TVW Review <Jet Boat Pilot's - Thrust Vector Wake>

[capt]

I installed my TVW's on my 2007 sx230 a couple of days ago. The install went pretty smooth except for a couple issues. It started out with me breaking my anode bolts and having to hammer the anode from the back side. Luckily JBP TVW kit comes with new bolts! I did have to use some jb weld that i had to the epoxy that came with the kit. I also had one of the nutserts on the deflector not want to allow the screw to go into it. I think there was some paint on the inside of the threads. I did notice that the bolts provided for the steering clevis was a little too long even with the thick washer. I had a clearance issue if I pushed the bolt up the fin would hit the nut and bind up. I think I am going to add some more spacers so that cant happen.

Today I finally got to take it out on the water. When I purchased the TVW's I wanted to get the steering benefits of the fins and no spray from the jets in my kids eyes. I have smaller kids and will prob not be surfing much for the next few years. So anyways here is my review:

The GOOD:
1. Fins give the boat so much more control even at speed. Tracks straight and good control at low speeds. Very happy with this!
2. Kids said spray has been improved but not eliminated. Might try and find a 10 foot extension. I use a 50 ft bungee rope right now.
3. Wake looks better at wakeboarding speeds but I dont know too much about wakeboarding
4. I did try and do some surfing but didnt have any ballast or gps speed control, but there were times that the wave looked clean compared to when I tried before.
5. Did not notice a reduction in turning radius as others have said.

The BAD:
1. My forearms are burning right now! The steering is SIGNIFICANTLY more stiff! (definitely not happy about this)
2. I did notice that if the steering wheel is slightly turned while anchored and swimming the ladder will hit the fins (don't like this too much)
3. The anodized finish looks crappy already
4. I had something weird happen as I was going slowly around the dock. It felt like the fins got stuck and was turning the boat and not allowing me to steer. I was able to get it unstuck by putting it in reverse. I dont know why or how this happend but I am guessing it has to do with the steering clevis bolt.
5. I also noticed that I cant go straight running on one motor.

I kinda wish that the fins were more like the first ones will showed us with the 4 different settings but who knows maybe those would have had steering issues as well.

 

[BigAbe75]

Is the stiff steering only at certain speeds? Hard to turn at nowake, as well as cruise?

 

[capt]

stiff steering anything above like 8 mph

 

[BigAbe75]

So, at nowake it’s the normal. So, at least that narrows it down as far as not being something that is getting pinned or messed up just by installing the fins. It only becomes a problem as the fins see more water volume and start to rise. That’s encouraging to me in that it’s not something being screwed up by the install itself and can be rectified by altering the components. Sounds like Will is on the right track then.

 

[Brad460]

Probably time to combine all these reviews into one thread..they all say the same thing- heavy steering. We know...it’s been discussed ad nauseam and they are working on a fix (also mentioned 100x)..

 

[Tobes]

Yes, consolidate all the reviews to 1 thread because you feel that they “all say the same thing”. You almost sound like a paid reviewer with that logic. What is wrong with this thread? His post explained the good and the bad with details provided. No reason why the OP should not be able to post a review thread of a product he purchased and installed. That is one of the great things these forums were designed for.

Thanks for the review! Glad to see we get honest reviews by people. While Will may be providing after release support which is great, people miss the fact that many people are spending a lot of time trying to help him and many more are spending time dealing with frustration. While the product is new, lets be honest, it wasn’t tested to what it was being sold as. Some can say early adopters received a “discount”, but all they received was prerelease pricing. Happens all the time. Doesn’t mean they should get a bad product.

 

[Julian]

@capt I added the full name to the title of this as many might not know the acronym.

Thrust Vector Wake- Low Speed Steering Enhancer + Watersports (CLEARANCE)

CLEARANCE! SELLING OUT AT THIS PRICE! LIMITED STOCK!! Thrust Vector Wake- Watersports + Low Speed Steering Enhancement JetBoatPilot Is Revolutionizing The Way Jet Boat Owners Use Their Boats With Our Latest Creation, Thrust Vector Wake! Thrust Vector Wake creates the following: - Surf A Super...

jetboatpilot.com

 

[Arcadyus]

Yes, consolidate all the reviews to 1 thread because you feel that they “all say the same thing”. You almost sound like a paid reviewer with that logic. What is wrong with this thread? His post explained the good and the bad with details provided. No reason why the OP should not be able to post a review thread of a product he purchased and installed. That is one of the great things these forums were designed for.

Thanks for the review! Glad to see we get honest reviews by people. While Will may be providing after release support which is great, people miss the fact that many people are spending a lot of time trying to help him and many more are spending time dealing with frustration. While the product is new, lets be honest, it wasn’t tested to what it was being sold as. Some can say early adopters received a “discount”, but all they received was prerelease pricing. Happens all the time. Doesn’t mean they should get a bad product.

It's very surprising how so many forum members don't seem to care. So what you save a few hundred bucks. But for what a imo bad product that wasn't tested due to hurricanes. This type of product needed a couple years of solid R & D.

 

[DavisAR195]

I’m the Pacific Northwest our summer is short and the time spent on the boat is valuable time with family and friends. I followed JBP from start to finish (what I thought was finish) and purchased my set back on 12/10/18. I installed them on my AR195 and after 2 trips out I was done and back in the mail for a refund. The first time out the steering was what I would call on the verge of unsafe. The second trip out my reverse bucket began to catch causing the throttle to stick and at that point I was done. I’m not going to waste my summer testing a product that I believed was ready for mass production. What are we just all suppose to wait around hoping he comes up with a fix that results in the same original promised product. Also I currently run a Lucky 13 cone and asked back in January (see original thread) if there would be any issues and JBP confirmed it would be fine. Come to find out the additional thrust from the Lucky 13 caused the bolts to actually bend. This was the first and last product I will ever buy from JBP.

 

[Arcadyus]

@DavisAR195 when I get the Moomba Makai we should get together and surf. Not many PNW dudes on these forums.

 

[DavisAR195]

@DavisAR195 when I get the Moomba Makai we should get together and surf. Not many PNW dudes on these forums.

I’m down, I’m by no means a pro but just love being out on the water!

 

[Arcadyus]

I’m down, I’m by no means a pro but just love being out on the water!

If we were pro we wouldn't be trying to make it work on 19ft jet boats lol. I am a way better snowboarder tho. I can't wait to be able to just surf without worrying about losing push. I will say tho for a 19ft jet boat it is pretty darn good.

 

[Rumbo]

It's very surprising how so many forum members don't seem to care. So what you save a few hundred bucks. But for what a imo bad product that wasn't tested due to hurricanes. This type of product needed a couple years of solid R & D.

So you got your Moomba...Whoopi, good for you. It’s getting old reading your critiques. Go find your Moomba forum and stop bitching here about something that you’re not buying and not using. Believe it or not, some of us don’t care and are confident in jbp.

 

[Arcadyus]

So you got your Moomba...Whoopi, good for you. It’s getting old reading your critiques. Go find your Moomba forum and stop bitching here about something that you’re not buying and not using. Believe it or not, some of us don’t care and are confident in jbp.

Thanks I'm pretty excited. I've purchased products from Will before. I'm not the only one who feels this way. Far from it. Am I not allowed to have an opinion different than yours without being a dick?

 

[Rumbo]

Thanks I'm pretty excited. I've purchased products from Will before. I'm not the only one who feels this way. Far from it. Am I not allowed to have an opinion different than yours without being a dick?

It’s coming off like you’re being a dick. I know there’s a lot of people disappointed that it wasn’t a grand slam on original launch, including myself, that doesn’t mean that we regret the purchase by any means.

 

[Arcadyus]

It’s coming off like you’re being a dick. I know there’s a lot of people disappointed that it wasn’t a grand slam on original launch, including myself, that doesn’t mean that we regret the purchase by any means.

Oh I am a dick, everyone who knows me knows that. But I'm just calling a spade a spade mate. It may not be popular but someone had to do it. Just as tired of me you are, I was just as tired as nobody saying anything other than Jeff. But he's just the competition so nobody will really take what he has to say too seriously. But really your OK with this not even being beta tested? And Will being very Nonchalant about not testing it. I mean how many did he sell over 500? 1000? What was the average cost? Let me ask in a different way. If you knew it wasn't ready and caused steering issues, would you still have purchased it whenever you did? Or would you have singed up to be a tester at a reduced cost to help him get it to market? Because that's what you did. And it seems like nobody was aware of that. If you can't see that's not right then idk wtf else to say.

 

[Rumbo]

Oh I am a dick, everyone who knows me knows that. But I'm just calling a spade a spade mate. It may not be popular but someone had to do it. Just as tired of me you are, I was just as tired as nobody saying anything other than Jeff. But he's just the competition so nobody will really take what he has to say too seriously. But really your OK with this not even being beta tested? And Will being very Nonchalant about not testing it. I mean how many did he sell over 500? 1000? What was the average cost? Let me ask in a different way. If you knew it wasn't ready and caused steering issues, would you still have purchased it whenever you did? Or would you have singed up to be a tester at a reduced cost to help him get it to market? Because that's what you did. And it seems like nobody was aware of that. If you can't see that's not right then idk wtf else to say.

Yes, you are being a dick. Yes, I would have bought at a few hundred dollar discount if I knew it caused steering issues, knowing it was sold by a reputable company who is going to stand behind it. Yes I would have signed up as a beta tester. I myself am aware of it, can’t speak for others here.

Let me put it another way, do you download the first version of iOS every year thinking it’s going to be a flawless product? As we all know, there are going to be issues but we have confidence in the developer that they are going to have it worked out by version x.2.1.

 

[Arcadyus]

Yes, you are being a dick. Yes, I would have bought at a few hundred dollar discount if I knew it caused steering issues, knowing it was sold by a reputable company who is going to stand behind it. Yes I would have signed up as a beta tester. I myself am aware of it, can’t speak for others here.

Let me put it another way, do you download the first version of iOS every year thinking it’s going to be a flawless product? As we all know, there are going to be issues but we have confidence in the developer that they are going to have it worked out by version x.2.1.

Your comparing JBP to fucking apple? Yeah I'm out.

 

[Rumbo]

Oh I am a dick, everyone who knows me knows that. But I'm just calling a spade a spade mate. It may not be popular but someone had to do it. Just as tired of me you are, I was just as tired as nobody saying anything other than Jeff. But he's just the competition so nobody will really take what he has to say too seriously. But really your OK with this not even being beta tested? And Will being very Nonchalant about not testing it. I mean how many did he sell over 500? 1000? What was the average cost? Let me ask in a different way. If you knew it wasn't ready and caused steering issues, would you still have purchased it whenever you did? Or would you have singed up to be a tester at a reduced cost to help him get it to market? Because that's what you did. And it seems like nobody was aware of that. If you can't see that's not right then idk wtf else to say.

And beyond that, what the hell difference does it matter to you? Did you buy it? Are you being let down that it’s not the best thing to happen to a jetboat on day one? My guess is no

 

[Rumbo]

Your comparing JBP to fucking apple? Yeah I'm out.

You’re right, JetBoatPilot should have more beta testing more than a multi-hundred-billion dollar company