Thought I made an expensive mistake

[Wasaga weekender]

I am a newbie in the jet boat world. Been boating for years and made the plunge at the end of last summer and purchased a 2014 242 Limited S. My boys were 9 and 11 at the time and ready to move up from our 22' cuddy to something more suited for water sports. We keep our boat on a fairly shallow river and do most of our boating out in a very large bay. The 242 seemed like a good all around fit for us and a boat my wife could get comfortable driving pretty easily. I chose to ignore the negative feed back the local marina guys (former Sea Doo dealer and current Tahoe dealer) were giving me about jet boats in general.
At first, I struggled with the low speed maneuverability at the gas dock and attempting to guide the boat into my boat lift. Second time tubing, sucked the rope in and had a nervous 45 min of fighting to remove it as I was drifting towards the shore. I was also surprised at how easily weeds got sucked up and how often I had to stop and remove them via the clean outs. It didn't help that I then received an email from Yamaha announcing all the improvements for the 2015 242. I was feeling that I had made a huge mistake and wasn't loving the boat.
I even started to shop for other non jet boats and tried to figure out if I could handle the financial hit of trading in or trying to sell the boat and purchase another one so soon.

New season, starting to feel the love for the boat.
I had to remind myself that there was a learning curve with our first boat and it would take a little time to get used to this one. After watching a few U tube videos over the winter, I am a lot more comfortable with handling the boat at low speeds. My kids love the boat and we are having a blast tubing and wake boarding.
Hopefully we will have warmer weather this summer so we can better appreciate the stern area seating and use the swim platform more.
I am starting to explore the benefits of adding Thrust Vectors and considering purchasing them to improve the low speed handling.

 

[Zarrella]

Glad you hung in there! Steering fins will definitely make a difference at the dock and the ramp. Now sit back and here how I'm wrong or right....and which brand you should buy. I would suggest that you read alot of the steering threads here and message some people to get some opinions on what they have. Good luck with your boat!

 

[Scottintexas]

glad to have you on board,
here is the post from our FAQ (listed at the top of the screen) about steering,
https://jetboaters.net/faq/how-to-make-your-boat-steer-track-better.20/
I think if you get Cobra's he throws the locks in at a big discount but you have to ask to confirm,

update your profile with your location so we know where you are, maybe you have a member close by that can continue to help you feel more comfortable, If I'm ever stuck or need to stop the first thing I'm doing is throwing the anchor to stop my drift,

 

[H2Oload]

Fins are the way to go.

 

[itsdgm]

Welcome aboard @Wasaga weekender glad you found us and decided to join. You're right, jet boats do have a learning curve. But you've got to be loving the shallow draft and less maintenance. I think you'll be very happy once you've got it all figured out. Also, I think you'll love the boat even more after adding the fins.

 

[Julian]

Welcome to the forum....if you haven't learned the reverse clean out trick...ask about it or loon it up in the faq....or I can link it when I'm not mobile (or someone else will)

 

[Scuba_ref]

I got you covered @Julian Reverse clean out trick from the faq.

https://jetboaters.net/faq/i-keep-getting-stuff-stuck-in-the-pumps-any-tips-to-help.66/

 

[Chillypilot]

@Wasaga weekender are you at Wasaga Beach in Ontario. Like you I also sucked up a ski rope one of my first times out. Not only that the other engine was cloged with a big pile of seaweed. I too was a little frustrated at first. The low speed steering was very difficult. I bought Cobrajet fins and through in a couple of other mods and now I love my jet boat. The longer I own it the more I like it and realize how versatile it is. This week I'm working on my wake surfing project. After my first trial run I'm making my buddy who has a nautique envious of my wake. Keep practising you low speed handling and grab yourself a pair of steering fins. (Both brands are great).

 

[buckbuck]

No mistake. You're going to grow to love its capability. Welcome aboard.

 

[SCSTWG]

Great boat. Glad to hear it is growing on you.

 

[biglar155]

Welcome!

In a few years you'll be glad you stuck with it. These are great boats. You just need to get past the learning curve.

 

[njmr2fan]

Welcome aboard @Wasaga weekender. I only have a single engine 190 so Im not sure if that makes things easier or more difficult. I had a heck of a time trying to get close to docks and move around in NO WAKE 1. After my first day trying out the boat I had the same thoughts of making a mistake. My confidence was crushed and it made me question if I was cut out to be a boat owner. I went to reading the forums and bought a Thrust Vector fin for the jet. To me it made a huge difference. Ive also spent quite a bit of time practicing around the courtesy docks near the ramp. The nearby campers must think I'm an idiot, and Im sure they cant figure out why I dock and leave and dock and spin around and back out and back in...LOL But, My wife tells me that every time we go out she sees the improvement in my docking. Keep at it, seems like its all practice.

 

[beachbum]

Welcome to the forum ... you will find soooooooooooo much info here... and fantastic assistance with the "how to's"...

Oh... and some great folks with some fun stories and videos too...

gets you thru the off season.

enjoy Georgian Bay in your Yammi... we are in Lake Erie, another large fresh water sea.

 

[Zeus2013]

Welcome to the family. I was in somewhat the same situation. I ended up reading posts, asking questions, watching videos, practice, practice, practice, practice and ended up making life so much better on a jet boat.

IMHO, I recommend fins, either or. My 2015 sucks butt in reverse trying to get in to a slip.

Get the past issues out of your head and start new.

 

[Knot Practical]

Welcome to the forum. I thought I had made a mistake buying my boat too. I bought my boat in January and could not wet test it. I didn't know anybody that owned a jet boat or even rode in one before, but I did do my research. So it was a long winter in Ohio waiting to get it out. First time wasn't what I had hoped for in control, but now I wouldn't go back to I/O or an Outboard. So far the only thing I've picked up is a sock in the jet pump that's better than the a prop strike on rock or rope and fishing line knotted up around prop. Boat Companies and dealers will talk smack on jets if they don't sell them. Have fun boating.

 

[kthrash]

Keep a pack of razor blades in your glove box in a dry box of some kind.. they will make short order of anything stuck in a jet.. getting used to the steering will take less time than you think with a little practice, when I got my first jet boat, I went out in the middle of the lake and sat there and practiced every manuveur I could think of slow, fast, forwards, backwards, one stick in forward one stick in backwards etc.. Welcome Aboard!

 

[msavold]

Welcome @Wasaga weekender - nice to hear from someone boating in a great place in a great boat! Loved Wasaga and north up to Christian, Hope, and Beckwith as a kid - I still remember summers water skiing off Balm Beach just north and being scared to death by the boulders in the crystal clear waters (even though they were many feet below!). I probably don't have many more hours than you so far and I too was concerned about steering when I got it. Since then, I've come to love it and can make it - except if there's a strong wind up (still working on that!). The secret to happiness is differential steering and running each throttle separately (forwards or reverse) as required. Great fun to make the boat almost spin completely at one point!

 

[Evil Sports]

Splitting the throttles to use them as steering aids made all the difference in the world for me. Use the no wake modes to bump up the rpms can help with steering too. One thing that made the light go on in my head was when someone said its like a shopping cart, if you want a shopping cart to go left you push with your right arm, once I equated that to the throttles it was a ton of fun. When I leave my slip I put the port in reverse and the starboard in forward, turn the wheel left and spin right out of my spot.

 

[buckbuck]

Shopping cart...I have not heard that one. That's a great way to think of it.

 

[SCSTWG]

Yeah, my moment was figuring out that when in reverse you need to turn the wheel in the opposite direction that you want the bow to go. I just shift between the first indent (forward and reverse) and neutral and have great control around the dock. At first, I thought I was hopeless but even my wife says I have it down now and she doesn't throw many compliments my way.