Tying a Jetski to a dock and other musings

[Port0222]

Hello Jetski owners -

We are renting some jetskis for the weekend and I was looking for any advice on how to secure these when not in use. We have a dock with a swim platform and my general thought is to tie the bow to the end of the swim platform and the stern back to the dock to allow it to be suspended between 2 points and not rubbing along the dock, but was curious if you all had any advice on tying them off. Also -- there are 2, so not sure how much space that will leave / should I put them side by side? Back up -- I was also thinking about tying them bow to swim platform and really wedging an anchor in the sand with a bouy and rope so they can be straight back from swim platform and easily disconnected.

I also have a sand beach -- Should I just beach them? If yes, Please also answer the dock question too -- as We will be spending some time at another house that only has a dock and no sand.

Any quick disconnect thoughts? Seeing as jet skis do not have cleats and these will likely be a revolving door, any advice on methods to quickly allow people to take them out with out tons of knots and a lot of tying.

On a separate note -- They skis are Seadoo Sparks. I am excited to try these as everything I have read, they are on the more unstable side (one of the reason I am not a huge jet ski fans as of late). I have a jet boat -- and looking for a toy, not a second small boat. Any other Spark users? any advice or thoughts?


Thanks and Happy 4th!

 

[tdonoughue]

Skis are pretty light. Especially Sparks. I would not overthink it too much.

First, they usually have bumpers around the circumference. I don't think I have ever used a fender on a ski.

Second, many people just tie up to one point. I would not advocate that, but some folks will just loop a line around one side of the handle bars, tie the other end to a cleat on a dock and meander off. Not sure on the Sparks, but most skis have some grab handle or something on the aft side around which you can loop a line (insert the looped end through the handle and then run the bitter end through the loop; then take the bitter end to the dock). I do that, then another on the handle bar, usually. Don't need a heavy line. Some people even use the bungee-style lines (I don't like those personally, but if I used them anywhere, it would be a ski).

Third, on beaching, the problem with beaching is where you beach. First, you may scratch the bottom (not that anyone will probably notice). But you may also hit rocks or more substantial things, which can give you chipped off gelcoat, holes, etc. So pay attention to where you are beaching. Again, skis are light, so it is not like you are putting the weight of a boat on a hull. So you can probably do that, but I would tie them up. If you do beach them, probably a good idea to run a line from the handle bar to a tree or shore spike or something--just in case.

Does that help?

 

[Jgorm]

Put some pcv pipe on a rope with carabineers on the end.

 

[Port0222]

Thanks guys — yes, helpful. Seeing as they were rentals, wanted to double check if I was missing something.

For the PVC pipe, we used one when towing a boat behind a houseboat, really smart. Good idea.

Thanks guys!

 

[spatty99]

The Spark is a blast. Super lightweight and agile and plenty stable with a single rider, just not ideal for 2 or more adults.
If there is a fair amount of wave action and you have gradual sloped sand or dirt shoreline I would definitely beach them. They are really light (400#) so they're relatively easy to move around.