first experience sucking something in the jet..

[Chris K]

so there we were... toolin down the lake, around 20 mph. something weird happens... just dont feel right. pull the throttles back... push one up a little at a time,, one motor sounds good, one seems to not move and just in general feels weird. DAM.... cut the motors.. open the clean out plug after removing the cobra lock... sure nuff.. there was a lil peice of plasitc that got pinched inbetween the impeller and the tube.. about the size of a 2 sticks of juicy fruit gum on top of each other. Black hard plastic. but the clean out ports were a lifesaver... well not literally in this case as we were only a few hundred feet from the dock, and i would of just sent the daughters boyfriend overboard to pull us back to the dock... thats why i bring him afterall. haha

Just reached in the clean out port, wiggle wiggle wiggle the wedge of plastic out, reinstalled the plugs... and viola... were back on the road again.... figuratively.

 

[Glassman]

Yep, the ports are one of the main features that set the Yamahas apart from the other jetboats. If it weren't for the clean-outs, I'd still be floating somewhere....waiting for the water to warm up!

 

[Chris K]

So in my case... about exactly 11 hours on the boat was my first time jamming up on something the jets picked up. How often has it happened for others? Granted its a huge range, depending on the lake, rainfall and all that ... just an in general number.

 

[rkluck]

I have had this happen twice in 5 years. Once my fault (tow rope - the first year) and another was a piece of wood (last year). Both times I went back to the slip with one engine and later got the material out. I have never been able to solve the problem though the clean out plug but just had to reach up through the intake grate to work it out. So all in all considering we go out almost every weekend from May through October and then at least one a month this rarely happens to me.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

Does anyone have any issue pulling their ports out due to the plastic opening shrinking over the years? I have an 06 and I can unplug them but getting them out of the opening is like a jigsaw puzzle. Thinking of just cutting that plastic.

 

[MOA_Chaser]

Does anyone have any issue pulling their ports out due to the plastic opening shrinking over the years? I have an 06 and I can unplug them but getting them out of the opening is like a jigsaw puzzle. Thinking of just cutting that plastic.

No, not at all... are you sure the big hose clamps that hold the rubber drop tube to the lid aren't too tight? (BTW I hate hate HATE having to tighten those hose clamps!)

 

[Ajax]

Does anyone have any issue pulling their ports out due to the plastic opening shrinking over the years? I have an 06 and I can unplug them but getting them out of the opening is like a jigsaw puzzle. Thinking of just cutting that plastic.

I run into a similar issue. Got to play the angle and use a little extra force.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

Hmmm interesting, yeah it's the white plastic on the top of the opening, the lip where the white plastic meets the black port hole is no longer flush, if it ever was, if that makes sense. So I have wiggle and jiggle the plug to get it past that lip. I googled the pic for reference.

 

[smthng]

Does anyone have any issue pulling their ports out due to the plastic opening shrinking over the years? I have an 06 and I can unplug them but getting them out of the opening is like a jigsaw puzzle. Thinking of just cutting that plastic.

Yup... my 08 is okay so far, but my 03 is like one of those horseshoe & chain puzzle things. The top already is cut and it's still a PITA. Fortunately, I only have had to take them out in my driveway... I've got about 50 hours between both boats and never had to pull them on the water. The top clamps on my 03 are completely off, so I know that's not the issue there.

 

[MOA_Chaser]

Confession: When I first read this thread title, I thought this was going to be in the Boats & Babes forum.

 

[GTBRMC]

I have had two pump ingestion incidents in 5 years.

First was a couple weeks after we got the boat (maybe 4th time out), sucked up a piece of heavy, black Visqueen-type material - about 1 foot square. Was able to get it out via clean out port, but was only 50 feet or so from the dock, so could have paddled over if required.

A couple years later, sucked up a tube tow rope. Was able to cut it & get it out through the clean out port. Was very happy to have the clean out available that time, we were about a mile offshore on Lake Michigan. We could have limped home on one engine, but there was no need.

 

[scokill]

Does anyone have any issue pulling their ports out due to the plastic opening shrinking over the years? I have an 06 and I can unplug them but getting them out of the opening is like a jigsaw puzzle. Thinking of just cutting that plastic.

The answer is yes....some have. My plugs definitely have less clearance than new but I can still get them out. I read on the other forum where some folks stretched back out by applying heat from a heat gun. It looks like it's $135 or so to replace.

 

[spaz1868]

Confession: When I first read this thread title, I thought this was going to be in the Boats & Babes forum.

I thought it was a thread about the mile high club.

 

[Julian]

Since moving to NC I sucked up one stick.
While living in Illinois and boating in WI, we'd pull in weeds mostly and would do the reverse trick to clear them.
When doing the loop cruise after heavy rain....twice a trip....too much crap in the river!

I rebuilt my plugs a year or two ago, and not only did it make getting them in and out much easier (into the pump itself), but it also helps getting them past the outer plastic edge (the lower skirt swells....the rebuild kit replaces the bottom half with skirt).

 

[Trevor Shipman]

The answer is yes....some have. My plugs definitely have less clearance than new but I can still get them out. I read on the other forum where some folks stretched back out by applying heat from a heat gun. It looks like it's $135 or so to replace.

Hmmm, not a bad idea trying a little heat. For the time and effort might just order a new trey and be done with it. Certainly isn't high on my list of to dos yet though.

 

[Team Bristow]

I pulled a handful of stones off the bottom of the lake on the maiden voyage and destroyed the impeller. I then, because I am extra smart, pulled a large rock through the pump on the third trip out and destroyed the impeller and the impeller housing. Both times I had to replace the impeller, impeller housing and the drive shaft because no marina in the area could get the impeller off of the shaft. After that I learned my lesson and pay far more attention to the depth of water that I am in. Since then I have had to pull weeds and small sticks out of the clean out port a couple of times a year. We tend to spend a lot of time exploring the different channels and coves on the lakes around here so I am not surprised when I get something anymore. I can hear it in the RPM's almost immediately. The first trip out this year we got a small twig stuck while still at the launch, I pulled it from the clean out port and we were on our way in under a minute.

 

[itsdgm]

Does anyone have any issue pulling their ports out due to the plastic opening shrinking over the years? I have an 06 and I can unplug them but getting them out of the opening is like a jigsaw puzzle. Thinking of just cutting that plastic.

This issue was noted years ago. It seems to be a 21' 06-08'ish thing. The plastic "tray" needed to be slightly more rigid. I found that if you reach inside the inspection hatch and loosen the hose clamps that secure the cleanout tubes to the tray ever so slightly that it solved the issue. It's still tighter than it needs to be, but it's manageable.

 

[dansshin]

Perhaps this has been asked and answered but I didn't get a chance to read the whole thread.

Is there some thing you could put on that would filter the water being sucked in to weed out debris, ropes, etc... Clean out seems like good idea but why not try to also prevent some of these from getting sucked in too?

 

[Chris K]

Well since that is how these boats are propelled, sucking water in the intake, then being forced through the impeller, filtering that would lessen your water flowing through the intake-impeller-jet nozzle, and lower your thrust drastically I would expect. There are "performance" intakes that help direct the water in better, but it does not add any "filtering". I imagine the thousands of gallons of water flowing thru there in a weekend, 99% of the crap makes it thru just fine, its just that time when something lines up perfect and gets wedged that puts a damper on your stroll thru the water. Hopefully if it happens, you are able to clean it out thru the clean out ports, or ya limp back home on a single motor...

 

[Trevor Shipman]

Yeah, it's amazing the amount of water that is going through those things! I highly suggest on a calm day having someone drive and sticking you're head down there to see what's going on at a cruising speed. Pretty amazing. With that said, I've only been held up once by sucking something up, quick pull of the plugs and I was back on my way.