Thanks in advance!
Mike

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Sounds like you were on the hull truth… of those who said jet boats lose power in any kind of sea how many actually had jet boats? Or did they hear that from some guy… there are quite a few folks here who have been in rougher waters, including myself, and have had no issue with power loss in those conditions. As far as the fuel burn goes… that depends on the perspective, will this jet boat get better mileage than an outboard engined boat of similar size and weight? Probably not, but these are not big block powered Berkeley jets… typically a 23’ Yamaha jet boat is going to get around 2.5 mpg… The don’t respond well to the helm.. now I’m pretty sure you were on the hull truth… one of the hallmarks of Yamaha jet boats is their brisk handling at speed… now slow speed handling can be more demanding at first as they do not have a big outdrive sticking down in the water.. you said it has cobra steering on it which will help a lot with slow speed handling, so will putting is some practice.

I can’t speak to the dealers in your area though..

 

[Thermobrett]

OK, as @FSH 210 Sport mentioned, it sounds like the info you read is most likely coming from a non jet boat owner, or possibly somebody who has ridden on one, one time or another. I grew up on Lake Erie and lived in Mentor a good majority of my life so I am very familiar with the western and central basins of Lake Erie. As far as rough water goes and cavitation, I would guess you will not be going out in 6' waves. In the event you do get into some chop, its not like the boat is going to turn 180 degrees or become inoperable. The Yamaha is a performance hull, so the ride will be rougher than the deeper V hull boats in your area, again this all depends on how hard you want to push it. Fuel economy is not great but you know that going into it. I average about 2.5mpg with 5 people at 30MPH and about 1.5mpg with 5 people at 45MPH. As for the slow speed steering, the addition of the @Cobra Jet Steering LLC will drastically help that, I also have CJS on my Yamaha. I have a 19' I use down here in the Tampa area on Tampa Bay and the Gulf and really no issues riding around in 2-3' seas. Looks like Buckeye Powersports will be your closest dealer in the event you need some service that you are not comfortable doing yourself.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Hi all,
I am looking at a 2005 Yamaha SX230 that looks solid for $23k and best of all, it comes with a slip at Whiskey Island in downtown Cleveland. I realize this is a Michigan regional forum, but it's the closest one to my area. If I should repost this in a different place, please let me know.
I was asking about dockage here in Cleveland and some of the posters in a different boater's forum warned me about jet boats:
"Jet boats on Lake Erie tend to lose power in any kind of sea due to cavitation especially in a following sea and they do burn more fuel due to the higher revs. They don't respond well to the helm. Maintenance is also an issue as there are very few servicing dealers in your area."
Anyone have thoughts about this? I haven't had a boat in about 25 years (used to have a 24' SeaRay with twin 165s and a flybridge) so I'm not exactly up to speed on jet boats. I have heard they can be hard to control at slow speeds (although the boat I'm looking at does have the Cobra Jet add-ons) and if there aren't many dealers around when I need service, I'll be in trouble.
Anyone have any knowledge of my area, or thoughts about the warnings above?
Thanks in advance!
Mike

I just read this and it brings back memories of how the prop boat people talked about the jet boats back years ago before I started fixing the steering issues at all speeds for jet boats.
If you have a set of my super ultimate steering and a set of mega fangs as well as some EZ locks on the clean out plugs the Yamaha boat will handle and function just fine .
You will actually be able to maneuver better than a prop boat and even stay in control when rapidly decelerating as well as with no thrust.
You will also be able to deal with bigger waves . I have numerous videos that were mostly provided by actual customers demonstrating the jet boats handling capabilities with my steering added.
As for fuel etc the boat you mentioned will have M R 1 engines so they should be reliable and better on fuel than the newer supercharged larger engines .
I have been doing jet boat steering for 22 years I started it for my own jet boat and yes back then I drove the boat one time for about 1 minute and parked it on the trailer refusing to use it and then decided to make it steer.
Once I did that I loved it and continue to make jet boats steer and drivers smile. So continue to do your research. You can visit my Facebook page for info Cobra jet steering | Pinellas Park FL as well as my vendor section here on this forum. https://jetboaters.net/threads/cobra-jet-steering-buy-direct-discount-pricing-is-available-on-every-item-every-day-so-get-the-most-and-pay-the-least-its-just-that-simple.42332/

 

[BaddawggOH]

Huge help, thanks to you both. I like what I've seen from the boat so far and your advice makes me feel better about the decision.

 

[Scottintexas]

one of the best things about our boats is that they are jetski engines, you may not have a good boat dealership close by but I bet you've got some PWC shops,

I would have them check the engine out, they can hook up their YDS software to read the engine hours and any codes, the shop may not be familiar with the boats but it's the same drive train, they may have to do it in their parking lot instead of in the shop,

Don't buy the boat without a test drive, it should go from stationary to full speed within about 5 seconds and run at about 45-50mph top speed,

.

 

[BaddawggOH]

one of the best things about our boats is that they are jetski engines, you may not have a good boat dealership close by but I bet you've got some PWC shops,

I would have them check the engine out, they can hook up their YDS software to read the engine hours and any codes, the shop may not be familiar with the boats but it's the same drive train, they may have to do it in their parking lot instead of in the shop,

Don't buy the boat without a test drive, it should go from stationary to full speed within about 5 seconds and run at about 45-50mph top speed,

.

More great advice, many thanks! I am pretty confident this is the boat I want, and the marina I want to be in. Now I just have to sit around and wait until May to get it in the water and have it checked out. Sigh. Hopefully it will still be available.

Thanks again to all! I get the feeling I will be coming here a lot next year, if the deal goes through.

 

[Thermobrett]

You will do just fine. This forum has been more than valuable as I came from a family of Ohio charter captains on Lake Erie, both western and central basins. I grew up in Mentor, and had our Bertram and Thompson at the Grand River and then would take the Bertram to Port Clinton when walleye season slowed down in Cleveland. My grandfather and uncle were also charter captains in Port Clinton. All retired from TRW in Euclid. Both my sisters still live in Mentor, one uncle in Euclid, the other in South Euclid and another in Port Clinton who works for Marine Max on Catawba Island. Last time I was at Pickle Bills in Grand River the outside bar was not opened yet, but your future boat would be a perfect fit! Let us know how it pans out.

 

[BaddawggOH]

You will do just fine. This forum has been more than valuable as I came from a family of Ohio charter captains on Lake Erie, both western and central basins. I grew up in Mentor, and had our Bertram and Thompson at the Grand River and then would take the Bertram to Port Clinton when walleye season slowed down in Cleveland. My grandfather and uncle were also charter captains in Port Clinton. All retired from TRW in Euclid. Both my sisters still live in Mentor, one uncle in Euclid, the other in South Euclid and another in Port Clinton who works for Marine Max on Catawba Island. Last time I was at Pickle Bills in Grand River the outside bar was not opened yet, but your future boat would be a perfect fit! Let us know how it pans out.

Thanks, I will! Fingers crossed everything works out.