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My Winter Project
- Thread starter itsdgm
- Start date
- Tagged users None
itsdgm
Jetboaters Admiral
- Messages
- 3,637
- Reaction score
- 3,089
- Points
- 417
- Location
- Rancho Santa Margarita, California
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2007
- Boat Model
- AR
- Boat Length
- 21
So yesterday was the first free day that I’ve had in a long time. Weather was great, so i made my final checks on the WaveRunner.
Initially, i noticed that my bearing buddies weren’t doing their job. So i quickly swapped them out with a new set that i had for my boat and re-greased the axle.
Then i hooked up the trailer, and off to Dana Point Harbor i went. On the way, i stopped at a gas station and put about 7 gallons of fuel in it.
Once there i was met at the launch ramp gate by a nice guy who briefly answered a few questions that i had and off to the prep area i went. Luckily, it was a very slow day at the ramp and there are many lanes available. Since i was by myself, I had to figure out how to launch and secure the ski quickly by myself. Anyway, everything went well and away i went.
My initial plan was to spend a while putting around the marina to see if the ski would fail quickly. This would keep me within easy reach of a dock that i could figure out how to return to the launch ramp if i had an issue. At first, the ski did have a slight hesitation at idle, but not enough to make me head back. After a few minutes, i got bored, so i just went for it and got outside the harbor, rode around at speed for a few minutes, then headed south down the coast to San Clemente.
I never had an issue starting the WaveRunner on the trailer, but i didn’t trust this thing enough to shut it down on the water when i was out there by myself. So i ended up riding down to the San Clemente pier. It probably took a bit over 40 minutes to get there and was a lot of fun.
Here’s a pic of the San Clemente pier.
That was as far as i felt comfortable going from the harbor by myself. So i headed back to be closer to the launch ramp. Just outside the breakwater i spent a while sipping around to see what was over there.
Then, i saw my fuel gauge had dropped to about 1/4 tank full. So i decided to head back to the ramp. Again, i loaded the ski without incident. But boy is it tricky backing up this narrow trailer, especially without a ski on it. It’s really hard to see, but the backup camera on the truck does help.
I returned home to flush and wash the WaveRunner. I did notice a lot of soot around the exhaust.
So all in all, the day was a success. The ski now has 127 hours on it. Looks like i put about 3-4 hours on it during this trip and things seemed to go great. It did have a surge on the throttle while idling back to the ramp. So I’ll check the oil, plugs and air filter later.
For now, i need to decide if we’re taking the ski to Laughlin in a couple of weeks. If so, it’ll need new tires. These old ones remind me of that line in “A Christmas Story” that they are round and we’re once made of rubber
Initially, i noticed that my bearing buddies weren’t doing their job. So i quickly swapped them out with a new set that i had for my boat and re-greased the axle.
Then i hooked up the trailer, and off to Dana Point Harbor i went. On the way, i stopped at a gas station and put about 7 gallons of fuel in it.
Once there i was met at the launch ramp gate by a nice guy who briefly answered a few questions that i had and off to the prep area i went. Luckily, it was a very slow day at the ramp and there are many lanes available. Since i was by myself, I had to figure out how to launch and secure the ski quickly by myself. Anyway, everything went well and away i went.
My initial plan was to spend a while putting around the marina to see if the ski would fail quickly. This would keep me within easy reach of a dock that i could figure out how to return to the launch ramp if i had an issue. At first, the ski did have a slight hesitation at idle, but not enough to make me head back. After a few minutes, i got bored, so i just went for it and got outside the harbor, rode around at speed for a few minutes, then headed south down the coast to San Clemente.
I never had an issue starting the WaveRunner on the trailer, but i didn’t trust this thing enough to shut it down on the water when i was out there by myself. So i ended up riding down to the San Clemente pier. It probably took a bit over 40 minutes to get there and was a lot of fun.
Here’s a pic of the San Clemente pier.
That was as far as i felt comfortable going from the harbor by myself. So i headed back to be closer to the launch ramp. Just outside the breakwater i spent a while sipping around to see what was over there.
Then, i saw my fuel gauge had dropped to about 1/4 tank full. So i decided to head back to the ramp. Again, i loaded the ski without incident. But boy is it tricky backing up this narrow trailer, especially without a ski on it. It’s really hard to see, but the backup camera on the truck does help.
I returned home to flush and wash the WaveRunner. I did notice a lot of soot around the exhaust.
So all in all, the day was a success. The ski now has 127 hours on it. Looks like i put about 3-4 hours on it during this trip and things seemed to go great. It did have a surge on the throttle while idling back to the ramp. So I’ll check the oil, plugs and air filter later.
For now, i need to decide if we’re taking the ski to Laughlin in a couple of weeks. If so, it’ll need new tires. These old ones remind me of that line in “A Christmas Story” that they are round and we’re once made of rubber
Ronnie
Jetboaters Fleet Admiral
- Messages
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- Location
- SF Bay Area
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2010
- Boat Model
- Limited S
- Boat Length
- 24
Congrats on the successful maiden voyage @itsdgm . Dennis, you are a lot more daring than most jet skiers I know. They would ride alone on inland waters but not the ocean. I find that backing a short pwc trailer is more difficult than a long boat trailer as well but think or thought it was due to the length not width. Sometimes, putting the tail gate down on a truck or up on an suv can really improve the visibility of the trailer. Consider upgrading to higher speed rated tires on the pwcs trailer. Most (at etrailer.com) are rated to 55 mph but 65 mph tires are available for a little more money.
itsdgm
Jetboaters Admiral
- Messages
- 3,637
- Reaction score
- 3,089
- Points
- 417
- Location
- Rancho Santa Margarita, California
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2007
- Boat Model
- AR
- Boat Length
- 21
Yes. Once i got back inside the harbor i shut down and started it a few times. Everything worked as it should. I just didn’t want to get stuck 5 miles from my truck when i was by myself