New owner 242X E-Series

[Osric]

Hi everyone,

Looking forward to learning about boating in our new 242XE. We'll be boating in the muskoka lakes which are bigger water than I'm used to, and I'm the only "experienced" boater in the family, if driving 10-60HP fishing tillers is "experience".

I've been looking for good "Learn to Drive" posts, videos, or instructors to help our family who are new to boating get the most out of our new jet boat.

There are lots of basics I'd love to find summarized somewhere. Off the top of my head:

1. What's the best way to introduce someone who's never driven a boat to the 242? Some basic exercises/ideas of what to practice and how to get someone a few hours experience would be great.
2. How often do those with boathouses take their boats out of the water? The owners manual would have me believe that it's every time you bring her into the slip ... seems a bit unlikely to me?
3. How critical is a wetsuit for protection? I can imagine wetsuits being great for wakeboarding/skiing but I am wondering if it's really that important for loading a few kids up on a tube and giving them a ride.
4. How often do you check the clean-outs and intake grate for debris?

The list goes on but you get the idea - I'd love to find a few posts on these basics and more - it'd be great if we can sticky some newbie guides to make it easier to find the 'best' information on jetboaters.net!

Osric

 

[itsdgm]

Welcome @Osric and congrats on the new boat. Check out jetboatpilot.com. He has a lot of how to videos on YouTube.

As far as wetsuits. I've only used them to protect me from the cold water.

If your boat has the "older style" plugs, I'd check the cleanout plugs each day on the water to make sure that they're secure. I'd also recommend that you buy a set of cobra ez-locks to prevent the plugs from blowing out. If they're the newer style (2017 plugs I believe) you're probably ok. Other that that, you'll need to remove them and drain any water sitting on top of them after each use, or remove them if the pump has any cavitation. Cavitation feels like the engine is loosing thrust and the engine revs really high.

Anyway, good luck with your new adventure.

 

[Drift Away]

Best thing to do to get use to driving is put it i at a slow time at your boat ramp. Go slow but remember no power no stearing. Slow and steady wins the race. Do not over correct. I live here inFL with nkthing but salt water so my boat has never been left on the water over night. I am a bit OCD so even in freash water id take her out flush it good and spray down the out side. As far as wet suits i agree with @itsdgm the only time i have really seen then used is in cooler water. I store my SX240 with the clean out ports taken out. They have been know to get stuck and or dry rot if you never take them out.

 

[Chillypilot]

Welcome @Osric. Congrats on the new boat. I keep my boat in a slip in Barrie all summer. I take it out every six weeks or so and clean the hull
as it gets grimy. I often take my boat up to Lake of Bays in Muskoka and leave it moored for up to 10 days at a time. I don't tend to get any growth on the bottom of my boat up in Muskoka probably because the water isn't as stagnant as in the marina. My kids don't usually wear a wetsuit for protection but they usually wear it because the water is cold. Having a wet suit extends the water sports season.

 

[Julian]

Some thoughts on your questions:

1. Best way to introduce into boating...if you have a friend who has boated a lot, get them to join you on your first outing. Or just take it SLOW.
2. My boat stays on its lift all summer long.
3. I have 2 wetsuits and only wear them in Canada
4. I remove the cleanouts every trip and leave the hatch unlocked so I know to replace them. If you forget to replace them, you will immediately realize they are missing as you won't have any thrust.

 

[Osric]

Thanks for all the answers so far!

I have looked at JetBoatPilot's videos but they aren't quite what I'm going for tutorial wise.

Looking forward to having a great summer learning and enjoying our boat - hopefully 100% safely.

Osric