New to boating

[Cgrayson81]

Hi, we just put our deposit on a new 2019 Yamaha AR 195. We have no experience with jet boats, but we’re excited. Both my husband and myself grew up with boats but this will be our first for our family of 5. Hoping to be on the water by Memorial Day weekend and figure this thing out. Any dos or don’ts are welcome!!!!

 

[Brad460]

I am sure everyone else with have paragraphs of suggestions...my only suggestion is to learn how to properly back your boat/trailer into the water and quickly get your boat on and off the trailer. This will relieve a lot of stress on the people waiting to launch/load.

Oh and congrats on the new boat.

 

[Cgrayson81]

Thanks! My hubby can do that part well. I’m worried about my part of circling the lake and returning to pick him up at the dock. Getting close to things will scare me since I’ve not driven a jet boat before. I agree that loading and unloading the boat is probably the most stressful part (or at least that’s what I remember when I was growing up).

 

[DavisAR195]

Welcome

The 195’s are a great boat as I have a 2017 AR195. The biggest thing is getting use to the handling and steering of the jet. Take it out on a clam week day and get a feel for docking and steering.

 

[BigAbe75]

First time out, I’d try get out before the Memorial weekend, or wait till after.

Just take it slow. If you’ve grown up on boats, you’ll be familiar with handling, no brakes, etc. Jet boats handle a little differently, so just take it easy and don’t get flustered when it isn’t doing exactly what you expected. Experimentation and practice is all it takes.

Welcome! Tons of good folks and info here.

 

[Brad460]

Thanks! My hubby can do that part well. I’m worried about my part of circling the lake and returning to pick him up at the dock. Getting close to things will scare me since I’ve not driven a jet boat before. I agree that loading and unloading the boat is probably the most stressful part (or at least that’s what I remember when I was growing up).

After some practice my wife got good at unloading and loading the boat. We could be in and out of the boat landing in a minute! Just need a little practice..don’t leave everything up to your husband- that will make him crabby..lol

 

[Julian]

Get a good routine down for tow rope handling and watching....nothing worse than a sucked up rope to ruin a few hours of a nice day on the water! My process....always have a rope spotter. If in doubt shut down until you know you are clear. I yell "Clear?" to the rope spotter before I start then engines, and wait for a "Clear" in response.

 

[Cgrayson81]

I didn’t think of sucking up ropes until I joined this group and that question was asked when I was signing up. We’ll definitely have to get that figured out!

 

[PJ73]

I would practice before the ramp and lake is packed on memorial day weekend. I would pick a weekday to do it. Reason being, jetboats handle just a bit different than and I/O and you don't want to be "that guy" at the ramp. Oh, and...

 

[Cgrayson81]

Thanks! True, maybe I’m very naive but it seems like it really can’t be rocket science to get the boat unloaded and loaded if you’ve done it before w a regular I/O? Is it really that different that you couldn’t get it off and on in a reasonable amount of time. I’m not being rude, seriously just asking. I know to be really fast would take practice, but just in general it seems like it’d be pretty standard???

 

[BigAbe75]

No, it’s not rocket science. Getting off will be easy. Just spend some time during the day playing with reverse and close maneuvering.

Reverse is different and slow steering is different as it won’t turn much just idling. You have to have some thrust in order to make it turn. You’ll be fine.

Remember, don’t go any faster than you’re willing to hit the dock just in case. Lots of in and out of gear. For turning: neutral, then turn the wheel, then short burst of thrust to start the rear end moving, then back to neutral. Evaluate and repeat.

 

[Rascalrider]

Main things are Take Your Time, Be Safe and Have Fun!!

 

[Maccam26]

Hi, we just put our deposit on a new 2019 Yamaha AR 195. We have no experience with jet boats, but we’re excited. Both my husband and myself grew up with boats but this will be our first for our family of 5. Hoping to be on the water by Memorial Day weekend and figure this thing out. Any dos or don’ts are welcome!!!!

Memorial Day weekend is a very very busy weekend to learn a new boat, my advice, pick another time or a very quiet lake. Apart from that, enjoy the purchase, I am new and have enjoyed the jetboat learning curve is not too steep

 

[Dean P]

Hi, we just put our deposit on a new 2019 Yamaha AR 195. We have no experience with jet boats, but we’re excited. Both my husband and myself grew up with boats but this will be our first for our family of 5. Hoping to be on the water by Memorial Day weekend and figure this thing out. Any dos or don’ts are welcome!!!!

Welcome to the forum! And congrats on your new boat. Pictures!?!? We all love pictures.

Like everyone is saying THAT weekend should not be your first time out on a jetboat. It's just asking for trouble. At minimum go out at least once before to get the feel of the jets. Sounds like you'll adapt quickly. Have fun and stay safe!!!

 

[Cgrayson81]

Welcome to the forum! And congrats on your new boat. Pictures!?!? We all love pictures.

Like everyone is saying THAT weekend should not be your first time out on a jetboat. It's just asking for trouble. At minimum go out at least once before to get the feel of the jets. Sounds like you'll adapt quickly. Have fun and stay safe!!!

We’ll sure post
Some pictures once we pick it up!

 

[2kwik4u]

Wife and I came from an I/O to a jet. both 19ft boats. Getting the boat off is no different. Back in, throttle up and it will power right off.

Getting near the dock.....GO SLOW....with short little bursts of throttle. Not too much, but just a touch here and there. Your typical "idle speed" in a jet is closer to 2.5-3k rpm. That's almost on plane with a regular I/O boat. ALSO, these boats don't have transmissions. LOTS of forward/reverse/forward transitions to control speed and direction. get used to really working the wheel and the fwd/reverse situation. I find it VERY helpful to keep it in the first click up on no wake mode. Just let the engine run high the whole time. Then click in and out of forward/reverse/neutral a LOT to control direction and speed. Remember, without throttle you have no thrust. Without thrust you have no steering.

Getting back on the trailer is just like an I/O, Line yourself up, creep in slowly, then give it a little power once you touch the trailer to drive it on. Keeping it lined up is the hardest part if there is wind or cross current.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY reccomend taking a day before Memorial Day to practice at the ramp and docks. A random Tuesday morning or something like that where there are not a ton of other people around to watch you learn. It will release some pressure from you to perform right. Launch and retrieve the boat 5 or more times. Get used to how it feels going on and off the trailer. Get used to how it performs at low speed. It's different than your I/O and takes a bit of learning to get really good at it. I practice touching the nose and the stern to the "No Wake" bouys at our local ramp. If you can ease the boat in and just barely touch the bouy, then you can do the same thing with the "big and scary" dock.

My final piece of advice is to bring a large bucket of patience. Keep in mind, it's just a boat, you're there to have fun, and you have all day. Don't rush anything, take your time and do it your way on all aspects. This will lead to a better understanding of whats happening, slowing down the inputs to your decision making, and in general make for a more pleasant (and safer) experience.

Congrats on the new boat, and be sure to let us know how you fare on your first voyage.

 

[Cgrayson81]

Wife and I came from an I/O to a jet. both 19ft boats. Getting the boat off is no different. Back in, throttle up and it will power right off.

Getting near the dock.....GO SLOW....with short little bursts of throttle. Not too much, but just a touch here and there. Your typical "idle speed" in a jet is closer to 2.5-3k rpm. That's almost on plane with a regular I/O boat. ALSO, these boats don't have transmissions. LOTS of forward/reverse/forward transitions to control speed and direction. get used to really working the wheel and the fwd/reverse situation. I find it VERY helpful to keep it in the first click up on no wake mode. Just let the engine run high the whole time. Then click in and out of forward/reverse/neutral a LOT to control direction and speed. Remember, without throttle you have no thrust. Without thrust you have no steering.

Getting back on the trailer is just like an I/O, Line yourself up, creep in slowly, then give it a little power once you touch the trailer to drive it on. Keeping it lined up is the hardest part if there is wind or cross current.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY reccomend taking a day before Memorial Day to practice at the ramp and docks. A random Tuesday morning or something like that where there are not a ton of other people around to watch you learn. It will release some pressure from you to perform right. Launch and retrieve the boat 5 or more times. Get used to how it feels going on and off the trailer. Get used to how it performs at low speed. It's different than your I/O and takes a bit of learning to get really good at it. I practice touching the nose and the stern to the "No Wake" bouys at our local ramp. If you can ease the boat in and just barely touch the bouy, then you can do the same thing with the "big and scary" dock.

My final piece of advice is to bring a large bucket of patience. Keep in mind, it's just a boat, you're there to have fun, and you have all day. Don't rush anything, take your time and do it your way on all aspects. This will lead to a better understanding of whats happening, slowing down the inputs to your decision making, and in general make for a more pleasant (and safer) experience.

Congrats on the new boat, and be sure to let us know how you fare on your first voyage.

Thank you very much! All great advice! We will definitely get back w everyone on how it goes.

 

[PJ73]

Wife and I came from an I/O to a jet. both 19ft boats. Getting the boat off is no different. Back in, throttle up and it will power right off.

Getting near the dock.....GO SLOW....with short little bursts of throttle. Not too much, but just a touch here and there. Your typical "idle speed" in a jet is closer to 2.5-3k rpm. That's almost on plane with a regular I/O boat. ALSO, these boats don't have transmissions. LOTS of forward/reverse/forward transitions to control speed and direction. get used to really working the wheel and the fwd/reverse situation. I find it VERY helpful to keep it in the first click up on no wake mode. Just let the engine run high the whole time. Then click in and out of forward/reverse/neutral a LOT to control direction and speed. Remember, without throttle you have no thrust. Without thrust you have no steering.

Getting back on the trailer is just like an I/O, Line yourself up, creep in slowly, then give it a little power once you touch the trailer to drive it on. Keeping it lined up is the hardest part if there is wind or cross current.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY reccomend taking a day before Memorial Day to practice at the ramp and docks. A random Tuesday morning or something like that where there are not a ton of other people around to watch you learn. It will release some pressure from you to perform right. Launch and retrieve the boat 5 or more times. Get used to how it feels going on and off the trailer. Get used to how it performs at low speed. It's different than your I/O and takes a bit of learning to get really good at it. I practice touching the nose and the stern to the "No Wake" bouys at our local ramp. If you can ease the boat in and just barely touch the bouy, then you can do the same thing with the "big and scary" dock.

My final piece of advice is to bring a large bucket of patience. Keep in mind, it's just a boat, you're there to have fun, and you have all day. Don't rush anything, take your time and do it your way on all aspects. This will lead to a better understanding of whats happening, slowing down the inputs to your decision making, and in general make for a more pleasant (and safer) experience.

Congrats on the new boat, and be sure to let us know how you fare on your first voyage.

I used my bucket to throw up in after my wife hit the dock with our last boat and put a gouge in it, right after we bought it. lol.

 

[Cgrayson81]

I used my bucket to throw up in after my wife hit the dock with our last boat and put a gouge in it, right after we bought it. lol.

That’s exactly what I’m scared of with this brand new (expensive to us) boat!?

 

[PJ73]

That’s exactly what I’m scared of with this brand new (expensive to us) boat!?

It's a boat. Keep that in mind. I felt sick to my stomach for about 10 seconds, realized it was an accident and moved on. We laugh about it now and before I had it fixed (about 2 years later) we named the scratch. It'll be fine.