Reporting on new additions to the boat: Thrust Vectors, VeeVee's, Grill

[jameskeller76]

We were really able to test out these out yesterday as it was very windy on Lake Travis. 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.

Grill: Thumps up! I was pleasantly surprised with the new Magma grill. I figured we'd have issues with it staying lit but it never got blown out and cooked really well. Win!

Thrust Vectors: Meh. They did help with keeping the boat straight when in wake mode but that's about it. Docking was pretty much the same and they did nothing to help the wife get the boat on the trailer. With the cross wind she was still hard to handle as always.

VeeVee guides: Bent them, easily. With the cross wind the boat was pushing into the starboard guide and it bent out very easily. I expected these to be much stronger. Turns out just the weight of the boat with a strong crosswind is more than they can handle. And that was the point of getting them. Complete waste of $ IMO.

Does anybody know of a better built guide?

 

[Bruce]

My opinion is that posts on the trailer cause more hull scratching than anything else. Our first Yamaha and trailer had them. Our second does not any I would not add them.

With those wind speeds it is going to be difficult to load any boat on a trailer. Taking down the bimini top will reduce wind resistance a little. Beyond that it is just a matter of powering her on to the trailer. If you get onto the trailer but a little crooked you can use the engines to turn her straight.

 

[jameskeller76]

My opinion is that posts on the trailer cause more hull scratching than anything else. Our first Yamaha and trailer had them. Our second does not any I would not add them.

With those wind speeds it is going to be difficult to load any boat on a trailer. Taking down the bimini top will reduce wind resistance a little. Beyond that it is just a matter of powering her on to the trailer. If you get onto the trailer but a little crooked you can use the engines to turn her straight.

I did add the cushioned covers so there are no scratches. Agree on the bimini, I should have put that down. All in all wasn't too bad. Took her 3 attempts to get it lined up. I was a bit jealous of the prop boats, they were having a much easier time of it.

 

[Bruce]

When the wind is blowing and only the surface water is moving having a greater draft makes it easier to stay on track. Our twin engines give us greater steering capability but utilizing that requires experience. Until you reach that point of experience where throttle steering becomes natural the twin engines are a hassle. I am sure Vivian did well. We all miss the trailer sometimes.

We are both lucky that we have wives who are willing to load and unload the boat.

 

[FloJet]

I agree with @ Bruce. Love the fact that now I can turn which ever way I want just by giving one of the engines more power or less. If drifting to the left, throttle more on port side to straighten up and drifting to the right vice versa. I spent all last season getting used to dual engines as I came from a prop Sea Ray. By the end of the season, I got plenty of compliments on how I maneuvered her. I just added Cobra fins/fangs to her this winter but the first time I went out I couldn't tell much difference in low speed. But in high speed she turned quickly tho. I think the low speed is because I was pretty much used to driving her on low speeds. I used to go in a cove when bored and throw some cans out and use them as obstacle courses, practicing my maneuvers with the engines and all. Then pick up the cans and do again many more times. Now I can say I'm very confident with her.

 

[jameskeller76]

I agree with @ Bruce. Love the fact that now I can turn which ever way I want just by giving one of the engines more power or less. If drifting to the left, throttle more on port side to straighten up and drifting to the right vice versa. I spent all last season getting used to dual engines as I came from a prop Sea Ray. By the end of the season, I got plenty of compliments on how I maneuvered her. I just added Cobra fins/fangs to her this winter but the first time I went out I couldn't tell much difference in low speed. But in high speed she turned quickly tho. I think the low speed is because I was pretty much used to driving her on low speeds. I used to go in a cove when bored and throw some cans out and use them as obstacle courses, practicing my maneuvers with the engines and all. Then pick up the cans and do again many more times. Now I can say I'm very confident with her.

I'm getting pretty used to the odd steering but the wife has work to do and she puts it on the trailer almost exclusively.

Did you have your tower painted?

 

[FloJet]

Oh ok gotcha. Well with little practice I'm sure she will become a pro.

Well I had the tower re powder coated grey. A guy out here did it for me for pretty cheap. He stripped the old white off and re coated it. I'm pretty impressed with what he did to be honest.

 

[jameskeller76]

Oh ok gotcha. Well with little practice I'm sure she will become a pro.

Well I had the tower re powder coated grey. A guy out here did it for me for pretty cheap. He stripped the old white off and re coated it. I'm pretty impressed with what he did to be honest.

That grey looks great! Mind if I ask what you paid?

 

[FloJet]

Thank you very much.

He charged me $375 for it all
He is a retired guy that has a shop on back of his house and I think he does this for fun now. The dealership I bought the boat from referred me to him because I was trying to get the dealership to either give me a grey tower or re-powder coat it before I pick it up. They didn't want to mess with it so they gave me his contact info.

 

[FloJet]

Here are more pics of it before it got put back on the tower.

 

[swatski]

Here are more pics of it before it got put back on the tower.

Yes, that grey tower looks really good! Compared to the white (in your avatar).

--

 

[FloJet]

Hehe thanks.

But what white tower?

Someone had to bring up the dreaded white tower look lol.

 

[jameskeller76]

Hehe thanks.

But what white tower?

Someone had to bring up the dreaded white tower look lol.

Well I think "dreaded" is a bit rough. I think it looks good with the white tower but the grey it much better. Every time I get on this forum I find more things to spend money on.

 

[FloJet]

Haha right. You know I did get use to the white too. Didn't mind it after a while but when I first had wires ran thru my tower, the idiots at the shop drilled a hole out of the tower into the boat. Finally got the hole welded back and thought it was a good idea to go the grey way. Otherwise I would have left the white as it's more classy looking. Now I will never have any shop touch my craft again. Pretty much doing everything now, time or not. But with tinted windshield and grey tower, I give it a sportier look IMO.

 

[FloJet]

What sucks now is I can't decide if I want to paint my tower speakers grey or not. I haven't been on the water with it on the new tower yet but I'm thinking the white speakers might give it a nice contrast. Only time will tell I suppose.

 

[jameskeller76]

The next addition will be a box anchor. The stock anchor works fine most of the time but on windy days like yesterday I keep popping loose, even with 7:1 scope. The money never stops

 

[haknslash]

My 60" guides do not touch the hull but rather the run rail as intended. That sit about 3/4" to an inch off the run rail. How did you scratch the hull @Bruce? Only way I could see that happening is if I used a short guide post that went below the run rail. This is why I'm not a fan of those trailer guides that are like bunks on the side. So far I've had great luck with my CE Smith guides https://jetboaters.net/threads/boat-trailer-guide-on-posts-for-190.10629/page-2#post-192068.

For help with retrieving the boat and maneuvering I use No Wake Mode in first or second setting depending on conditions along with modulating forward and reverse to the first detent. As kind as you use first detent with will not disengage No Wake Mode giving you a lot of feedback. Remember thrust is key to maneuvering. You can't go in creeping with control unless you're modulating forward and reverse along with thrust (No Wake Mode).

 

[Bruce]

How did you scratch the hull @Bruce?

Scratch may be too strong of a term. Our first Yamaha was a LX210 that came with guides on the trailer. They were older style guides that used PVC pipe over a metal core. The previous owner had rubbed against the guides leaving fine scratches on the hull as we continued to do.

 

[haknslash]

Ah, I could certainly see it being an issue for our boats with shorter guides. That's part of the reason why I went with such a tall guide.

 

[Bruce]

Ah, I could certainly see it being an issue for our boats with shorter guides. That's part of the reason why I went with such a tall guide.

The scratching was from rubbing the sides of the guides. The padding that is available on a lot of current guides may solve the issue.