• Welcome to Jetboaters.net!

    We are delighted you have found your way to the best Jet Boaters Forum on the internet! Please consider Signing Up so that you can enjoy all the features and offers on the forum. We have members with boats from all the major manufacturers including Yamaha, Seadoo, Scarab and Chaparral. We don't email you SPAM, and the site is totally non-commercial. So what's to lose? IT IS FREE!

    Membership allows you to ask questions (no matter how mundane), meet up with other jet boaters, see full images (not just thumbnails), browse the member map and qualifies you for members only discounts offered by vendors who run specials for our members only! (It also gets rid of this banner!)

    free hit counter
  • JetBoaters.Net 2nd Annual SeaDoo Switch Group Buy Sponsored By JetBoatPilot Is Live Now. Save 25% Off Select SeaDoo Switch Gear through October 31st.

    Click Here to go to the Jetboatpilot Seadoo Group buy

    You can delete this notice with the "X" in the upper right>>>

New to boating and first jetboat

Rakkaone187

Jet Boat Lover
Messages
64
Reaction score
54
Points
67
Location
Burnsville, MN
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2020
Boat Model
AR
Boat Length
19
Hi everyone,

I am a new owner of a used but new to me 2020 Yamaha AR195. This is my first time owning a boat. I made the decision to purchase a used, but relatively newer AR195 to save on costs and ease of accepting dings and scratches while I learn to operate the boat safe and effectively. I have always been a passenger of other boat owners I am close with. I am a native to Minnesota and have enjoyed warm summers at various lakes throughout the state. As a youngster I day dreamed about owning a boat and exploring parts of Minnesota accessible only by boat or watercraft. My dissappointment came each year I saw other boaters and on the lakes I visited until recently. As of May 2022, I can now live what was once thought an unobtainable dream, and begin my exploration of Minnesota waters with my family.

I want to thank the members that contributed information about their boating experience and the knowledge/feedback offered regarding safe and fun boating practices. This is especially true for new, first time boat owners. I also want to thank txav8r and soggyshoes for providing their driveway-to-boat recovery checklists! This has been very helpful for me to familiarize myself with my boat. I grabbed my owners manual along with checklists and followed the step-by-step list to prepare me for my first loading/unloading experience.

First Launch/Load Experience
I admit, I made a few newbie mistakes along the way. Like forgetting to give forward power to bring the boat up onto the trailer, instead, I used slow drifting momentum in an attempt to load the boat (I didn't get too far on the trailer). I also dunked the trailer too deep in the water, which prevented the boat from resting on the trailer. Once I became aware of those mistakes, I made a third and final attempt to load the Yamaha. I gave the Yamaha more forward power and it slid right up to the bow roller, albeit, it wasn't perfectly centered, but good enough for government work. Hooked up the boat to the winch, hauled the trailer to a vacant parking spot, drained the plugs, farted all of the excess water out of the exhaust, turned off the engine, disconnected battery, checked for debris, etc. Success.

It is my hope I'll go from nervous to fully confident at the ramp as I gain more practice and develop my skills. I end this with my future outlook. I look forward to future trips, meeting members, developing a more efficient routine, improving my mechanical skills when it comes to maintenance, and overall having fun with family/friends on our boat.

David
 
Welcome. I was in your shoes last year. It’s going to get easier with experience. My wife is deeply involved and helps for everything. We have now our routine on who’s doing what. Works like a Swiss watch. I watch so many videos at first. It helps a lot. Especially with what not to do. Again welcome and enjoy.
 
I just took my new 195s out for the first time, its my first powered boat and it was a little nerve racking on the loading and unloading. No major issues thanks to watching a ton of youtube vids, albiet there were a few blunders. Forgot to unplug the lights prior to loading and unloading and the lack of steering around the dock, thank god the salmon fishing was shitty and the docks were empty. I cant imagine without the thrust vectors. Overall had a blast. Only had the nads to go 38 mph for the first trip, 50 is going to be fun, that S.O.B. flys! I added 2 additional batteries to support the sound upgrade and that extra weight in the back made for a nice wake..
 
Last edited:
Congratulations and welcome!!!!
Thank you. I’m excited for each day of summer to go boating. I also can’t stop looking out our window at a shiny, recently cleaned and vacuumed jetboat.
 
Welcome. I was in your shoes last year. It’s going to get easier with experience. My wife is deeply involved and helps for everything. We have now our routine on who’s doing what. Works like a Swiss watch. I watch so many videos at first. It helps a lot. Especially with what not to do. Again welcome and enjoy.
Thank you Ben for your encouragement and kind words. I find myself saving YouTube videos as way to take on specific tasks or visually learn a new technique. When I was feeling the pressure of trying to load, I drove out of the way, signaled to my wife to move the truck forward and make room for other boaters, then walked myself step by step what I was doing and where I was getting hung up, then it clicked, I need to add gas and more momentum. Overall, it was a positive experience for me. And being out on the water is a reward worth every minute of pressure.
 
 
Congrats on the new boat and don't worry about the Newb stuff...we were all there and I revert back to Newb status if I miss more than a week. Case in point: bad weather here kept me off the water for almost 5 weeks till Saturday. Then while at anchor I pull up the ladder, start the boat and ease into slow forward motion only to be abruptly turned to port. Like being lassoed...forgot to pull in the anchor. (face palm).

Five Pieces of Advice.

1. When in and around other boats, shallows, unknowns and marinas...slow is Pro. Dont go any faster than you are willing to hit something.
2. Practice your low speed handling skills. Anyone can drive a boat at speed but getting in and out of tight spots with wind/current etc is a skill.
3. Watch others at the ramps for loading and unloading and make a mental note of how deep you need to be (most people use the fender) to judge how far back to back in for loading and unloading.
4. Develop a routine.
5. Have FUN!
 
Good advice thank you. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
 
Back
Top