jiabano

[veedubtek]

Got the GPS mounted and wired before heading to the lake today. Wasn't sure of the angle at first, but loved it once on the water. Still might move it up a bit, not sure yet.

After my first trip out with her, I've learned a few things. 1 - my winch is broken. Would've been nice to know sooner. F2 in the mail. 2 - wow. Even with the TV's, she doesn't maneuver near as good as my Seadoo did. I thought I had XL's, but I don't, so I reckon I'm gonna have to talk to Will about upgrading.

 

[PolarXJ]

Yeah mine doesn't maneuver anywhere near as well as my old Seadoo either. Thats the only thing I miss about it so far.

 

[Kennc]

Leaving the lake today to head home. Gonna take her out again to practice maneuvering.

Little frustrated that I couldn't get her to do what I wanted at all times.

With the seadoo, I could put her anywhere and any how I wanted.

We'll have to compare notes.

 

[SCSTWG]

Yeah mine doesn't maneuver anywhere near as well as my old Seadoo either. Thats the only thing I miss about it so far.

Are you saying the 2015 242LS with the articulating keel does not handle as good as your old Sea Doo jet boat? If so, I would be disappointed as I was under the impression that the 2015 24' models handled very well. I have a 2011 that I bought 2 seasons ago and it has taken me longer than I would like to feel comfortable around the docks.

 

[OperationROL]

I guess this is all relative to your experience. Since I have had my previous 230 since '07, I guess I was simply accustomed to it and thought it was very controllable, especially with TV's. Now with the new 242LS, I feel that it is very controllable right from the factory and would be even better with TV's. I would tell you to just stick it out and get more practice and you will soon be noting how well you can control it.

 

[Kennc]

@SCSTWG Yes, I was able to move the seadoo better than the AR240 with the keel. A number of thngs;

The Seadoo was 17.5 feet
The Seadoo / rotax system steers differently - whatever way you turn the wheel the bow goes, regardless of forward or reverse. I got very used to that.
The Seadoo can effective be reversed it seems the Yamaha suffers in that regard.

Now, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the AR240 so please no misunderstanding. I have zero regrets and would not go back.

I spent a good hour (much to the disappointment of my boys) working the throttles and steering around a buoy to try to get familiar. I am much more comfortable now than I was this morning, making my way up the learning curve.

My conclusion is that the Yamaha just can't be reversed with any precision when conditions are anything but perfect. No worries, I will approach obstacles with an understanding of the Yamaha's strengths and weaknesses

I was able to get competent working both throttles to maneuver and with more practice have no serious concerns.

But here is my situation that I need to master. Any advice would be welcome. We spend some time in the cove and invariably when it is time to head back to camp, everyone piles on the tube and I pilot solo back to camp. This year I will be using a box anchor/anchor buddy/buoy that I plan to drive up to and clip to the bow. I will be approaching parallel to shore on port.

The plan was then to spin from that point clockwise to get my stern toward shore and then back in and connect the stern line.

The MAIN ISSUE is that I need to do this all the while making sure not to suck up the tow rope or the anchor line. I could do this with the Seadoo fairly easily, but this weekends experience says it may be more of an endeavor with the bigger boat.

What I am thinking is as I slow to no wake to approach the buoy, I can move the tow rope to the tower to get it out of the way, connect to the buoy with hopefully no forward momentum, put starboard engine throttle in reverse to push my tail around, put port engine to forward to push bow opposite direction to effect a "spin on a dime" and if that works, reverse to shore. I can dream!

 

[veedubtek]

Yeah, the seadoo reverse was crazy good. Any time I docked or parked anywhere, I did most of the maneuvering in reverse (or used to to easily correct anything not going smoothly). I imagine the scarabs/chaps/glastrons are the same (@ScarabMike ?). I kept trying the same with the yammy, and learned real quick it just doesn't work that way.

Just a learning curve, and I've only had 1 day to enjoy thus far. I plan on being out all weekend next weekend, so hopefully get some more practice in. I need to learn to play with the independent throttles more. I'm sure that's gonna make a big difference. My throttle sync was locked in all day yesterday, didn't really take any time to try and learn no wake maneuvering.

 

[octavio3311]

All propulsion systems have a learning curve. With a little time and practice, you'll be putting her anywhere you want - it'll be second nature.
If you think Yamahas reverse is tough, man, you should try an inboard. They only reverse to 1 direction. In reverse, those big rudders are useless.

 

[ScarabMike]

@veedubtek My Scarab is almost precision in reverse, and low speed maneuvering. But I can almost bet your high speed tracking is hella better. Beautiful rides guys!

 

[PolarXJ]

Are you saying the 2015 242LS with the articulating keel does not handle as good as your old Sea Doo jet boat? If so, I would be disappointed as I was under the impression that the 2015 24' models handled very well. I have a 2011 that I bought 2 seasons ago and it has taken me longer than I would like to feel comfortable around the docks.

That is correct. Obviously they are completely different boats and I am not complaining about it as I know each has their own learning curve. I test drove my new boat before I bought it so it was not a deal breaker for me. The articulating keel handles great at speed, but I actually feel like it only helps when going forward at a few MPH or more. Any slower and there is not enough water passing by it to help. If anything I feel like it hurts handling a little bit in my local waters, especially in reverse. My local part of the rivers I play on have very fast current, which really screws with it when reversing off a dock. However all of that said I am still very happy with the new boat and I have already learned how to counter the current. The biggest advantage I have now is the ability to use two engines for maneuvering, which helps a lot in swift current.

 

[veedubtek]

Installed the F2 this evening, and replaced the DOA wetsounds BT piece.




Also, started trying to plan out our head storage modifications we'll be making. And, realized our bow/cockpit covers are garbage and tearing already. Not sure why we've been using those over the mooring cover, but that has changed.

 

[veedubtek]

This has obviously just turned into a random pictures of my boat thread. I'm ok with that.