We just received our 2022 Yamaha 275SD and are getting ready to jump into this jet boat world. It's a little bit daunting as we haven't had a boat in about 30 years and never had a jet boat. We will not be trailering the boat (thank God), it will be in a dry storage marina until our dock is finished where it will be on a lift. We are on the ICW in northern Florida (Matanzas River). We took out introductory voyage with the dealer who gave us a quick run-down on how to operate the boat. I've read the owners manual and watched some videos on YouTube. We are now stocked with all the required items (life vests, flares, fire extinguishers, etc.) and ready to take her out on our own for the first time. Decided not to do that yesterday because there was a wind advisory in effect. I didn't think that would have been a good idea. I'm hearing a lot about the difficulty in navigating a boat like this so I'm going to ease into it. I'm thinking about having the vectors installed for enhanced maneuverability. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
View attachment 175294
Congrats ! Super nice boat!
IMHO, just go and use the boat for a while and see how you like it. Your boat is simple, keep it that way if possible.
1-Don’t approach the dock any faster than you would want to hit it.
2-You have twin engines, use them differentially to improve your handling. Here’s a great video to show that
When I approach the dock I leave the steering centered and just use differential thrust or splitting the throttles. There are some days where you cannot do this as there just won’t be enough control authority with the engines split.
3-Fight your enemy, in most cases this is the wind, approach the dock into the wind you have control this way. If you try to allow the wind to push you into position and something goes awry you are hosed since you are now at the mercy of the wind.
4-Like anything else in life, practice makes you better at whatever it is. Spend some time practicing to get to know how your boat is going to react. See number 2 above.
5-In bigger water stay on this side of the hump, or just this side of being on plane, think of the bow / hull as a shield. If you watch any of the haulover vids, you will see the most successful and smoothest boaters keep the bow up as well as enough speed to maintain control. This is the smoothest and driest ride possible.
6-Get a docking pole, if you have a first mate on board that wants to help the pole keeps arms, hands, and fingers out of the bite or crush zones.
7-Get docking lines that are longer than you will think you need, or at least one long set to assist the first mate with docking operations.
8-I see that you got life jackets. My suggestion would be to get the inflatable kind of life jackets as they are svelte and super comfortable, you will forget that you have them on. Life jackets only work if they are being worn. Be sure they have a D ring on the correct side for you to clip your engine cut off lanyard. A good idea might be to keep another lanyard right there at the dash just in case the pilot gets tossed and the first mate needs to get the boat going again to come an pick up the captain.
9-A good set of fenders with dedicated ropes / cords on them maybe three to a side while you are learning to give that extra bit of safety cushion for an inadvertent harder than you’d like bump into the dock.
10-EPERB, vhf radio, etc.. the Gale Force Twins have a vid on their ditch bag or have to abandon ship bag. This should have a few rations, fresh water etc..
11-A good anchor with 20’ of chain and plenty of rode / rope and know how to use it. This just isn’t for hanging at the sand bar, its a safety item. This could mean the difference between your boat ending up on the rocks or not.
12-Lastly, go out and enjoy the boat as much as possible!
Hope those help!
