Thoughts after first jet boat voyage (LS2000)

[Cajunborn]

Well since I’m a newbie to yjb, I’ll give you my initial thoughts on my LS2000:
1). The boat is quicker than I thought. Started off driving like grampa, until I got the hang of it.
2) Had a tough time steering at idle speed is. I tended to overcompensate and zig zagged a lot. This made for an interesting retrieval process.
3). Kinda wish it had some kind of cruise control or at least where the throttles could be set at a certain speed. Maybe most of you guys are probably either idling or at WOT and it isn’t an issue.
4). The fam had a great time swimming off the back with no prop to worry about.
5). Can’t wait to get back out there.

 

[the MfM]

Nice Boat!

Steering takes a bit to get comfortable with...But unlike outboards/stern drives you can shift from forward to reverse as often as you want which helps with slow speed maneuvering.

As far as the throttles... they aren’t supposed to fall back to idle when you let go of them. It’s a common problem with them that can be fixed. There are a couple friction screw adjustments that can be tightened up. But they loosen back up easily. Might try loctite. If anything is worn out Yamaha doesn’t list individual parts for the controls but SeaDoo used the same setup and has individual part numbers for the internal parts.

If you haven’t already make sure the oil lines are in good condition and have safety wire or oetiker clamps holding them in place. And replace the scupper if it’s still the original plastic one.

 

[sunbyrned]

Welcome to the jet boat world. You'll love this forum and the people. It's kind of like "it's a jeep thing, you wouldn't understand" society. Regarding the steering, my previous boats had a prop and when I made the move to a jet boat I thought I seriously made a mistake. I couldn't trailer, dock or anything. Then I learned the beauty of how to use the throttles individually. Give that a try. If you want to go left, give the right throttle some juice and vise versa. It doesn't take much, just a nudge. I just use my fingers to alternate between the two of them in and out of neutral. This technique will help you maneuver around everything, particularly skiers. Also, my 242 has a switch that I can use at idle speeds to give it more power without the throttles. That same switch is used as a cruise control which can be engaged at 1,500 rpms I believe. Not sure of the LS2000's have that or not.

 

[4x15mph]

Welcome aboard and your going to love the boat.
1) for the throttles, you can remove the assembly and there are allen bolts that tighten up each throttle. I removed them and put some semi-permanent (blue) thread locker before tightening down. I also added some velcro (loop side) on the underneath of the plastic cover that goes over the throttle assembly before tightening that down. It helps so that the throttles don't slip
2) for controlling speed, keep one engine just below the "ludicrous" rpm speed of ~5,300 and then use the throttle of the other engine only to dial in your speed (e.g. 5,500-7,000 RPM's).
3) for maneuvering, practice in an open area. You can use 1 engine/throttle to accelerate turns and spin on a dime. Also get used to using forward with quick changes to Reverse to slow down your moves. There is not really a neutral so neutral is equal amounts of forward followed by reverse
4) It is a quick boat. Not just 50mph but 0-30 quick. Pulls people out of the water easily so go slow when teaching people water sports.

As mentioned make sure you do preventative maintenance such as oil lines. There are many other upgrades like fuel/air separator, fuel/water filter (in place of fuel filter), and cooling system water filters.

Post some pictures

 

[Cajunborn]

This is exactly why this board is so awesome. I just assumed the throttles returned to idle when you released them. That’s my next project. Pics coming soon.

 

[4x15mph]

@Cajunborn - I am not sure what the throttles did from the factory as it is sort of a safety that when you let go they go back to neutral. You might want to wear the safety lanyard as these boats spin and are moving fast