Water depth when launching

[Chucksx190]

Looking at purchasing a 24' yamaha if my dealer gets back in touch with me. Right now i have a 2018 SX190 and have never had an issue launching it. I live on a canal and have a boat lift in the back yard so i launch from there and never trailer it. The canal is attached to the gulf of mexico so the water can raise and lower alot. I have a dip stick i made to check the water depth before i launch the boat. What is the least amount of water you can launch a 24' boat in? I have to have the engines running and idle in reverse off the lift cant push it off. The center of the canal is 6' or more. I see yamaha says 20" draft but im sure you need more than that. Thanks for the help.

 

[Cambo]

The problem with using reverse in shallow water is the jet nozzle directs the water down at an angle and blows everything loose off the bottom . These loose particles get sucked into the intake grate and and small stones can land in between the jet nozzle output area and directional bucket jaming forward and reverse gate movement . Reverse thrust Is not that strong on these boats unless its really high rpm and the amount of water hitting the bottom would create a crater blowing everything loose . All that sediment will flow through the impeller and water cooling lines. No way to get the boat lift lower ? I have areas that I boat in that get shallow and one restaurant that I like to go to at low tide I will shut the motors throw on water shoes and push the boat threw the shallow area .

 

[WREKS]

The problem with using reverse in shallow water is the jet nozzle directs the water down at an angle and blows everything loose off the bottom . These loose particles get sucked into the intake grate and and small stones can land in between the jet nozzle output area and directional bucket jaming forward and reverse gate movement . Reverse thrust Is not that strong on these boats unless its really high rpm and the amount of water hitting the bottom would create a crater blowing everything loose . All that sediment will flow through the impeller and water cooling lines. No way to get the boat lift lower ? I have areas that I boat in that get shallow and one restaurant that I like to go to at low tide I will shut the motors throw on water shoes and push the boat threw the shallow area .

Yamaha Jetboats are not a friend of shallow water. Because of my shallow water forays, my cooling system took in a lot of sediment that never got flushed out. And I always flushed my engines. Yes the boat may float in 20" of water; now, I do not want to idle, even in 3 feet.

 

[TommyG]

Looking at purchasing a 24' yamaha if my dealer gets back in touch with me. Right now i have a 2018 SX190 and have never had an issue launching it. I live on a canal and have a boat lift in the back yard so i launch from there and never trailer it. The canal is attached to the gulf of mexico so the water can raise and lower alot. I have a dip stick i made to check the water depth before i launch the boat. What is the least amount of water you can launch a 24' boat in? I have to have the engines running and idle in reverse off the lift cant push it off. The center of the canal is 6' or more. I see yamaha says 20" draft but im sure you need more than that. Thanks for the help.

This is my first year w the Yamaha jet boat. They recommend no lower than 3”. The dept finder is depth below the hull of the boat. I’ve Been in 2ft of water ( soft mud below but no sand) w 6 People and 75% gas on a 242x which is their heaviest 24’. Not recommending this, but would have no worries at 5-6 ft. biggest threat is kicking up rocks and debris in reverse. I set my warning at 4ft because that means zero is coming very soon.

 

[WREKS]

The closer you get to the bottom, the more you compromise the cooling system. Reverse throttle in shallow water presents the worst conditions. If the engine ever starts overheating, you probably are developing an internal blockage due to sand/silt.

 

[Cambo]

With over 20 years on jet boats I have had no issues with sand or sediment . I wakeboard in an area that has a small sand bar and the tides swing from 1.5 ft to 3 ft and the entire cove swings from 2.5 to 5.5 feet the bottom is mostly mud except for the sand bar . At low tide I tell boarders to not drop the rope as we go over the sand bar if you end up in 1.5 feet of water push the boat to deeper water it’s good to have 3 feet to get on plane. The biggest problem I had was a 3/4” x 3 “ stick lodged in the jet housing on the back side of the impeller . This caused cavitation and I checked in the cleanout for sea grass but the stick was hidden and didn’t find it until the boat was on the trailer and it was really hard to see .

 

[WREKS]

With over 20 years on jet boats I have had no issues with sand or sediment . I wakeboard in an area that has a small sand bar and the tides swing from 1.5 ft to 3 ft and the entire cove swings from 2.5 to 5.5 feet the bottom is mostly mud except for the sand bar . At low tide I tell boarders to not drop the rope as we go over the sand bar if you end up in 1.5 feet of water push the boat to deeper water it’s good to have 3 feet to get on plane. The biggest problem I had was a 3/4” x 3 “ stick lodged in the jet housing on the back side of the impeller . This caused cavitation and I checked in the cleanout for sea grass but the stick was hidden and didn’t find it until the boat was on the trailer and it was really hard to see .

@Cambo, You no doubt use your boat much more than I do. I think I got sand/silt in system early on that never got flushed totally out and accumulated with each outing over time. It finally got 'baked in,' and I had to remove the head to chip it out of the cylinder water jackets. Hopefully, I am more the exception than the rule.

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

I aim to get the front of the trailer in knee deep ish water. From there I can push the boat off with a good shove. I usually launch alone, it’s less stressful not having my better half giving me “useful” advice and laughing at my lack of coordination/skill and our kids going on “adventures” at the ramp.