Thoughts and demo rides of wake / towsports boats: Moomba Max, Axis A22, MB Sports

[haknslash]

@cozilla did you get to do a water test? If so I’d love to hear your thoughts compared to your 230.

 

[cozilla]

Not yet. Weather has been crap here but we wanted to lock it up before it got gone. They had 2 build spots open but the boat wouldn't be ready until around the middle of July. I thought my wife would be drawn to a boat with flake but she wanted the all black. Surprised me. It will be a pain to keep clean but I am anal about my exterior. I can tell you that after going over the Mojo it has more storage and room than my SX230 for sure.

 

[OrangeTJ]

I'd bet dollars to donuts that you are going to LOVE it! Welcome to the wakeboat/v-drive club.

 

[cozilla]

Thanks @OrangeTJ!

 

[cozilla]

@haknslash what can I expect when backing up the Moomba? I have a slip where I will need to back the boat out and turn the stern to the port side to get out to the lake. I have heard that because of the rotation of the prop that the boat will pull to the starboard side when backing up. The area where I will need to back up is somewhat tight with another finger of boats behind me.

 

[anmut]

@haknslash what can I expect when backing up the Moomba? I have a slip where I will need to back the boat out and turn the stern to the port side to get out to the lake. I have heard that because of the rotation of the prop that the boat will pull to the starboard side when backing up. The area where I will need to back up is somewhat tight with another finger of boats behind me.

Everything i've read about vdrive boats is that they're worse than a jet to dock. BUT, they do make stern thrusters for most models now too, which is supposed to make docking like butter.

 

[d_coyne1984]

@haknslash what can I expect when backing up the Moomba? I have a slip where I will need to back the boat out and turn the stern to the port side to get out to the lake. I have heard that because of the rotation of the prop that the boat will pull to the starboard side when backing up. The area where I will need to back up is somewhat tight with another finger of boats behind me.

I'm sure with some practice it can be done. You'll just need to learn to over rotate the right amount to counter act the prop kick. It's not so much an issue going forward, but can be a pain in reverse. There is a stern thruster on the market that's designed to be an add on, but they are about $5k. If it is that tight of a spot, it might be totally worth it.

I've been tempted since buying my inboard to make my own system with two or three of these. It wouldn't be spinning the boat in any kind of circles, but I think it would be enough to compensate for the prop kick and maybe just a little more. There have been many times where I have said having a thruster would have been really nice to compensate for a crosswind while trying to dock or put it on the lift or trailer.

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[the MfM]

This is a jet boat forum...

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[haknslash]

@haknslash what can I expect when backing up the Moomba? I have a slip where I will need to back the boat out and turn the stern to the port side to get out to the lake. I have heard that because of the rotation of the prop that the boat will pull to the starboard side when backing up. The area where I will need to back up is somewhat tight with another finger of boats behind me.

You can rotate the boat within its own length just by using the transmission and prop rotation to your advantage. This takes a little practice to learn but it will become nearly second nature after you practice a bit. I have videos on here in this thread I believe showing how to dock these boats. What I would do without knowing all the details to your situation is either back into your slip or pull out in reverse (no throttle just gear engagement) to clear the slip, put it in neutral once clear and turn the wheel to the right (starboard) then put the transmission in forward but don’t apply throttle. Just let the boat rotate. I would take the boat out to an open area, toss out a fender or life jacket or two and practice pulling into and up next to the objects pretending it’s a dock. These boats just take time like anything else but I can dock this boat no problems like my jet boat. IMHO thrusters on these boats is a luxury item and not a necessity.

 

[haknslash]

Everything i've read about vdrive boats is that they're worse than a jet to dock. BUT, they do make stern thrusters for most models now too, which is supposed to make docking like butter.

I wouldn’t say it’s worse than a jet. Different? Sure ...but not worse. It all comes with practice and getting over the fear.

 

[cozilla]

Your strategy sounds good. That is pretty much the same thing I did maneuvering my Yamaha out of the slip.

 

[haknslash]

Basically the boat will always tend to pull the stern to the right using reverse, so to keep it from happening or fighting against the natural prop rotation you will simply use the throttle going into reverse and back into neutral as little bumps in and out of gear. Once clear of the slip you can spin the boat the direction you need to. It’s always easier to spin the boat to the left or port. It just takes longer to do it to the right side if you’re in tight quarters but it’s certainly doable with some practice. If possible practice before having your boat at the slip so you will know what to expect and not be so shocked or nervous the first time.

The prop rotation is not necessarily an evil thing and you will learn to use it to your advantage when you pull up to a dock that is on the starboard side. You can approach the dock at angle and when close just put the boat in reverse the prop rotation will pull the stern right along side the dock. Before long you’ll learn you can crab walk these boats just by using forward neutral and reverse bumps into and out of gear with no to minimal throttle input.

 

[cozilla]

Sounds good. Thank @haknslash!

 

[haknslash]

Sounds good. Thank @haknslash!

No problem! These may help explain it as well....

 

[haknslash]

Worst case if you do overshoot when backing up and the stern swings too far to the right to recover, just turn the steering wheel all the way to the left and apply forward, neutral, reverse inputs without throttle and she will rotate all the way around to the left or basically do a loop in that sense. That would be easier than trying to correct the boat from an overshoot in tight quarters but I’d have to see an aerial view of your slip to get a better idea.

 

[cozilla]

Yea, makes sense.

 

[Brad460]

Everything i've read about vdrive boats is that they're worse than a jet to dock. BUT, they do make stern thrusters for most models now too, which is supposed to make docking like butter.

In my experience v-drive boats are much much easier to maneuver and dock...We had a Moomba v-drive for 7 years prior to buying an 19 AR210 and I hated coming to a dock with the AR210. We are now back into a v-drive.

In fact my wife always unloaded and loaded our previous Moomba, but refused to even sit in the drivers seat on our AR210..

 

[sleek98]

Got the boat paint corrected and a ceramic coating applied. can’t wait to finally fire this thing up for the first time since I have owned it for almost 4 months now.

winter insurance layup ends 4/1. Counting down the days.

 

[OrangeTJ]

The key to going backward to port is just to use very small moments of reverse to get moving, then rudder in neutral while moving astern, then momentary engagement of forward & countersteering to rotate the boat, then back to momentary reverse until you are pointed the way you want to go. It sounds more complicated than it is. These boats don't "clunk" in and out of gear like an I/O and you will probably never need more thrust around docks than idle speed will provide.

 

[Brad460]

The key to going backward to port is just to use very small moments of reverse to get moving, then rudder in neutral while moving astern, then momentary engagement of forward & countersteering to rotate the boat, then back to momentary reverse until you are pointed the way you want to go. It sounds more complicated than it is. These boats don't "clunk" in and out of gear like an I/O and you will probably never need more thrust around docks than idle speed will provide.

^^Exactly this...So very easy to maneuver a V-drive..Tap it in and out of gear ...