I have learned that there are people who like the way jet boats handle stock and people who dislike it. Over the years I have personally heard so many people tell me the same thing that I felt when I first drove my jet boat, they were so unhappy that they felt they made a huge mistake and if the steering did not solve the problem they were selling the boat and they would take a loss just to get rid of it. This is reality !
I strongly believe Yamaha finally realized that putting rudders on their boats would open up a larger market and improve the desirability of their product to attract a larger market, they finally realized that they needed to make the boats a family boat and a utility boat to compete.
Products evolve to meet the market , I too made numerous changes to meet the market, Bigger fins, adjustable fins, spring loaded fins, jet thrust activated selectable fins , Planing fins, power steering fins, so many advances from the original fixed fins back in the beginning when I was asked by Yamaha jet boat owners to make steering for their boats, there is quite a record of all this back on the old Yamaha jet boaters web page.
The one thing I don't understand is many THOUSANDS of people enjoy THEIR boats with improved handling and improved versatility from adding a steering system why should anyone question or criticize them for doing what they like on THEIR boat ? Its baffling to me.
They don't get criticized for adding a different depth finder or Bimini top etc . nor does anyone get scolded for telling people their opinion of the particular mod they did what ever it is. So they chose to improve the boats handling, the one big thing that haunted jet boats for decades and in doing so they now enjoy their boat more.
Enjoying you boat, one that you pay hard earned money for and you go out and unwind on or play on or make have time on is what it's all about it's, a personal preference .
A Yamaha jet boat setup with extra steering may not be for some but it is what a lot of people want by choice .
There is certainly nothing wrong with it. What would be wrong would be to let someone convince them that they need to learn to drive the boat as is and in doing so they get frustrated with it or crash it or injure someone.
So everyone is different and we need to understand that the only way to drive a boat is the way that makes you happy and comfortable for the safety of your boat your self and your family. Go watch the video running the river of death over on the old board I was there when a stock jet boat being driven by a seasoned operator was overtaken by another boats wake and he ended up driving right into the mangroves even when he floored it in reverse to try and stop once he realized he could not cut out of the wake.
Just one example that I was there personally and witnessed it. The other thing about the kicking of fins I designed the most versatile and my most popular steering system with 3/16 thick aluminum fins with nothing between them under the nozzle, with rounded ends and no sharp edges, and spring loaded so if the hit something or a foot they flip up they are not fixed nor are they the lowest point of the back of the boat unless it is on a 19 foot boat and a jet boat should never be backed up to a beach with the hull or fins sitting on or close to the ground although I have seen it often it is a bad idea not just if the boat bounces onto someone's foot but it also allows rocks, trash, shells etc to get washed into the intake grate. And it is a big concern for the factory rudders since they are at the lowest point of the hull. If you view the twin engine steering for the keel boats that I make you will see that the fins are NOT close to the ground thus the V configuration , the rudder would hit the ground way before the fins could.
