Understanding jet boats and water sports

[OperationROL]

Here is an oldy but a goody from Shelbyville 2014..... of @OperationROL

That hurts me all over again each time I watch it!

 

[Cambo]

20 years of wakeboarding behind jet boats and three multi day trips to Florida for riding lessons with pros at wakeboard camps

Both require that the boat has gps speed control

Wakebaording is 70% the rider 10% the boat 10% equipment (board rope boots) and 10% the driver it is fun to carve around doing board slides jumping wake to wake especially when you land in the sweet spot

Wake surfing is the new fad its fun when you drop the rope very easy on your body but rough on the boat requires a lot of equipment $$$ set up and deep calm water . While riding ropeless you move forward back side to side in about a 2' x 4' area tricks are difficult due to the wave size even the top pros don't do that much compared to all the things you can do on a wake board


18.5 to 19.5 mph

 

[2kwik4u]

For the ease of wakeboarding and the ease on the body of surfing.....grab a Wakeskate. Super easy to ride, super easy on your body when you fall, and it takes (actually prefers) ZERO setup on the boat. Stores in the ski locker, takes 30seconds to get setup, and speeds can range from 18-19 up to 23-24 and not be scary. GPS speed control would be great, bit it's not needed to have a good time.

I love it, and doubt I'll ever gear up the boat for surfing, or go back to boarding.

 

[wTheOnew]

Wakeskate...super easy on your body when you fall

Pretty sure I broke a bone in my foot on one last month.

 

[Babin Farms]

Tweaked my back yesterday wakeboarding. Wife decided 5-10mph was a good speed to go & I tried to stay up with everything I had thinking she would speed up and must have done something to the lower back. Not her first time driving but evidently she doesn’t pay attention to what I do when piloting the boat with others wakeboarding.

 

[itsdgm]

The biggest problem with a jet boat and wakeboard/surfing is that we don’t get a specific speed at a given rpm in the speed ranges of these sports.
For instance, when my wife would try to hold 18 mph, she’d go hands off the throttle and the boat would come off plane and slow down to under 10 mph. At that speed, it takes every once of strength and balance not to fall over while sinking to the bottom of the lake. Then I’d give her the thumbs up to increase speed and she’d throttle up. Then the boat comes back on plane and up to 35 mph, Now I’m hanging on for dear life. Followed by a thumbs down from me, back down to 10 mph. Once back in the boat, my wife (who doesn’t ever get towed behind the boat) would complain that she doesn’t like pulling me because I’m too picky . That’s where our perfect Pass system came in, probably saved our marriage

 

[Babin Farms]

A mirror made a huge difference in not having to turn around. I can see her and my speed by just moving my eyes & concentrate on her ideal speed of 16mph. I usually get close & then just feather one throttle to maintain a certain speed.
I joke with people that if you want to see how strong your marriage is, buy a boat.

 

[itsdgm]

A mirror made a huge difference in not having to turn around. I can see her and my speed by just moving my eyes & concentrate on her ideal speed of 16mph. I usually get close & then just feather one throttle to maintain a certain speed.
I joke with people that if you want to see how strong your marriage is, buy a boat.

I’ve often wondered why there isn’t a divorce attorney firm set up at the launch ramp right next the boat/ski rental shop.

 

[2kwik4u]

Pretty sure I broke a bone in my foot on one last month.

Holy crap.....what happened?

 

[Canuckjetboater]

Tweaked my back yesterday wakeboarding. Wife decided 5-10mph was a good speed to go & I tried to stay up with everything I had thinking she would speed up and must have done something to the lower back. Not her first time driving but evidently she doesn’t pay attention to what I do when piloting the boat with others wakeboarding.

@Babin Farms .....before she tows you again maybe you should tell her that you let the policy lapse on that big insurance policy you used to have. Worked for me - she now drives a lot better with nothing to gain by killing me.......just sayin'

 

[YamaNoob]

Hi Guys....anyone have a problem with the rope rubbing against the back bottom of the bimini top? I noticed that this weekend while my wife was pulling a wakeboarder and I was spotting. The rope was setup up below the bimini of a 2017 AR190 and I noticed it tight against the underside of top. Standard wakeboard line at the middle mount point of the rope. Noticed as the rider was going from side to side. Any suggestions??

Thanks.....Gerald

 

[HangOutdoors]

@YamaNoob I have been putting the rope on the top of my tower above the Bimini top. I then make sure the Bimini is in the first (lowest position in back). I don't have any issue with rub also when people cut to the extreme on the sides.

Where does everyone put the rope, above? Below? Is it boat model dependent?

 

[ScottS]

@YamaNoob I have been putting the rope on the top of my tower above the Bimini top. I then make sure the Bimini is in the first (lowest position in back). I don't have any issue with rub also when people cut to the extreme on the sides.

Where does everyone put the rope, above? Below? Is it boat model dependent?

2017 AR195 - I also put the rope ABOVE the Bimini and lower the rear catches to the lowest position. Just make sure to keep an eye on your rope when recovering the down boarder and that it stays clear of your wakeboard rack.

 

[Neutron]

rope is supposed to be above with the Bimini in the lowest setting

 

[tabbibus]

Just to be clear for those of us with 242, the rope in ours goes below the bimini. Every other boat it goes above.

 

[anmut]

Rope: On my 212S rope goes below bimini with the side supports in their highest position. That's why there's a zipper cut out by the tow point on the bimini. There can be some slight chaffing when you're out the full 70' but I haven't noticed any damage. Edit: I just checked the manual for my boat, says to put the bimini supports in the lowest position when using the wakeboard tow point, meaning that you should tow with it over the bimini! Learn something new everyday...

Wake boarding: As others have stated, super easy to setup and do. I like calm water and 19mph. I started WB'ing this summer, still have yet to get a decent wake-to-wake in, but having as much fun carving and grinding the wake. I'm 42 so whenever I'm riding the goal is to not hurt myself. This weekend I'm going to work on riding switch if the water is calm enough. Cost is a decent non-stretch rope (pick a color that stands out in your water color - my water is tanic brown so I went with neon green), and a decent board / binding setup.

Wake surfing: A lot of setup for this sport on jet boats. I fill three bags with 2k lbs of water, put the wake booster on. I ride goofy so usually I ride first for a bit, then we drain the transom bag and switch the booster, a real PITA and time consuming process. Takes about 20min to setup, and 15min to switch from goofy to regular. My biggest suggestion for WS'ing is to make sure you find 10+ feet of water, best with 20'+. Great waves are made by big displacement of water, and in shallow water, you're displacement is being flattened and spread out on the sides of the boat and not in the back. Here's my setup journey for wake surfing: https://jetboaters.net/threads/2020-212s-wakesurfing-dialing-in-the-wave.28735/

Boat speed: When I first started there was a lot of angry looks by me, from the back of the boat or after a fall, to my wife because; "why the hell can't you keep the speed right?!" Then I tried pulling some people myself and found how impossible it is. Yamaha's "cruise control" senses on RPM only, so anytime the boat bleeds off speed in a turn or through chop, the boat slows down and doesn't recover. Our throttle levers have great feel for normal driving, but trying to find a sweet spot as you adjust is nearly impossible and, IMHO, almost dangerously distracting on busy waters. So I bit the bullet and bought Ride Steady for $1400 and installed it myself. The GPS speed control system, adjustable speed by .10 of a mph, and programmable riders is a game changer for riders and driver. Now she considers herself spoiled because all she has to do is pull me up out of the water correctly, listen for the beep, and then rotate a knob when I call for speed changes. When wake surfing, I'll actually "tune" the wave before pulling anyone up, then make slight adjustments as someone's riding to get that perfect curl and push - it's beautiful. Last weekend, for some unknown reason, the Ride Steady system lost GPS signal (fixed by hard reboot of entire boat), and we attempted to surf without it - what a PITA! After we regained GPS again I took two first-time teenagers out wakeboarding. Both had just a blast, were able to get up easy, and were attempting bunny hops and jumps by their third go-round. I attribute that confidence not only to them, but to a nice and constant pull from the boat, thanks to the RS system. As the driver, I was able to enjoy pulling them without worrying about speed as we cut chop and made turns. I spent more of my time adjusting the music volume and songs for them then anything that day.

Boats aren't cheap, and doing water sports on boats aren't cheap either. An afternoon of surfing and boarding can easily burn 25 gallons of gas. But life is meant to be lived, so get out there and get wet!

 

[brian86992]

Wake surfing has become so popular in the last years because wakeboard crashes hurt. A get-off of the surfer at 9 mph is nothing compared to what your poor neck goes through with wakebaording

 

[YamaNoob]

Thanks to all for posting and replying to my post. It turns out that i didn't know about the adjustability feature at the rear of the bimini top for my 2017 AR190. Looks like mine is set at the high position and I will adjust that and put my my rope above it for this weekend!

Thanks again!!