JetBoatPilot's New Surf Tech, Thrust Vector Wake

[Buckeye Boater 79]

Installed the thrust vector wakes on our 2019 212x and tried them out last week.
I had no issues with the installation. I followed the video and everything seemed to fit together perfectly.
Pretty sure I have the newest version as I received it a few weeks ago.
The boat was in the water for a week. After we pulled it out and onto the trailer, we noticed the black finish on the fins is already coming off.
The steering at higher speeds does seem a little harder from what I can remember (I did not drive the boat much before), but for some reason I thought the boat always steered easier in one direction than the other? Not sure why, but the wife also mentioned it before we had the TVW installed. Overall, it was not to bad I just noticed it especially when trying to cut hard at faster speeds. I just started using the separate throttles to steer easier if needed.
Tubing with the wife and kids with a 60’ rope, they said they are still getting some spray to the face, they said they do not think it is as much as before, but spray is still getting them. I guess I will have to end up getting a longer rope.
We have not filled our ballasts or bought a surf board to try surfing so I can not really comment on this yet.
We did wakeboard, but did not use the ballast as this is our first boat and we are just learning. My son was able to do a few small jumps.
As far as slow speed maneuvering (which is the main reason we purchased these), it does really help out with docking and putting the boat on the trailer. I can actually steer pretty good when moving the boat in and out of neutral now.

 

[Cparker2]

After we pulled it out and onto the trailer, we noticed the black finish on the fins is already coming off.

I believe I've seen this posted a few times regarding the black fins. Anyone seeing these issues with the red fins?

 

[cbrown9956]

Buckeye Boater 79

I would agree with you about low speeds, docking and pulling the boat out. That was the main reason I purchased the TVW but docking did not improve as much as I’d hope. I’ve been boating for 20+ years with traditional boats with not issues with things mentioned. When purchasing my AR195 I anticipated a learning curve.

 

[mrtrav]

I believe I've seen this posted a few times regarding the black fins. Anyone seeing these issues with the red fins?

My red ones are slightly discolored from the brilliant red they shipped with, but still look great. The boat was sitting moored in the water for a month before finally pulling it out for service this past Sunday. I am happy with how the color is holding up.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

Thanks for all the feedback folks. We're monitoring closely. We're warranty swapping all fins that bleed and are advising that you do the swap in the off season. We'll be liberal with our policies as always as we deal with the anodization.

We're hearing mixed reviews too concerning the spray at tube speeds. Our tests have all been the same. 60 foot rope, 20,22 and 25 mph, camera lens dry. Not sure how to solve this one but we're trying to put the pieces together on this. One constant that we have observed is that everyone seems to feel that the spray has been minimized, which is not good enough for us. We want folks to get the same result we got. Also it is important to run a 60 foot rope towed from the rear tow point. That is how we did it and I believe it is how it should be done for best results.

All hardware has been reevaluated and we've made some improvements, including more tolerances for the up stops, a flanged acetal bushing, extra epoxy, even a sharper tipped set screw so that the set screw gets a really good bite when dry fitting. Deflectors have been solid so we're happy there for now. The feel in the wheel has been universally agreed upon as manageable. We are convinced that due to the fact that our fins are not in the water at high speeds we're not applying loads to the system that it cannot manage.

As we progress we'll take the feedback posted here on this forum and others and implement changes to the system as we are able. In the end I am sure the system will be perfect as are the Lateral Thruster Twins (soon to be singles too) and our Thrust Vector XV product which has now been out in the same basic form since 2012.

Thanks to all of you who have remained positive during this launch and for your encouraging words. We are grateful for this board and for your support and your feedback.

 

[fireflymedic]

I just noticed this post has 1k replies. What is the record? This has yo be right up there. Never mind see the show us what you see is at 6k lol

 

[Rumbo]

Our tests have all been the same. 60 foot rope, 20,22 and 25 mph, camera lens dry.

How much variation have you had in the boat during these tests? My results have been that the TVW’s work great for tube spray with 50%+ fuel level and people in the cockpit of the boat. Once fuel level drops and/or people weight moves to the bow the attitude of the boat changes enough to start spraying the tubers. My TVW’s are set to the 2018- on the V2 gauge and my boat is a 2018 AR240.

 

[DirkG]

Another data point
2017 242 x with stock ballast, and 200lbs lead
Did remove my TV and installed TVW last week. First weekend on the lake. Install went pretty well, I thought I was getting some contact with the reverse bucket and the spring. Contacted JetBoatPilot and they called me back right away. I finished the install and went on the water with no issues.

I had no feeling of heavy steering, was used to the steering around the dock, so that felt the same.

We did not go tubing, but did go surfing. The wave was great and clean, both with and without the wakebooster. When talking to Will he suggested I used the V1 setting and I did.

I agree that there is some dialing in, and I may need to get a transom bag. Occasionally, if weight changed we did get some unexpected splashing close behind the boat

My daughter could go ropeless right away and LOVED the changes. Picture below is brother first time surfing 6’ 200 lbs was almost ropeless.

Overall a win, we love the TVW, I see this is not everyone’s experience but put this out there for a point to the positive.

 

[gthh]

Not to Pile on... but I am surprised how little we are talking about the "value-add" benefit of of the low speed steering these fins are providing. With the "old" Thrust Vector fins install, steering improved but nothing like the Thrust Vector Wake fins. I can "no wake mode" down the channel without having to zig zag steer to the end. Also, slow maneuvering to the dock is a breeze-like I am steering a prop.

Even if the wake and spray features of the product did not work out, this steering improvement with the Wake fins is Big!
and would have justified my purchase on that feature, alone.

JMO....

 

[JetBoatPilot]

How much variation have you had in the boat during these tests? My results have been that the TVW’s work great for tube spray with 50%+ fuel level and people in the cockpit of the boat. Once fuel level drops and/or people weight moves to the bow the attitude of the boat changes enough to start spraying the tubers. My TVW’s are set to the 2018- on the V2 gauge and my boat is a 2018 AR240.

We never measured fuel but I will take that into consideration now. We've never had a test where people got spray in the face so this was a non issue during testing.

We'll have to get back to you once we test again. We'll be tubing all weekend with our 195 so we'll pay attention to this and report back.

 

[biffdotorg]

Not to Pile on... but I am surprised how little we are talking about the "value-add" benefit of of the low speed steering these fins are providing. With the "old" Thrust Vector fins install, steering improved but nothing like the Thrust Vector Wake fins. I can "no wake mode" down the channel without having to zig zag steer to the end. Also, slow maneuvering to the dock is a breeze-like I am steering a prop.

Even if the wake and spray features of the product did not work out, this steering improvement with the Wake fins is Big!
and would have justified my purchase on that feature, alone.

JMO....

You are correct, this should not be ignored. And coming from XV's, my main goal was to get the wake performance we were looking for, but did not expect to lose any steering control.

In fact, it was just the opposite. The dual spring TV-Wake, (with fresh springs of course) steer better than my old XV's and the wandering is lessened greatly over no fin, and has improved over my previous fins. This is honest, as I was asking will about new springs prior to placing my order for TV-wakes. So this pre-order, I hoped to kill two birds with one stone, and that has happened. I have also noted that they must drop quicker with the stronger springs. My off power spins have lessened from finless as well. They must drop quicker for sure. I need to mount my gopro down there with GPS speedo overlay on the video. That would be cool to see.

And not that I am giving up on the perfect wake, but we have noticed that the volume of our wakeboard wake and tubing wake has increased. I could be wrong, but I was very surprised when tubing this past weekend. I would love to throw credit at the TV-wakes, because we are not running ballast for those two things. Once we get locker ballast, that may change.

This was worth mentioning for sure. I am happy to be finned again.

 

[QuakeTen]

We'll be tubing all weekend with our 195 so we'll pay attention to this and report back.

Thanks. Looking forward to the feedback. I purchased this solution for my AR195 with the primary goal of eliminating or reducing the tubing spray to the face.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

We'll hopefully have more data on Monday.

 

[dadofral]

We have a three person couch tube that my kids and most everyone rides, no one seems to be complaining about the spray very much at 60 feet out.
There is a little, but it's diminished so much from what it was that we have zero complaints. But if it can be improved even more I'm all for it....

 

[biffdotorg]

I posted this photo in the "one photo of your last outing" thread. I don't think my buddy and I were thinking about spray at this time last Sunday. Launching the granny tube was a hoot!

 

[Matt Phillips]

For those twin engine people experiencing spray, is this with the spray attachment on your ladder as well?

 

[biffdotorg]

We only have that on when surfing, and it is cutting the spray down. When tubing, we don't have it on, as I doubt it would reach the water.

I could not see real well, but it looked like the spray came from around the deflectors on the jet. I'm trying to figure out if they are down far enough yet. So I think Friday afternoon, I will drop them further, at least to the V1 height.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

For those of you who are experiencing spray, which seems to be sort of random at this point, can you try putting your passengers in the rear the next time you go out. There is a theory that if you have alot of bow weight that the nozzles are pointed upwards a bit. We never tested with a full crew in the bow. If this theory is proven correct then we'll begin telling customers for best results put your passengers in the rear when tubing.

 

[Rumbo]

You are correct, this should not be ignored. And coming from XV's, my main goal was to get the wake performance we were looking for, but did not expect to lose any steering control.

In fact, it was just the opposite. The dual spring TV-Wake, (with fresh springs of course) steer better than my old XV's and the wandering is lessened greatly over no fin, and has improved over my previous fins. This is honest, as I was asking will about new springs prior to placing my order for TV-wakes. So this pre-order, I hoped to kill two birds with one stone, and that has happened. I have also noted that they must drop quicker with the stronger springs. My off power spins have lessened from finless as well. They must drop quicker for sure. I need to mount my gopro down there with GPS speedo overlay on the video. That would be cool to see.

And not that I am giving up on the perfect wake, but we have noticed that the volume of our wakeboard wake and tubing wake has increased. I could be wrong, but I was very surprised when tubing this past weekend. I would love to throw credit at the TV-wakes, because we are not running ballast for those two things. Once we get locker ballast, that may change.

This was worth mentioning for sure. I am happy to be finned again.

I couldn’t agree more with this. The no wake steering control and straight tracking with these is awesome! My previous boat was an outboard and feel like I have as much control with my AR240 as I did with my outboard.

 

[biffdotorg]

I couldn’t agree more with this. The no wake steering control and straight tracking with these is awesome! My previous boat was an outboard and feel like I have as much control with my AR240 as I did with my outboard.

It's funny, as our minds were so fixed on Surfing and such, that we forget to acknowledge the other main benefit of great steering. I truly took it for granted. Since putting fins back on, and adding the Kilmat sound proofing this summer, I can truly do the putt-putt cruise around our lake without the constant over steering or noise. (at least less noise)

That's a big deal, as we always took out the tri-toon when we wanted to do our putt putt.