New to Jet Boating

[Icatfish247]

Just in case you haven't considered,..If any waterways around aren't frozen, a test drive could still be an option. I took one on my boat about this time a year ago on a small dealer lake that was about half iced over. Interesting experience and provided the peace of mind needed to purchase.

 

[Matt Phillips]

Jet boats do handle different and do wonder more at slow speeds. I've had TVs and Cobra Ultimates on my 232 LS and even if you don't want either, they are nice for those times when someone else drives. One great thing about my Yamaha is it costs me about $125 per year in oil, filters and spark plugs and I do the maintenance by myself. there's wealth of info on here...poke around and learn some...

The first time out on the water with a new boat is a lot like a first date...there's lots of learning involved. the key though is to relax and have fun with the experience.

A couple of things I really like about the Jet is like others have said, you can spin it in it's own length, and crab-walk it sideways. It's also fun when around the gas dock (aka rental boat dock too) and the rental boys say "lower your outdrive trim, you're kicking up water" and I reply "it's a jet boat and there is no trim." Love that deer-in-headlights look they give.

Enjoy and welcome to the forum!

 

[Dhow]

Hey Laney just noticed bridgton me on profile. I boat Long Lake out of Harrison Me. I was able to take advantage of off season pricing . Good luck

 

[Laney]

Welcome aboard @Laney. You have found a great support system on this site. Many have transitioned to jets with few issues. These boats are a little sloppy at slow speed but the addition of after market fins will cure most of that issue. The advantages of these boats far outweigh the minor negatives. No props or transmissions, easy & inexpensive maintenance & great layout. I'm sure others will weigh in on their views.

Thanks Gym,

@Laney - I will say that I started off with a 2000 Yamaha LS2000 as my first boat, against the suggestions of all my boating peers. I was given a hard time over and over about looking at jet boats and even purchasing, but then after taking several of them for a ride and letting them drive it they too changed their opinions. As a result of my love for both boating and the jet boat I upgraded from my old LS2000 to a 2015 AR192 that I can't wait to enjoy this coming season. I will say that on the old LS I had the cobra fins and it was the only way I had ever experienced steering the boat, so the first thing I bought for the new boat were more fins.

Hi. Thanks for that. I feel like that would be the case with my boating friends. I know they're looking out for me, thinking I might be frustrated with it and not enjoy it, but I feel like I would really like it! So about the fins, is it a big deal to install? Expensive? Do they go behind the boat? I guess I'm thinking along the line of trim tabs on a stern drive. Thanks, Laney

 

[Laney]

Jet boats do handle different and do wonder more at slow speeds. I've had TVs and Cobra Ultimates on my 232 LS and even if you don't want either, they are nice for those times when someone else drives. One great thing about my Yamaha is it costs me about $125 per year in oil, filters and spark plugs and I do the maintenance by myself. there's wealth of info on here...poke around and learn some...

The first time out on the water with a new boat is a lot like a first date...there's lots of learning involved. the key though is to relax and have fun with the experience.

A couple of things I really like about the Jet is like others have said, you can spin it in it's own length, and crab-walk it sideways. It's also fun when around the gas dock (aka rental boat dock too) and the rental boys say "lower your outdrive trim, you're kicking up water" and I reply "it's a jet boat and there is no trim." Love that deer-in-headlights look they give.

Enjoy and welcome to the forum!

TVs and Ultimates? Can you tell me about that?

 

[Laney]

Hey Laney just noticed bridgton me on profile. I boat Long Lake out of Harrison Me. I was able to take advantage of off season pricing . Good luck

Cool! That's where I boat. I'm hoping for the same (pricing). But the one I'm looking at is in Littleton NH, and the owner emphasizes that the price is FIRM! ----We'll see!

 

[Laney]

Just in case you haven't considered,..If any waterways around aren't frozen, a test drive could still be an option. I took one on my boat about this time a year ago on a small dealer lake that was about half iced over. Interesting experience and provided the peace of mind needed to purchase.

OMG, that's awesome! But the boat I want to try is winterized, so no trial runs now!

 

[jcyamaharider]

OMG, that's awesome! But the boat I want to try is winterized, so no trial runs now!

That's the good thing about a Yamaha jet boat. It can be unwinterizied really fast and easy!!! Only thing you have to do to these boats is fog cylinders and maybe pump a gallon of antifreeze into each motors water port for the water boxes in extreme cold climates. Other then that a quick rev to get the water out at the ramp and done.

 

[Dhow]

Hi I saw the boat on line you are talking about looks clean and he knows what he has. Good luck ! Keep watching it.

 

[biglar155]

Welcome to the club!

The '08 SX230 HO is basically the same boat as my '09. I'm very happy with it.

I came in to the fray with 38 years of experience (I'm counting back to being 1 year old and driving while standing on my Dad's lap) with small outboard-driven runabouts. Our last boat before this was a 17' Rinker open bow.

I have a wife and 4 kids ages 8, 12, 13, and 15. We've never felt crowded even with a guest or two.

As others have mentioned, it would be best to test-drive one but I'll confess to not test driving it before I bought it. I knew it would be different and was willing to deal with it for the sake of the layout and that awesome swim platform. All I can say is practice, practice, practice, the low-speed maneuvers and you'll be able to spin it on a dime in no time.

 

[Matt Phillips]

TVs and Ultimate fins are pretty easy to install. Both vendors provide great instructions as well as YouTube Videos for the process which makes it easy. I'd plan on about 40 minutes to do your first fin, and then about 19 to do the second, and that will leave you about one minute to your hour to have a drink of your favorite beverage and congratulate yourself on one mod complete.

While you're at it and ordering from either vendor...get a set of their product to keep you from blowing your cleanup plugs. Do that at the same time if it hasn't already been done on your boat. Another thing you may want to think about on a boat your age is to get a set of Yamaha rebuilt cleanout plugs. Mine were getting stiff and hard to seat last season and were always a pain .. after rebuilding them, they work great. And don't worry, "rebuild sounds worse than it is". Essentially you'll just be taking the tops off them and replacing them with new lower sections.

 

[Freezer41]

it was a non-issue. I got used to it very quickly. Go slow.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Here are some FACTS based on 15 years of experience dealing with jet boat handling shortcomings.
There was a time when people purchased a true jet boat not knowing just how bad they were to operate, people like myself who had no idea because we just did not know the lack of control when in heavy boat traffic at idle or that the boat would go back in the direction it was going if you decelerated during a turn, or if you decelerated rapidly and tried to turn at the same time it would just refuse to respond.
This is all well documented on post after post on many jet boat web pages.
My story was similar, I purchased a really nice jet boat for my wife, I already had a fishing boat so this was for her and the kids to use when I went off fishing. I thought I was getting a really good deal , little did I know.
I surprised her with this boat and the first day we took it out my heart sunk, I was so disappointed with the way it handled that I would not even let her drive it. I could not believe anyone would make a boat that was so hard to control, so unresponsive in certain situations.
I actually put it back on the trailer and thought I would sell it immediately regardless of the price, I hated it! I went from look at the nice boat I just surprised my wife with to oh damn did I just screw up I hate this thing!
After a few days of thinking about the lack of positive handling I decided to either solve the steering issue or ruin the boat trying but I really needed to try.
A little side note, I always had boats and usually did a lot of mods even converting a stern drive to a sea drive outboard. I also volunteered my time in a boat repair shop just to learn the mechanics of outboard engines, funny because while there I invented a resurfacing machine to resurface engine heads quickly. It was too hot in Fla. to be standing in front of a heavy glass surface with sand paper on it hand surfacing these heads.

I immediately went to work to invent my first tie rod / rudder steering system. After I installed it on the boat.
We all went out to give this steering a try, in a word the transformation was " unbelievable".
I drove the boat under the Tierra Verde bridge in a strong current at slow speed and noticed that the boat handled wonderfully, it responded instantly to the helm I was impressed the second I turned the wheel and the boat responded.
Prior to testing I had no idea if this was going to have the desired results, The fins were only 5 inches long and 2 inches deep with a large taper providing about 8 sq. inches of surface area each , there were only two. I noticed at high speed the boat was so maneuverable that it could do a 180 turn at W O T instantly with no slide out. Those fins made me smile and made my jet boat handle better than I could have ever imagined. The wife would take the boat and only return when it needed refueling, the kids would tube and water ski.

I loved how it handled so much that I decided to patent it, US PATENT 6561858 & US PATENT 6702630 During the patent process I was instructed by my patent lawyer to start thinking about the end user and how to make steering that would be simple for the customer to install without breeching the hull etc. So that is how the design of the fins being directly mounted on the nozzles came about and continue to evolve.
So from 2001 to date focusing on jet steering and holding 3 US patents , after hearing time and time again that if the steering doesn't solve the steering issues the boat is going up for sale regardless of the loss they take getting rid of it.
Having experienced that same frustration I can tell you this advice, it's the same advice I have given people for well over a decade, try the boat as it was made, if you don't like the handling or lack thereof you have some very affordable time tested and patented remedies available for you to install on your boat that are guaranteed to make you smile when you drive the boat so that you don't need to be worried about the steering not one little bit.

 

[paratrooper39]

All I can say is... I had them on my first jet boat and I instantly jumped on the deal @Cobra Jet Steering LLC had going for a fin on the new boat!

 

[Laney]

TVs and Ultimate fins are pretty easy to install. Both vendors provide great instructions as well as YouTube Videos for the process which makes it easy. I'd plan on about 40 minutes to do your first fin, and then about 19 to do the second, and that will leave you about one minute to your hour to have a drink of your favorite beverage and congratulate yourself on one mod complete.

While you're at it and ordering from either vendor...get a set of their product to keep you from blowing your cleanup plugs. Do that at the same time if it hasn't already been done on your boat. Another thing you may want to think about on a boat your age is to get a set of Yamaha rebuilt cleanout plugs. Mine were getting stiff and hard to seat last season and were always a pain .. after rebuilding them, they work great. And don't worry, "rebuild sounds worse than it is". Essentially you'll just be taking the tops off them and replacing them with new lower sections.

Ok. Very helpful- thank you

 

[Laney]

Here are some FACTS based on 15 years of experience dealing with jet boat handling shortcomings.
There was a time when people purchased a true jet boat not knowing just how bad they were to operate, people like myself who had no idea because we just did not know the lack of control when in heavy boat traffic at idle or that the boat would go back in the direction it was going if you decelerated during a turn, or if you decelerated rapidly and tried to turn at the same time it would just refuse to respond.
This is all well documented on post after post on many jet boat web pages.
My story was similar, I purchased a really nice jet boat for my wife, I already had a fishing boat so this was for her and the kids to use when I went off fishing. I thought I was getting a really good deal , little did I know.
I surprised her with this boat and the first day we took it out my heart sunk, I was so disappointed with the way it handled that I would not even let her drive it. I could not believe anyone would make a boat that was so hard to control, so unresponsive in certain situations.
I actually put it back on the trailer and thought I would sell it immediately regardless of the price, I hated it! I went from look at the nice boat I just surprised my wife with to oh damn did I just screw up I hate this thing!
After a few days of thinking about the lack of positive handling I decided to either solve the steering issue or ruin the boat trying but I really needed to try.
A little side note, I always had boats and usually did a lot of mods even converting a stern drive to a sea drive outboard. I also volunteered my time in a boat repair shop just to learn the mechanics of outboard engines, funny because while there I invented a resurfacing machine to resurface engine heads quickly. It was too hot in Fla. to be standing in front of a heavy glass surface with sand paper on it hand surfacing these heads.

I immediately went to work to invent my first tie rod / rudder steering system. After I installed it on the boat.
We all went out to give this steering a try, in a word the transformation was " unbelievable".
I drove the boat under the Tierra Verde bridge in a strong current at slow speed and noticed that the boat handled wonderfully, it responded instantly to the helm I was impressed the second I turned the wheel and the boat responded.
Prior to testing I had no idea if this was going to have the desired results, The fins were only 5 inches long and 2 inches deep with a large taper providing about 8 sq. inches of surface area each , there were only two. I noticed at high speed the boat was so maneuverable that it could do a 180 turn at W O T instantly with no slide out. Those fins made me smile and made my jet boat handle better than I could have ever imagined. The wife would take the boat and only return when it needed refueling, the kids would tube and water ski.

I loved how it handled so much that I decided to patent it, US PATENT 6561858 & US PATENT 6702630 During the patent process I was instructed by my patent lawyer to start thinking about the end user and how to make steering that would be simple for the customer to install without breeching the hull etc. So that is how the design of the fins being directly mounted on the nozzles came about and continue to evolve.
So from 2001 to date focusing on jet steering and holding 3 US patents , after hearing time and time again that if the steering doesn't solve the steering issues the boat is going up for sale regardless of the loss they take getting rid of it.
Having experienced that same frustration I can tell you this advice, it's the same advice I have given people for well over a decade, try the boat as it was made, if you don't like the handling or lack thereof you have some very affordable time tested and patented remedies available for you to install on your boat that are guaranteed to make you smile when you drive the boat so that you don't need to be worried about the steering not one little bit.

Well That is very impressive! Good you! And good for those who have taken advantage of this! I will certainly inquire about these once I've tried the boat I'm looking at. Very glad to hear from you-Thank you!

 

[Laney]

Hi I saw the boat on line you are talking about looks clean and he knows what he has. Good luck ! Keep watching it.

Thanks. I will!

 

[Laney]

Welcome to the club!

The '08 SX230 HO is basically the same boat as my '09. I'm very happy with it.

I came in to the fray with 38 years of experience (I'm counting back to being 1 year old and driving while standing on my Dad's lap) with small outboard-driven runabouts. Our last boat before this was a 17' Rinker open bow.

I have a wife and 4 kids ages 8, 12, 13, and 15. We've never felt crowded even with a guest or two.

As others have mentioned, it would be best to test-drive one but I'll confess to not test driving it before I bought it. I knew it would be different and was willing to deal with it for the sake of the layout and that awesome swim platform. All I can say is practice, practice, practice, the low-speed maneuvers and you'll be able to spin it on a dime in no time.

Very encouraging-thanks!

 

[JetBoatPilot]

Welcome to the club Laney! You're going to love your new....ish Yamaha! We've loved all of the boats that we've bought over the years and really have built a business around the brand! As for accessories you can do your own homework and let the people on the board steer you in the right direction. To help with that here is a link to learn more about Thrust Vectors and other accessories available for your Yamaha.

JetBoatPilot 2016 Product Catalog:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/110764339@N03/albums/72157661200512099

If you have questions feel free to ask and once again welcome to the board!

 

[Laney]

Going to check out that 2008 Yamaha this weekend. Is it unreasonable for me to ask for an agreement, (assuming I will want to purchase the boat), that describes a buyer contingency stating "sale hinges on a satisfactory trial of the boat as soon as the season permits". ? I feel the owner will tell me that as soon as someone "shows him the money", the sale will be a done deal. But, I was just wondering if that kind of agreement is ever (or sometimes) made in a case like this. (Winter purchase).
Any thoughts?