Jet Boat Pilot Lateral Thrusters and Thrust Vectors Issues + Questions

[Expedition_Recreation]

Ok so here we go....

Like many of you we recently purchased the lateral thrusters as well as the XV vectors. We have been extremely happy with the lateral thrusters (as they came first) however now that the XV vectors are installed I have run across more than a few odd issues and I am hoping some of you had some experience with.

The first thing we noticed that was a bit strange was the instructions to flip the bolt upside down on the steering linkage (pictured below). If it would not have been flipped it would not have touched the spring but now that is has the spring touches the bolt. This may not have any negative impact on anything but it seems strange. Can anyone clarify this for me?




The second thing I ran into was the cutaway fin hitting the rod that runs from the articulating keel when turned all the way. It doesn't affect it much but it does limit its turning ability a bit. I thought maybe I could have potentially installed it wrong but after reinspecting all of the components I realized that there is no way I could have done anything incorrectly.


The last issue we are having is with the sacrificial anode on the starboard side. Apparently it is a known issue on the 18s and when turning the steering wheel all the way to the left the bolt on the left side of the XV hits the anode. I was sent bolts and used the extra spacers included in the kit however the bolts they sent me seemed to be the same length as the factory ones and even when spaced as instructed the bolt on the XV still hits the anode. Depending on the angle it will allow it to pass sometimes however it definitely still clips the edge of the anode.


While none of these issues are major (I dont think) we were a bit surprised after taking the boat out and testing it out a bit. The steering seems to be binding more than expected and you can definitely feel the resistance when turning the steering wheel. As others have mentioned I also noticed the wave being less clean behind the boat (as others have mentioned on the forum already) but not bad enough to where I would consider it a problem.

I am very happy with the performance gains from these products however I feel like the steering binding in a couple places is definitely an annoyance and is more than a little annoying when turning the steering wheel back and forth. Anyone have any feedback or suggestions?

 

[Expedition_Recreation]

Sorry I posted it before I had all the photos attached. Here is the last one. Also to clarify... no the photos do not show the binding all that great but be assured that they do indeed bind and it is noticeable in the steering.

 

[njmr2fan]

@JetBoatPilot can definitely help.

 

[Expedition_Recreation]

Anybody?

 

[Pullen724]

Send a message to Will directly or call his office during the day. His staff is top notch and will get you the answers you need and point you in the right direction.

 

[biglar155]

There's also an e-mail link on the jetboatpilot.com web site.

Great service. They'll get you straightened out.

 

[ruztew]

What year and model?

 

[Seadeals]

While down, the fins will create a new resistance in the steering feel. As for the fastener head contacting the anode, you would feel like the wheel gets stuck a little at max steering deflection to the left (only). Rather than mess with shimming, shaving a little off the anode with a round file where it sometimes hits would be no big deal and better than contact. I get your point on expecting everything to work without the tweaking though.

 

[JDRacing]

I just installed the Thrust Vectors on my 2018 212X a couple days ago. Haven't put it in the water with this change yet.

I noted the potential spring interference and just pried it out of the way a bit. Seems to clear fine now.

On the left fin on the starboard nozzle, if I pull the articulated keel to the left, the button head bolt supplied by JBP indeed hits the anode. I was concerned about it as well and talked to Dave in tech support at JBP. He asked if I had tried simply turning the steering wheel to the left instead of pulling the AK, and I admitted I hadn't tried it that way. He said he's getting a lot of calls on this, and if you check clearance by turning the steering wheel, there's about a 1/32" clearance. When I checked it that way, there was no contact.

I didn't note any interference with the steering rod.

Jeff

 

[Expedition_Recreation]

Hey Guys! Im so sorry for not getting back to you sooner, I have been traveling the past couple of weeks and have not had my computer. That is good to hear that I am not the only one with these issues. I am a bit surprised that @JetBoatPilot has not yet chimed in but hopefully we can get some info in the future as they sold quite a few sets of these on the forum recently.

The boat is a 2018 242x @ruztew

@Seadeals thanks for the advice. I will definitely give that a try. its a small amount of binding but the spacers were supposed to alleviate this issue and I would like to prevent it altogether so I will try this for sure.

@JDRacing did you get a chance to take your boat out on the water yet? I am curious how the steering felt with everything installed. Did you notice any strangeness in steering when underway? We definitely felt some binding when turning full tilt.

 

[JDRacing]

@JDRacing did you get a chance to take your boat out on the water yet? I am curious how the steering felt with everything installed. Did you notice any strangeness in steering when underway? We definitely felt some binding when turning full tilt.

Yes, I ran it with the Thrust Vectors (I had previously installed and tested the Lateral Thrusters). It felt fine to me. Not sure what "binding" would feel like, but there was no noticeable increase in steering wheel force with the Thrust Vectors no matter the speed or the amount of steering input. The only thing I noticed was on hard starboard turns, there was a slight vibration at full or near full throttle. I hadn't noticed it before, and it's not particularly bothersome--just a bit different from the feel of a hard port turn, where I felt nothing. Interestingly, I don't think this could be caused by the TV hitting the anode, because the clearance issue is when the nozzles are pointed for a port turn, and as noted, that felt fine. I'm guessing that maybe the tip of TV (when it is out of the water at speed) is for some reason resonating a bit as it skims across the water on hard starboard turns at speed.

Low speed steering was substantially improved.

Jeff

 

[Rustynuts]

I didn’t notice any binding or resistance after my install. I was a little disappointed in the thrust vectors at slow speed but I think that my have something to do with the nozzles pontes in toward each other on the X boats, I think this takes away the effectiveness since they are fighting each other. As far as flipping the bolt over, in the install video they mention it is more for future maintanence if you have to remove the steering cable end. If it is left the way it is from the factory, you would have to disassemble the TV to pull the bolt out and remove the cable. Flipping makes it so the bolt can drop out the bottom.

 

[match308]

I was under the impression that thrust vectors and lateral thrusters weren't necessary due to the newer level design. Is this not the case?