Sucking up sand and mud

[Mike sanders]

I beached my boat for the first time and spent some time chilling with my lady. When I was time to go I put my boat in reverse in about 2 feet of water and I think I sucked up some sand and mud will this hurt my pump or engine if I only did it the one time?

 

[Scottintexas]

just depends but probably not at all, mud/sand no big deal for your pumps,

if I get in a shallow spot and start churning up mud I try to make sure I get at least 10 minutes of high rpm run to help flush out the motor,

 

[Mike sanders]

Thx ... it blew slot of sand up thru the clean out plug and into the tray above now I'm having a hard time getting the plug out. I may have to fabricate a tool for future

 

[octavio3311]

Never beached it - but have anchored in shallow 2' sand bar.
I usually push her out to 3'+ before starting her up.

 

[Ronnie]

Your boat is fine.

I think the impeller, housing and the parts behind the impeller all deteriorate faster a a result of being blasted by a sand water mix but bet it would take a long time (minutes not seconds) before any loss in performance is noticeable. A few minutes at power should blow out sand, if any, that enters the cooling system, hopefully.

My perspective is that of a boater who beaches more often than not and who has started in and gone though some very shallow areas for many years now with no problems, yet anyway.

 

[txav8r]

I only beached my boat in calm conditions. The erosion on the hull and even possible pump damage wasn't with it to me to risk. It can and will cause erosion to the pump, both impeller blades and housing. Consider that all sand has small pebbles and rocks in it as does mud. Those can do even more damage. I doubt one time caused any issue, but it could. Kinda like sex and pregnancy...one time can do it. But odds are it won't. If your going to beach, get a keel guard and push off to start. Many Jetboaters will anchor bow out, and use a shore spike shallow at the beach to enjoy their swim deck in ankle deep water. Just my thoughts on it.

 

[Mike sanders]

That's going to be my new m.o. for now on....

 

[Mike sanders]

I appreciate the input from everybody.

 

[swatski]

I beached my boat for the first time and spent some time chilling with my lady. When I was time to go I put my boat in reverse in about 2 feet of water and I think I sucked up some sand and mud will this hurt my pump or engine if I only did it the one time?

You are getting great advice here.
This is what I do:

I usually push her out to 3'+ before starting her up.

Many Jetboaters will anchor bow out, and use a shore spike shallow at the beach to enjoy their swim deck in ankle deep water.

One thing that can ruin your day (or a few days...) is if you find some rocks (gravel/pebbles) and suck those in the pump. I ruined two impellers that way. The first time I did exactly what you did, except I was floating over some gravelly bottom, not just sand. The second time... Well, I already forgot what happened the first time. And I was not even beaching but just too close to shore. It was painful.

Now, parts of my river have muddy bottom (just mud/silt with no gravel) - those parts I am not afraid to go through if I have to, even in very shallow water. Just run it in deep water or flush on a hose for awhile (or both) afterwards. And by very shallow water I mean... like less than a foot shallow:

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[Ilmmct]

x2 on the comment from @swatski "anchor bow out, and use a shore spike shallow at the beach to enjoy their swim deck in ankle deep water". A great way to enjoy the unique design of our boats and to ease guest exiting and boarding. Slightly more hassle anchoring but worth it.

 

[Jgorm]

You are getting great advice here.
This is what I do:



One thing that can ruin your day (or a few days...) is if you find some rocks (gravel/pebbles) and suck those in the pump. I ruined two impellers that way. The first time I did exactly what you did, except I was floating over some gravelly bottom, not just sand. The second time... Well, I already forgot what happened the first time. And I was not even beaching but just too close to shore. It was painful.

Now, parts of my river have muddy bottom (just mud/silt with no gravel) - those parts I am not afraid to go through if I have to, even in very shallow water. Just run it in deep water or flush on a hose for awhile (or both) afterwards. And by very shallow water I mean... like less than a foot shallow:

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The jet guys at the Colorado river have a saying, "when in doubt, throttle out" there are lots of sand bars!

 

[flyingnugget]

@swatski

Shit Dog!!!!.... was that video of you? I was white knuckling my chair watching that...

 

[swatski]

@swatski

Shit Dog!!!!.... was that video of you? I was white knuckling my chair watching that...

(Too funny.) Yes. And that's just my new 240. I have more footage but figured it would be too much, lol.

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[flyingnugget]

(Too funny.) Yes. And that's just my new 240. I have more footage but figured it would be too much, lol.

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Don't you dare add more footage... You'll be my first blocked user..LOL I can't it take man...When we go back out on the lake I'm going to give my boat a hug...

 

[Bill D]

@buckbuck has some very strict rules about ingesting mud in his jets...

https://jetboaters.net/threads/shallow-water-mud-ingestion.11541/page-2#post-199588
https://jetboaters.net/threads/mud-puppies.13950/

 

[txav8r]

Sometimes I wish I wasn't banned at the other site...I would love to link the Tx_DJ thread from over there. It kept us occupied from spring, well into the summer about 6 or 7 years ago now. It was a real saga. It was titled "how I know my jet boat will run in 8" of water". When you realize the treetops coming out of the water are bushes, your SCREWED! Tx_dj had a brand new boat, and ran it about a mile north of the last contour line on the charts, which was 6' if I remember correctly. When he realized he was way out of bounds, he tried to turn, and the boat slowed as a result of the turn...GROUNDED!!! While the boat will run in 8" of water, it takes 16" to float static. So now he was stuck there for weeks. Don't deliberately run in water so shallow that you make milkshakes, don't power off of sandbars, don't power back from shore at all...until you are in 3' of water. Some know their waters and accept the risk, but they also know their boats and how to fix them. As a general rule, none of us should be trying to operate in less than 3' of water. @swatski , you river boaters have balls!

 

[Bill D]

This is a great thread! While I am banned from the Facebook page for linking info on this forum, I can still access the old site.

http://yamahajetboaters.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24666

 

[swatski]

Sometimes I wish I wasn't banned at the other site...I would love to link the Tx_DJ thread from over there. It kept us occupied from spring, well into the summer about 6 or 7 years ago now. It was a real saga. It was titled "how I know my jet boat will run in 8" of water". When you realize the treetops coming out of the water are bushes, your SCREWED! Tx_dj had a brand new boat, and ran it about a mile north of the last contour line on the charts, which was 6' if I remember correctly. When he realized he was way out of bounds, he tried to turn, and the boat slowed as a result of the turn...GROUNDED!!! While the boat will run in 8" of water, it takes 16" to float static. So now he was stuck there for weeks. Don't deliberately run in water so shallow that you make milkshakes, don't power off of sandbars, don't power back from shore at all...until you are in 3' of water. Some know their waters and accept the risk, but they also know their boats and how to fix them. As a general rule, none of us should be trying to operate in less than 3' of water. @swatski , you river boaters have balls!

Yeah, that 212 stuck in mud was an epic thread! Glad you guys brought it back up.

I don't bolt through mud for fun (anymore) but where I am it can be an issue of being able to get out (or not at all) into the channel. What can I say... Some days the water may be low, but the river is just calling.

Now -- I used to go into the most remote and beautiful corners of the Kaskaskia river, IL, but would not do this with the 240. It is just too heavy if I got stuck.
(I used to keep a chain saw-winch w/500+ ft of rope, a water parachute etc. back then, lol, but I don't do this anymore)

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[bumpy]

My dock at home sits in 2' of water when the lake is high. We push the boat to the end of the dock, I jump in the bow while its moving, and my wife starts the engines. When we come in, I hit reverse quick and shut the engines down while my better half jumps on the dock and wraps a line around a post. When the lake is low, the bow can hit bottom if anyone is in the front. It can be done, but it can cause issues when bad luck rules!

 

[Wayloncle]

This is a great thread! While I am banned from the Facebook page for linking info on this forum, I can still access the old site.

http://yamahajetboaters.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24666

I remember reading that thread!
Wonder if he is still around in the jetboatimg community?