Cobra jet steering is a must!!

[CraigAR]

Let me just say that @Cobra Jet Steering LLC got it right with his steering system. I installed the magnum ak steering system with fangs and right off the bat backing off the trailer i notice a huge difference! The boat backed up perfectly straight and when I started to turn to back into the canal, it actually turned pretty sharp. Driving down the canal in slow speed was great. Noticed instantly that I barely needed to move the steering wheel to keep it straight at 5mph. Once out into the river, i dropped the throttles into the TDE position and spun the boat in a 360 in place. I was so amazed I kept spinning in circles and my wife looked at me and said I look like a little kid on Christmas with his new toy. Testing turns at full speed was great. Turning was sharper and only lost a little speed. All in all I did not think I needed a steering system but I'm glad I bought this. Thanks to Jeff for improving the all around handling of my boat!

 

[NewBoater]

Awesome and I agree! Best mod I made so far

 

[Mjones]

Just installed mine this morning. can't wait.

 

[Dave burke]

Do you the articulating keel? I haven’t added one of these systems yet because I find mine tracks very nicely at speed, and is ok even at slow speeds. Reverse is not great however.

How much speed did you lose? Thx

 

[CraigAR]

Do you the articulating keel? I haven’t added one of these systems yet because I find mine tracks very nicely at speed, and is ok even at slow speeds. Reverse is not great however.

How much speed did you lose? Thx

I have a 17' ar240 so yes I have the keel. No speed was lost. We were hitting 49 on the gps yesterday with 10 knot winds. I was in your boat and didn't think I needed a steering system because I could handle the boat with ease. But after reading up on Jeff's system I thought what the hell, if it improves the handling I might as well try it.

 

[Dave burke]

Thx Craig. Very helpful.

 

[Dave burke]

Another question - why did you decide to go with this system as opposed to the CJS Ultimate or the JBP Thrust Vectors?

Thx

 

[CraigAR]

Another question - why did you decide to go with this system as opposed to the CJS Ultimate or the JBP Thrust Vectors?

Thx

I did not go with the thrust vectors due to the fact that they are not deployed at all speeds. The ultimates I do not know much about, I know they are spring loaded and can be adjusted to raise with the buckets or stayed deployed. With the Ak' s I like the fact that they come with a second tie rod to match the factory installed one which puts less stress on your steering and also many members have them installed with great results.

 

[bobbie]

I’ve had both thrust vectors and cobra jet.....both work great. Really looking forward to the lateral thrusters though...after hearing neil’s review.

 

[swatski]

I’ve had both thrust vectors and cobra jet.....both work great.

At no wake I don't see how those could be much different indeed.

Except when you add FANGS or Lateral Thrust Enhancers (LTEs), I guess - for two different reasons.

However, at speed you can only set the Cobras down. I was completely SHOCKED how much the Ultimates influenced my 190 handling. It was literally day and night especially pulling ski/wakeboarders - planting the stern. There is no way one could confuse a 190 with and without the Ulitmates at speed. Don't know about 210/212 hulls but I would imagine a pair of Ulimates would be crazy efficient on that hull at speed.

--

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Just to clarify things I started making steering for jet boats etc. back in 2001 when I purchased a jet boat and honestly hated how it handled.
I originally designed steering for myself but it wowed me so much that I decided to design steering for other jet boats and to address the shortcomings of the jet boat handling in a way that people could retrofit systems to their existing boats easily and affordably. And people did just that.
I targeted all speeds and reverse because jet boats were not a good fit for a family boat or for water sports the way they came from the factory.
I target the items most important to the majority of boat operators. And if you wanted the jet boat feel just leave the boat alone and drive it as it came from the factory. Not many people wanted that option.
Even at 65 I still hand build custom systems for people who hate how their boats handle. Here is a email I received from a customer with a sea doo 2 stroke jet boat who asked me to build a system just a few days ago actually

"Hi Jeff we were away for over a week and when we got back, we installed your cobra jet fins and took the jet boat out on the lake the other day and what an amazing difference it made! The idle was set too high when we had the carbs rebuilt and the combination of that and how jet boats normally steer was horrific to try to dock or even steer in no wake zones. We had the idle problem fixed, and your cobra jet fins made docking extremely easy and steering at lower speeds as well. It operates almost as easy as a prop boat. I am so thankful that I found you!! Thank you so much for working with us and making our jet boating experience wonderful now. We will recommend you to everyone that we know that has a JetSki or jet boat. Thank you again for everything, and God bless YOU and your business.
MaryAnn and John "

The slide , sit and spin stuff is pretty old hat now, people want to be able to drive their jet boat like any other boat and use it as a recreational boat with a wide variety of uses.
In the beginning I address the slow speed and the reverse issues, plus the high speed issues in a conservative way because I was trying to accommodate a large variety of users. People kept asking for more and more. So I gave them bigger and better systems.
I designed numerous systems for the Yamaha jet boat line as they were the largest demand .
And I designed several model specific systems for those as the boat line changed.
My A K system addresses the particular needs of the A K twin engine boats, the added tie rod is just common sense. I have explained the function and reason for that numerous times in posts on this web page, the steering provides added influence to deal with the large keel in the center of the boat resisting the change of direction when the boat is traveling at planning speeds, it also helps with slow speed turning plus with tracking at all speeds and the fangs add a power steering effect with improved reverse steering and improved reverse thrust for stopping.
Think about this, you spend a very small percentage of your boating backing up but when you do you want predictable steering it is important and I give you that however anything excessive can easily become a liability, you certainly do not want your boat doing sharp turns or tight circles unexpectedly in a tight place with other boats near you, or if you put it in reverse to avoid striking a dock and it gets sideways or turns a circle and you loose control.
That is just not something I see any practical use for let alone having to spend a lot of money or giving up precise steering at speed for! Think about it!!
Common sense would tell me you would want the all time steering, predictable handling and improved control at all speeds and in reverse any day ,, however if this is something that you find a need for then by all means do it.
I like and believe in the features that my systems offer you and so do my customers. I make the magnum steering systems, the magnum A K systems the Ultimate systems plus the fangs for these systems , and now the newest VIPER systems for your boating enjoyment and pleasure. I am constantly working to make practical and affordable products for your boats. I always try to make myself available to answer questions or clarify the features of my steering systems. Feel free to call me or email me if someone has confused you or lied to you, seriously just ask.
As I always say do your homework and buy your last system first.

 

[Dave burke]

Very helpful. Thanks all, and Jeff in particular.

Last question (I promise) - what do the fangs do? So far I’m happy with my boat at speed, but the low speed handling could be better and the reverse is not great. Last summer was terrible in the northeast so I have yet to use it for skiing/boarding so don’t know how it will handle.

I say all this but thanks to this site I was well advised on the challenges of low speed handling compared to I/Os. I wonder if I’m more careful because of these concerns. Plus my I/O is 20 years old...

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Haaa I have a rule about posting B. C. " before coffee" but since I am drinking my coffee as I answer your question I think I'm covered LOL.
Outboard and inboard outboards use a propeller to pull in a forward direction they are also called a screw for that reason they twist into the water pulling your boat forward so by turning the propeller to pull one direction the bow of the boat goes the other direction, the propeller boats are easier to turn for that reason, the skeg on the lower unit below the transmission applies a resistance to straighten the boat and keep it going in a line, the larger the skeg the harder it is to change the lower unit's direction.
You also get a torque steering effect from the prop rotation and this is why if you operate a tiller outboard you will feel the engine wants to turn one way on it's own but not the opposite way.

Your jet pump pushes the boat forward the pump creates force and a forcing cone on the rear of the pump confines that water force into a smaller area like a water nozzle on a fire hose .
This water has a large amount of forward thrust as it exits the forcing cone , sufficient to move your boat at speeds in the 50 mph range in most cases. To steer the jet a second cone or nozzle is mounted with a set of pivots to allow the nozzle to turn thus redirecting the water jet exiting the nozzle and therefore the direction you turn the nozzle is the direction the front of the boat will turn. Now this nozzle is constantly being pushed back to a straight line by the jet of water traveling inside it, The faster you turn the more that nozzle wants to return to being straight.
Actually when Sea Doo made twin engine jet boats with superchargers they cut away the inside walls of the steering nozzles to reduce the resistance on those nozzles in a hard turn as they were very difficult to turn using a steering cable and a interconnecting tie rod. Sadly that also reduced the turning capabilities of those nozzle setups so it was not really a good idea in my opinion.
So back to the Yamaha setup we have nozzles that want to remain in a straight line and we want to turn them to steer the boat, so Yamaha used a helm with cables that used 1/4 of a full turn from center to effect any full turn simply the wheel would go full left all the way to full right in half the distance of the steering wheel allowing the operator to do some quick turning but the gear ratio of this quick turning equated to some resistance felt by the operator.
Add in some fins for high speed and slow speed turning and the faster you go the more you feel the resistance. It was marginal but it was there.
"NOTE on the new twin engine keel boats it is my understanding that Yamaha has changed to a rack and pinion system plus they increased the distance the steering wheel travels by about 100 percent to reduce the force you feel in the helm when turning the nozzles and rudders they geared it down to feel like there is no resistance but there is. Also this makes quick turns a lot more difficult".
So many years ago when people operated boats with big rudders and a tiller someone realized that if you put part of the rudder forward of the pivot point it actually used the force of the water under the moving boat hull to assist the person turning the rudder , I live this stuff so I thought about it in respect to our situation with nozzle resistance, and then I also realized if I could do it right I could also help out with reverse control and give you a true reverse . So adding the forward leading fang to the bottom of the nozzle area close to where the reverse thrust exits would also corral the reverse water and keep it under the boat longer and make reverse more practical while also providing a part that extended forward of the pivot point of the nozzle to " CANCEL OUT" resistance, it actually removes it, reducing the wear on the steering components by capturing the water traveling past the fang at speed . I tried numerous designs until I found one that was effective in both areas. Thus the fangs and what they do. I also did this in a way that was cost effective for the end user and in the Magnum or Magnum A K and the Ultimate setups you can add these any time you wish .
The VIPER was designed with them built in so one small price and you get all the forward steering enhancements plus reverse " I am told that the reverse is excellent if you read the testimonials from the members here who have this system" and power steering with a benefit of a planning surface as an extra bonus, I know it sounds too good to be true but it is true , remember I alone brought steering enhancements to the Yamaha jet boats, all my patents are in my name alone, I designed them alone and funded them on my own so apparently I believe in them. Look them up 6561858 6702630, 8425269 and I have a fourth one pending. So I did not jump into this so I could get rich and buy myself a dealership, I blazed the trail because it impressed me when I did this for my own boat, Heck I patented tie rod steering from the nozzle to rudders in my very first patent and the first steering system I ever built and operated was two rudders connected to the nozzle using tie rods. I also patented numerous other designs. The point being that It's what I do. SO with a 30 day money back guarantee what is stopping you from getting a new boat or a boat that feels like one?????

 

[FloJet]

Let me just say that @Cobra Jet Steering LLC got it right with his steering system. I installed the magnum ak steering system with fangs and right off the bat backing off the trailer i notice a huge difference! The boat backed up perfectly straight and when I started to turn to back into the canal, it actually turned pretty sharp. Driving down the canal in slow speed was great. Noticed instantly that I barely needed to move the steering wheel to keep it straight at 5mph. Once out into the river, i dropped the throttles into the TDE position and spun the boat in a 360 in place. I was so amazed I kept spinning in circles and my wife looked at me and said I look like a little kid on Christmas with his new toy. Testing turns at full speed was great. Turning was sharper and only lost a little speed. All in all I did not think I needed a steering system but I'm glad I bought this. Thanks to Jeff for improving the all around handling of my boat!

Yes sir. This system has kinda spoiled me a little now.

 

[Dave burke]

Thx Jeff. You’ve convinced me. Only thing stopping me is winter! Just stored the boat last weekend. But I’ll reach out to you in the spring.

Just so I’m clear, I can buy it, install it, try it for 30 days and if I don’t like it, I can send it back?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Yes you have it right, all my steering systems have a 30 day satisfaction guarantee and my warranty also, you can visit my web site for the details on that but basically If you have a part that gets damaged or broken You can send it to me to be fixed or replaced for 49 dollars or less postage is not included. an example was the viper that was driven into a submerged stone wall in the Connecticut river , no one else that I know will cover impact damage but his part cost about 25 dollars to be repaired and I even posted before and after pictures of his part. the parts must have been purchased directly from me and it must be a part that is still in production. I covered one that was hit from behind in an auto accident just for an example.

Here is a link to the smashed viper unit thread https://jetboaters.net/threads/cobra-jet-viper.13241/#post-235226

 

[Brent Gaidosh]

I have had both Thrust Vectors & Cobra Jet Ultimates with Fangs on my SX190. Although they both work, the Ultimates with Fangs in the down position all the time are on to stay. More substantial, extremely effective, and everything you need to provide complete control - forward, reverse, no wake speed, and at speed, they are the best addition that can be added to a Yamaha Jet Boat.
My opinion only but I'm sure it is shared by many.

 

[Dave burke]

Super. Thx