Jet today gone tomorrow. ( Venting a little winter frustration ) and just a good typical discussion.

[jcyamaharider]

In a different thread I was venting frustration about V-drive being mentioned on this board on a regular basis that I see ( https://jetboaters.net/threads/helpp.21172/ ). That is my opinion. Don't get me wrong I am not bashing v-drives or anyone here who has them BUT I think they are coming up more and more here lately with everyone that is jumping ship to a V-drive boat. There are V-drive discussions boards out there for every single brand, and I am sure that they bash our boats, so where is my place to vent?

Most people here that own Yamahas are very up front and honest about what they can and can't do. We welcome all opinions but we need to remember that if a person found this place they are probably looking at a Yamaha boat for specific reasons. Maybe they didn't do their research. If you do recommend a boat you need to be sure to list the advantages and disadvantages of both. Can I not say something bad about another boat because someone here has that boat?....... I think that what this board is turning into and not what it started at. That is why I said generalboaters.net. I have been around the Yamaha boards longer then most of you and I have seen the rise and fall. We are a vast community with people all over that help each other and we all met because of a common interest. We had an advantage because with us being Yamaha owners we were kind of the underdog and that is what made us stronger as a group. Now everyone wants to be like us because we are such a tight knit group. Many of us have flown/traveled across many states just to meet up with other fellow Yamaha owners and have formed great relationships.

I do have a story about my first Yamaha boat ( 2000 XR1800 ) that practically saved everything that I know today. I am VERY grateful for that boat and what it has brought me. I am not going to type it here but if you see me and want to know I would be more then willing to share it with you. I know of other Yamaha owners with special meanings to there boat and it makes me emotional every time. So am I a little brand loyal..... you betcha.

All I am saying is remember where you are and remember your roots.

Is this inspired by a little cabin fever....maybe.

 

[OrangeTJ]

I totally get where you're coming from. I'm sorry to have contributed (probably heavily) to the frustration. Upon reflection, I feel a little bit like Matthew McConaughey's character in Dazed and Confused - I keep coming around even though I don't really belong! LOL. In truth, this is just the most active boating related board I've found anywhere and the discussion is generally so much friendlier than elsewhere. I really don't enjoy most "brand specific" boards because they tend to just be an echo chamber. I'll try to limit my input regarding wakeboats to those threads somebody starts where they are a primary topic (i.e. "Should I get a v-drive" type of threads). FWIW, when I see jet-bashing threads on other forums where I post, I generally jump in and try to shut down that nonsense!

 

[jcyamaharider]

LOL.... Love the Dazed and Confused reference and I am glad that you do see where I am coming from instead of being aggravated at me. I do appreciate that you stand up for us jet boat owners but you do also agree that there is a fair share of jet boat bashing going on. I will say this is not typical of me to even bring anything like this up but even you agree that we have one of the best places on the internet and our founding members and [USERGROUP=3]@Administrative[/USERGROUP] have worked very hard to have this place for like minded individuals to participate.

I am not really calling you out specifically @OrangeTJ , I have just noticed a lot more v-drive/inboard posts in general. I do not in any way want to discourage you from posting because you did have a jet boat and I am sure that you modded and learned alot about that boat while you did have it. You know more then the new person just getting into the jet boat world. When you see where someone wants to dedicated surf and that is all they want to do well heck yeah, dummy you need a V-drive. It is plain and simple. Those things can pull houses off of the lakes bottom. Lets just not discount what our jet boats can do as a swiss army boat.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Sounds like we are in "violent agreement". Beautiful X in your sig, BTW.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Sounds like we are in "violent agreement". Beautiful X in your sig, BTW.

Thank you

 

[Sbrown]

I agree with you to an extent. I feel like some people are all about jetboats when they have one and then they're all about v-drives or whatever, because that's what they have now and they want to justify their purchase by convincing others to make the same decision

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

I for one appreciate the perspective of both and glad it’s here. I don’t see any jet bashing on this board rather real limitations that I would want to know before purchasing one to ensure I’m not sold with one expectation and realize a different. Plus I just like boats in general so the more real life experiences from different platforms the better. What would be nice is to see more Chaparral and Scarab discussions. Those jets really interest me.

 

[Mainah]

I highly respect @jcyamaharider and he makes some good points. @jcyamaharider is the brainchild of the current best proven option for going ropeless behind Yamahas (the wedge). Without the wedge I wonder how much more prevalent this conversation would be. I am one of those that at times encourages others to check out V drives. I usually point out my own mistake in not going with 242x in that would have saved me a ton of money/work/time. I make my recommendations as one human to another based on honest personal opinion and experience. Given the price range new X series Yamahas are in it is also getting harder not to bring up V drives.

I have only been on the forum for 3 years. I have owned 3 jet boats now and done a ton of work to them all. The first two were all on my own never being part of a forum and boy that would have helped. I have thrown myself out of a twin two stroke seadoo speedster doing 60mph into a hardover spin (not my brightest moment but I did have the lanyard clipped to my lifevest amd I do miss those spins). I started wakeboarding behind an old twin engine 2 stroke seadoo 1800 challenger after rebuilding the engines and carbs. I added the tower and had fun wakeboarding behind it even with the meager wave. I tried using people ballast to get a bigger wake one day and the fuel tank air breather ended up either just above or below the waterline either way enough to get water in the tank and that was when the desire for a bigger boat became a “need”. I have done things with my current 242ls I would have never tried in a V drive. Bimini was an awesome experience that I instantly got hooked reading about three years ago amd finally got to go last year. I hope to get things dialed in for ropeless surfing where I personally don’t feel the need to go to the prop side. I really belive that can be done wether it be my own crazy contraption or buying a wedge and bag from gatlin/@jcyamaharider.

The truth is things have changed in what I want out of a boat in the last couple of years and if I were looking today prior to all of the mods I have done there is zero doubt I would be buying V drive. I am enjoying @haknslash posts about making the switch. From the trailering concerns with weight (plus one for Yamaha here), to all of the options. I get this is a jetboat place and would not have found it not reaseaeching a new yamaha. There are posts here that top googles algorithm so having too many posts about V drives may not be what is best. I suggested a seperate section that I imagine we could block from the seach engine crawlers. I think folks like @hankalansh who have been around and contributed a lot should still be able to be a contributing member of the community. I think a seperate secion that would require subscription like the NSFW section that could also be blocked from automated web crawlers/search engines may fit the bill but that is just my opinion.

Yep that was a lot of I. Just my opinion and this is becoming an ever larger community which makes pleasing everyone difficult. I blame [USERGROUP=3]@Administrative[/USERGROUP] for making this such a wonderful place. I am happy with the way things are but don’t wish to needlessly tick anyone off by mentioning the prop side too often. I will consider the sentiment @jcyamaharider has when posting (while still being completely honest) as I imagine he is not alone.

 

[sethman919]

Strange I got a notification I was mentioned in that last post. @Mainah I try to stay out of these battles. I love my AR230 fornthe money I paid but if I were in the market for $70K and my primary usage is watersports I would be buying a V-Drive. The Yamaha's are great boats at all levels but they dont complete when it comes to watersports.

 

[CraigAR]

Same here, said I was mentioned in a post by @Mainah .

 

[PJ73]

I was tagged as well. So, since I'm here... As I am about to take delivery on my first jetboat, I have been all over this forum like a fat kid on a cupcake, as some of you may have noticed. I try to keep myself informed and give my .02 cents when I can.
I have seen an uptick in the "V-Drive" comments and for me, it's a bit unnerving at times making me think I've made the wrong decision. Then I have to remind myself that I bought my Yamaha for a specific reason and that's the lounging, shallow draft and being a jack of all trades but master of none. If I wanted to go full bore into surfing I would have bought a V-Drive. Case in point, last night someone mentioned the NXT in one of those threads, at 0130 I found myself on the mastercraft website pricing it out and I stated "what the hell am I doing?" I don't need/want a V-drive.
The point is, each person needs to get the boat they want for their needs, not trying to make or expect one boat to perform like another. Do I expect my 212X to perform like a Super Air Nautique? Absolutely not. As I stated in another post, I just want to be able to do everything well enough for my family to have fun with. If the kids take to surfing and big air wakeboarding, well, then I need to look at another boat.

By the way, this hydro-boat and skiier are movin like a son of a bitch!

 

[MidnightRider]

Yeah I totally see where you are coming from @jcyamaharider. I've also noticed a growing amount of sentiment in postings around the benefits of V-Drives over jet. Granted most of that talk is around wake sports which is a subsection of boating I'm sure we can all admit that v-drive is superior in this one aspect of boating. The issue is the glue of a community like this is its single mindedness and enthusiasm for single brand, activity, etc. Be that VW Bugs, Kawasaki, Polaris, Yamaha - here its Jet Boats. Its not that the pro V-Drive discussion is negative or even wrong, it's just that it tends to dilute the comradery around a single topic on a discussion forum/community. I don't think this is a all or nothing type thing. IMHO discussions like the one @haknslash started about his journey from a JetBoat to a V-Drive is actually beneficial, informative, and interesting, I can see myself possibly in that same spot some day and the transition and process of leaving a Jetboat is of interest to me. But when discussion is more to why a V-Drive is better than a JetBoat or why you shouldn't even try to surf behind a JetBoat and how much better a V-Drive is for all wake sports, although may be true in some form, it does nothing to add to the support of a forum dedicated to the enjoyment of JetBoating.
I think one thing that may be contributing to the more attention and interest in V-Drive (maybe just me), is the trend in Yamaha pricing. For me JetBoat was a compromise in my wants and needs based on a few things but a big one was new boat affordability. Don't get me wrong, I love my Yamaha but the biggest reason I have it is cause it was a more affordable option to try out wake surfing (outside of getting a used/older boat). I know if/when I do go to a V-Drive there will be many things I will miss about my Yamaha.
All that to say, I get the seeming up-tick of V-Drive discussion, but I also agree that too much in that direction isn't great for the support and growth of a discussion group/community that has been created to focus on Jetboating and Jetboat lovers.
My two cents for what it's worth.

 

[AlphaKap]

Same here, said I was mentioned in a post by @Mainah .

I think it was the @A d m i n i s t r a t i v e tag. looks like someone found a secret!

I bet 95% of the people buying Yamaha boats have limited to no interest in wake surfing. It looks cool but it's not why we buy the jetboat. If asked what you want to do with your boat though, of course you will want to have the ability to wake surf. I just think if you had to prioritize, most people are not going to rank it very high.

So a few people have the wake surf bug. I like seeing their journey to v-drive and think it will be valuable info for those jet boaters that have a similar bug to see. I would really like to hear back from them on what they miss as well.

 

[Julian]

All good points! Our intent is to keep the forum open to transparent discussion. V-Drives are superior when it comes to wake sports....but try driving one to Bimini! LOL

Not sure we want to create a V-drive section.....not really in our target demographic, but heck, we have a motorcycle forum! LOL

@OrangeTJ what brand boat do you have? As you will notice, I try and allow people to list what they've got in the make list.

In our opinion, the more open our discussion is, the better decisions people will make.

PS--I love my 242X! It is far better looking than everyone else's..... (Blue 2016 X's Rule!)

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

Scarab owner here. Got tagged. What? lol I'm just here for comedic relief.

 

[Julian]

I think it was the @A d m i n i s t r a t i v e tag. looks like someone found a secret!

Yeah...we seem to have a problem with that tag notifying everyone..... I looked into it and couldn't figure it out. @Bruce we may need to delete it and re-create it.

 

[OrangeTJ]

All good points! Our intent is to keep the forum open to transparent discussion. V-Drives are superior when it comes to wake sports....but try driving one to Bimini! LOL

Not sure we want to create a V-drive section.....not really in our target demographic, but heck, we have a motorcycle forum! LOL

@OrangeTJ what brand boat do you have? As you will notice, I try and allow people to list what they've got in the make list.

In our opinion, the more open our discussion is, the better decisions people will make.

PS--I love my 242X! It is far better looking than everyone else's..... (Blue 2016 X's Rule!)

Yeah, I wouldn't want to try to cross open ocean in my boat! Does fine on pretty big lake chop but ocean is a whole different game.

Since you asked, my boat is a 2016 MB F22. Previously, I owned a 2011 SX210.

 

[Dean P]

Tagged also. Crazy...

FWIW: Love my jets(s), especially around here. To go from 10' down to 1' in a matter of feet and back to 10', is priceless!!!!!!!

 

[jcyamaharider]

I try and keep my v drive comments in my big thread. If someone asks about other boat options or if there is a better way then I usually post my honest opinions. I don’t go around injecting my views on anyone or v drive bombing threads when it’s unwarranted. If admins want to create a specific section for wale boats that’s cool but I’d ask they also do the same for vendors to cut down on all the vendor bashing riff raft that happens from time to time.

Just curious but where are some threads or posts we can see as an example of what got you so upset? I have a hard time seeing OrangeTJ or myself purposely trying to derail threads about v drives when someone hasn’t at least asked for some input. Going forward I will simply keep my thoughts to myself or put them in my big thread. Didn’t realize this was such an issue but as someone who is selling a jet wave product I can see your concern.

I am not going to call anyone out or post specific threads, lets just say I and others I know have noticed it. I have the upmost respect for each and everyone on this board and while we may disagree from time to time, I genuinely do not have an ill feelings towards anyone on this board.

As a vendor of a jet wave product I will be the first one to tell you ( and I have ) if you are going to enjoy surfing behind a Yamaha or not. That isn't the concern here. The issue here is having place for us to boast/brag about our boats without fear of outside interjection.

As for the section that would pertain to inboards, that is just my point........ this isn't an inboard board. I/everyone else enjoys you being around and your comments because you do have a vast knowledge for jet boats.

My views do not represent the views of the administrative and are mine alone.

 

[ripler]

Why V-drives are creeping into the conversation is simple, Yamaha wake series boats are very near the cost of a V-drive. If someone came on here and asked about using a wake series Yamaha to surf behind, of course everyone on here is going to say sure you can. In reality if someone was willing to pay 77K for a boat to surf behind, Yamaha should be last on their list.