JetBoatPilot's New Surf Tech, Thrust Vector Wake

[JetBoatPilot]

That video really doesn't help, the camera angle is too narrow. Also how fast (are the fins out of the water)? How many degrees to each side? Can you do a more aggressive turn in the video it just looks like you see playing with wheel slack.

Was doing 35, fins are always out of the water at plane speeds. Feel is about 50% lighter. We're sending out some beta test deflectors to a few twin engine owners before we commit to a change. Single engine fix has been decided upon. Should be able to begin Shipping them sooner than the twins.

 

[capt]

Was doing 35, fins are always out of the water at plane speeds. Feel is about 50% lighter. We're sending out some beta test deflectors to a few twin engine owners before we commit to a change. Single engine fix has been decided upon. Should be able to begin Shipping them sooner than the twins.

If you need someone to test the older style boats I have an 07 sx230. I'll gladly do testing for you.
I am also concerned about the fins getting stuck somehow. I've been out twice with the fins on and both times I have experienced the boat pulling and turning on its own at low speeds. I am able to turn the wheel and move the throttle levers to get it to unstick. Have you heard of anyone else having this issue?

 

[Trevor Shipman]

That video really doesn't help, the camera angle is too narrow. Also how fast (are the fins out of the water)? How many degrees to each side? Can you do a more aggressive turn in the video it just looks like you see playing with wheel slack.

Man tough crowd. I think when it comes to testing everyone needs to remember that Will is just a guy with a shop, not a billion dollar company like GE.

My suggestion at this point (I know who am I to tell a bunch of grown men what to do) is to cool it on the questions and how you should do things when it comes to JBP. If you’re not happy with the product, return it. Let Will spend his time on billing, shipping, Tommy who showed up late, testing, calling vendors, etc... Not answering us every 3 minutes. When Will needs our feedback, I’m sure he’ll ask for it.

 

[Matt Phillips]

First off, thanks to Will for all of his quick responses. I called him with a separate issue that's normal and he replied right away...and that was at 8:00 on a Friday Night his time.

I do have a question for Will though: For the heavy steering fix, will you be sending out parts to everyone once they are available?

I also noticed near the end of day 2 on the water (and all of day 3), when in neutral, my boat now wants to reverse by about 1MPH. It never did that before.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

If you need someone to test the older style boats I have an 07 sx230. I'll gladly do testing for you.
I am also concerned about the fins getting stuck somehow. I've been out twice with the fins on and both times I have experienced the boat pulling and turning on its own at low speeds. I am able to turn the wheel and move the throttle levers to get it to unstick. Have you heard of anyone else having this issue?

Call me at 850-960-3236

 

[JetBoatPilot]

First off, thanks to Will for all of his quick responses. I called him with a separate issue that's normal and he replied right away...and that was at 8:00 on a Friday Night his time.

I do have a question for Will though: For the heavy steering fix, will you be sending out parts to everyone once they are available?

I also noticed near the end of day 2 on the water (and all of day 3), when in neutral, my boat now wants to reverse by about 1MPH. It never did that before.

Possibly the reverse bucked got adjusted a bit during the install. Not sure how that could have happened but I know the Thrust Vectors do not limit the reverse bucket travel or allow it to travel more than usual.

If you feel like you have some crowding where the reverse bucket pivots you can make some room by removing the nylon washer from beneath the main mount bolt washer. This won't give you a ton of extra room but it is a possible solution.

 

[zwillz]

Ok fellers, I was one who got to beta test the new deflectors for twins(2014 212x). Mainly the steering issues. We had a time crunch on the water yesterday, so we also did some quick surfing as well. Keep in mind, this was the first time I've been up on a board in 7 years and first time the boss was pulling lol. All and all was a good day.

Anyway, the steering is definitely better. Still has some heaviness but definitely improved. After talking with Will, I am goin to adjust the height guage as that may alleviate some of the heaviness even more. When boarding the factory bags were filled, jetwash deflector was on, and I had one extra bag filled(about 300lbs.)on the surf side, which was the port side. At times the wave was sloppy, and at times it looked good. I think if I can figure out how to secure the bag to fill it up more as it's an 800lb bag and get the right speed it could be a nice little wave. It will just take some time to figure it out to dial it in.
Here is a pic from yesterday's outing. If you have fb(Yamaha jet owners USA) I will upload a couple videos.

 

[Matt Phillips]

Thanks for the pic and the update!

I too fill my rear factory bags and then use an additional bag (looking at adding a second) on the swim platform. I found the bags don't really roll around too much when filled but I do like to secure them for obvious reasons. On my 400lb bag, I use about a 20' bow line and get put three loops around and under the bag before filling.Depending on where the bag is placed on any given day, I tie off to either the swim step handle, the tow point, or even up to the tower base (the tower base does take a little more line).

Anyway...just some things and places I've gone to to secure that bag.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

Ok fellers, I was one who got to beta test the new deflectors for twins(2014 212x). Mainly the steering issues. We had a time crunch on the water yesterday, so we also did some quick surfing as well. Keep in mind, this was the first time I've been up on a board in 7 years and first time the boss was pulling lol. All and all was a good day.

Anyway, the steering is definitely better. Still has some heaviness but definitely improved. After talking with Will, I am goin to adjust the height guage as that may alleviate some of the heaviness even more. When boarding the factory bags were filled, jetwash deflector was on, and I had one extra bag filled(about 300lbs.)on the surf side, which was the port side. At times the wave was sloppy, and at times it looked good. I think if I can figure out how to secure the bag to fill it up more as it's an 800lb bag and get the right speed it could be a nice little wave. It will just take some time to figure it out to dial it in.
Here is a pic from yesterday's outing. If you have fb(Yamaha jet owners USA) I will upload a couple videos.

Thanks for your willingness to test for us! You've been very helpful.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

Hey guys and gals, I wanted to write as soon as I got back from testing this morning. We had a really great test with modified parts this morning on a 2014 242 LS. Customer previously had no fins at all. After leaving the long no wake area we powered up and did some turns in very rough water. I did not brief him as to what he might experience or what to expect. I just told him that some customers had expressed concern about heaviness in the steering at speed and wanted to get his opinion.

He turned the wheel at a variety of speeds, while slow, medium and fast. His response was that it felt like a sports car. Firm but not overbearing. He said that he actually preferred the feel to the previous which felt a bit loose and did not give enough feedback for his taste.

We did not surf or tube because that was not his interest but I can tell that the surf wave will be fine and that tubing should be about the same.

I am posting a video in a bit that shows how we modified the parts and some testing we've done since the parts were modified. It should go out on YouTube and then to you via email if you're on our mailing list. If you're not please sign up at the bottom of our home page (jetboatpilot.com) and enter your email address. We promise not to pester you too much.

So far the consensus appears to be that the modified parts are much better and that the steering is much lighter than before. Time will tell how the group as a whole feels , but we believe the product will be well received moving forward, especially now that we've made some changes in the hardware.

On a funnier note, you all would have laughed at me last night while installing this test boat's Thrust Vector Wake. Our friend Edward offered me his boat which was hanging in a lift at his house. I asked could I trailer the boat to my shop for the install. He agreed and allowed me to go pick up his trailer as he was out of town yesterday. I went and picked up the trailer, which was only a couple miles down the road from my shop and about the time I pull onto our street I notice that the back axle has broken loose and the wheel was under the rear cross beam.....!!!! Fortunately I was close enough to go and get my forklift and get it all the way to my shop but the greater issue was I still had to install a Thrust Vector Wake from beneath a boat hanging in a deep water canal. And not only a deep water canal, but apparently a sewer drain.....whew!

So the part that all of you would have loved to have watched is me floating on a makeshift raft with all my tools and things, wind blowing me all over the place and successfully installing maybe the most technical product we've ever built! And the best part, I only lost one wrench!!! The test went well and the owner is pleased to have a free set of Thrust Vector Wakes for his boat!

 

[jEt_jAk]

Sports car feel is interesting. My car has sport mode and standard mode, and I also prefer the steering in sport mode. More tight/responsive. Looking forward to the new kit for my ar195. One question I already have the TV Wake kit first version, when the new parts are ready do I need to send this back? I have not installed yet.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

Sports car feel is interesting. My car has sport mode and standard mode, and I also prefer the steering in sport mode. More tight/responsive. Looking forward to the new kit for my ar195. One question I already have the TV Wake kit first version, when the new parts are ready do I need to send this back? I have not installed yet.

If we request parts it would only be the deflector. We'd pay return shipping if we ask for the return.

 

[Mikeyc]

Just got my hands on a Yamaha wake booster, was looking to figure out combination with the Jet boat pilot product, but they didn't know if it was compatible as they hadn't tested together yet... Has anyone tried both?... .

 

[biffdotorg]

Got a nice email from UPS this morning. We may still be able to get these installed before the holiday!

 

[Cparker2]

I'm anxious to hear about the results of the new kit installation and field testing!

 

[Nick212]

I'm anxious to hear about the results of the new kit installation and field testing!

Me too. We had ours out over the weekend had dificulty with the hard steering on the original kit. Wife tried to pull a tuber but she said it was to hard to get the tube outside the wake because it was to heavy. Hoping the new setup fixes that.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

Update: Yesterday and today we shipped out most if not all of the twin engine Thrust Vector Wake modified deflector kits. Singles will be going out on Friday. For details on what to do when you receive your kit please watch one of these two videos.

For those that are still awaiting your Thrust Vector Wake shipment, I know that about 50 more went out today and we're waiting on up stops to begin shipping again. Those should be arriving this week so we can resume shipping new kits. Tomorrow morning we're dropping a new newsletter with new video content, PDF copies of the install manuals and information about Thrust Vector Wake shipments. If you're not on our mailing list but would like to get auto updates, I'd recommend that you go to jetboatpilot.com and scroll to the bottom of the home page. Enter your email address and you'll be automatically added to our newsletter group.

Will is going on vacation starting tomorrow and will be back after the 4th of July. If you need assistance with anything at all please call 850-867-1410 and a member of our staff will be happy to assist you.

Thank you for your patience as we get this new product off the ground! It's going to be worth it!

 

[biffdotorg]

Will, I'm assuming I should be fine with the quantity of Epoxy you include with the kit. But since others had shortage, and I will be at the lake, is there a brand of Marine Epoxy I should pick up to supplement what you have in the kit?

I can only assume this stuff is very generic, and I hope to not mix them. I figured I would ask. Otherwise, I am going to grab the most generic Marine Epoxy, or JB Weld marine version just to have on hand in case I need it.

Thanks.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

Will, I'm assuming I should be fine with the quantity of Epoxy you include with the kit. But since others had shortage, and I will be at the lake, is there a brand of Marine Epoxy I should pick up to supplement what you have in the kit?

I can only assume this stuff is very generic, and I hope to not mix them. I figured I would ask. Otherwise, I am going to grab the most generic Marine Epoxy, or JB Weld marine version just to have on hand in case I need it.

Thanks.

JB weld Marine is good. We've heard good things about it. May be a good idea to have a bit extra since you're going to be at the lake.

 

[jEt_jAk]

Update: Yesterday and today we shipped out most if not all of the twin engine Thrust Vector Wake modified deflector kits. Singles will be going out on Friday. For details on what to do when you receive your kit please watch one of these two videos.

For those that are still awaiting your Thrust Vector Wake shipment, I know that about 50 more went out today and we're waiting on up stops to begin shipping again. Those should be arriving this week so we can resume shipping new kits. Tomorrow morning we're dropping a new newsletter with new video content, PDF copies of the install manuals and information about Thrust Vector Wake shipments. If you're not on our mailing list but would like to get auto updates, I'd recommend that you go to jetboatpilot.com and scroll to the bottom of the home page. Enter your email address and you'll be automatically added to our newsletter group.

Will is going on vacation starting tomorrow and will be back after the 4th of July. If you need assistance with anything at all please call 850-867-1410 and a member of our staff will be happy to assist you.

Thank you for your patience as we get this new product off the ground! It's going to be worth it!

The single mentions that there was a video that went live the day before about the new adjuster plate but I cannot find it. Am I missing something?