JetBoatPilot Lateral Thruster Debut!!

[Paulie]

Black works for me.

 

[Paulie]

Will, when did you update the xl's? I bought mine in 2014. And what is involved in the upgrade besides the crossbar?

 

[96Pirate]

I think I saw those pictures and if memory serves me correctly you have a second generation xv kit. The trim job should not be very difficult if you have a bandsaw or jigsaw. I believe we talked about twin engine kits costing $100 to upgrade and single engine kits costing $50 to upgrade.

For anyone in the Raleigh area needing to trim their TV's, I have the tools (bandsaw, stationary sander, router) that you can use to do the trimming. Just PM me.

 

[Eric Ballard]

For anyone in the Raleigh area needing to trim their TV's, I have the tools (bandsaw, stationary sander, router) that you can use to do the trimming. Just PM me.

@96Pirate when you get your Lateral Thrusters I'd love to come see them when you install/test them!

 

[96Pirate]

@96Pirate when you get your Lateral Thrusters I'd love to come see them when you install/test them!

Will do but I have not made a decision yet. As tempting as it is I don't use reverse that much so not sure it would benefit me too much.

 

[ptwb]

Will do but I have not made a decision yet. As tempting as it is I don't use reverse that much so not sure it would benefit me too much.

I'm in the same boat, lol. They are tempting. The last docking video is nice, but at the same time, he could have just pulled straight up to the dock, but I understand he's trying to demo it. I get it, some people back into their slips and without a doubt some people will definitely want this that use reverse a lot. I use reverse probably .1% of my time? And of the times I use reverse, 99% of that is to just back off the trailer straight back or to back away from the dock a very very short distance. I'm not going any long distances in reverse. It would be nice to have more control, but I have also backed into some slips on rare occasions and it wasn't the end of the world. The solution is simple for our terrible factory reverse if you need to change direction. Just give it some fwd throttle to slow down your reverse (like he does in the video) and then switch back to reverse and be patient.

Thrust vectors I have, original XL? whatever that 1st larger one was that came out, and without a doubt, those, IMO, are mandatory and needed. These reverse enhancers are not.

 

[Tony Jarvis]

Will they fit on a AR240 2013 with cobra steering and fangs installed?

 

[JetBoatPilot]

@Tony Jarvis they are compatible with Thrust Vectors only.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

Hey folks, big news today!

We just finished testing the latest iteration of the twin engine version and now I believe we have found our production design!!

Today I was able to do a reverse 360 inside a ten foot radius, and I was able to fly through the figure 8 maneuver with two throttles. It literally took no skill. Just reverse and turn the wheel!!!

We're getting excited over here!!! I can't wait to hear some of your feedback once you experience them for yourself!!!

 

[Tony Jarvis]

Will they fit on a AR240 2013 with cobra steering and fangs installed?

Ok thank you

 

[arlowe13]

Hey folks, big news today!

We just finished testing the latest iteration of the twin engine version and now I believe we have found our production design!!

Today I was able to do a reverse 360 inside a ten foot radius, and I was able to fly through the figure 8 maneuver with two throttles. It literally took no skill. Just reverse and turn the wheel!!!

We're getting excited over here!!! I can't wait to hear some of your feedback once you experience them for yourself!!!

What are the chances we'll get to see a "finished" (injection molded or whatever process is used) product before the pre-sale event ends?

 

[JetBoatPilot]

@arlowe13 we have just about completely finished the final iteration of the appearance and design. Now it's on to materials selection. We think we've decided to 3D print the production version from Carbon Fiber Infused Nylon or something very similar. Hopefully this selection process will be finalized by next week and then pictures can be published and the product placed on the website.

 

[msavold]

@JetBoatPilot /Will, for those of us with XLs that would need trimming, could you post a copy of the template of how much to trim? Wondering about whether to trim or upgrade...
(Aside: I know it's on here somewhere but can't find it - can you either repeat or point me to a thread outlining the benefits of the newer XVs over XLs? There may be another advantage to upgrading other than not having to fidget with the existing XLs...)
Thanks!

 

[robert843]

@Speedling we have tried to get it to crab walk and I can tell you that if you have any momentum towards the dock, even slight momentum, you can crab walk it towards the dock. But if you're sitting still or if there is a breeze away from the dock you won't be able to crab walk it. At least I can say that I have not been able to.

This is where I wonder if there isn't an advantage to the two single engine version on a twin motor boat. If docking to port side with the single engine version could you not engage lateral thrust using the port engine instead of the starboard and when the rear of the boat starts to pass the bow feather the starboard engine in forward just enough to level the bow back with the stern? You would not have this ability with the twin engine version of this but I'm just guessing with no hands on experience with this product.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

That's what I thought too but honestly when you use the Lateral Thruster to move towards the dock the moment you touch the other throttle you cancel the lateral thrust because the nozzles are so close to each other.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

@JetBoatPilot /Will, for those of us with XLs that would need trimming, could you post a copy of the template of how much to trim? Wondering about whether to trim or upgrade...
(Aside: I know it's on here somewhere but can't find it - can you either repeat or point me to a thread outlining the benefits of the newer XVs over XLs? There may be another advantage to upgrading other than not having to fidget with the existing XLs...)
Thanks!

Sure, the trim is pretty simple. I'll post a jpg of the trim template tomorrow.

As for the benefits of the latest version which is the third generation of the XV you get a bigger fin, integrated spray guard to eliminate mist getting into the boat and the cross tie is standard which maintains the distance between the leading edge of the fins.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

The production version of the Lateral Thruster has been found!!! This video is my favorite yet because we're demonstrating something that could not be done until yesterday. Let me clarify. The figure 8 in reverse was possible on earlier versions of the Lateral Thruster but you had to be moving relatively slowly or you could not overcome the bow steer. With this new test we can now prove that even with significant reverse momentum you can overcome the bow steer with the production version of the Lateral Thruster!! Of note this boat did have the Thrust Vectors installed which I believe did help in the scenario. Will the Thrust Vectors be mandatory to improve your reverse control? No. Will they make the control even better? Yes, I think they will.

 

[druppert]

@JetBoatPilot wow that's really great! Have there been any such improvements to the single engine version or has that one already reached production design?

 

[JetBoatPilot]

We have another single-engine iteration being printed tonight and we hope to test with it very soon. It is near production but not completely ready. We will post videos as soon as we have them.

 

[buckbuck]

Wow Will, ain't never seen a Yamaha do that before.