Spare Impellers Needed? Yes or No...........

[Patrick L]

New to Jet Boats. Coming from many years of Outboard and Stern Drive boats, I always carried a spare propeller. Eight of ten times we usually go to Lake Carlyle in IL. The lake has several shallow areas, some where you would not expect.

So now that I have a new Jet Boat I was wondering about the need to carry spare impellers and what others have experienced. I have searched the forum and couldn't come up with anything for "spare impellers" So here is the poll.

 

[Julian]

Been jetboating for going on 15 years....never needed a new impeller....and only recall reading about a couple of people who sucked something in that did enough damage to require a new one. Another great reason for jetboating!

 

[Ronnie]

I've had a few jet boats now and plenty of PWCs. Every once in a while the pump will suck up something that will damage the impeller to the point that there is a noticeable loss in performance but this is very rare. Besides, getting the shaft and impeller out is the easy part, getting the impeller off of the shaft can be very difficult without the right tools (e.g. A large vise, the correct wrenches, an impeller socket and probably a breaker bar). If you replace the stock impeller(s) with aftermarket units it can't hurt to keep the stock units around as spares but I don't recommend buying a spare just for the sake of having one immediately available on the water.

 

[swatski]

No.
But if you need one, get the OEM.

--

 

[Bruce]

No need for spares. Even if you had them you would need to pull the boat of the water, pull the pump then find a vise and large wrenches to change the impeller. Having a spare impeller is not going to save the current days boating.

As others have written, impellers rarely need to be replaced as they are well protected. When they do they are typically available with fast shipping options.

Additionally most of our twin engines boats could achieve water sports speeds with one impeller damaged.

 

[mattschepker]

Some people change there impellers for water sports like surfing. That's because they want to not because they have to. Save your money and spend it on something else. I can see you will get the mod bug pretty quickly.

One thing I can recommend if you're going to tow your boat is go out and buy some pool noodles cut one side and put that on the top of your windshield. That will help your cover out when it gets sucked down when towing. Less likely of it getting snagged and rip

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I will agree that you can't change an impeller out on the water, but that being said when I owned sea doo gtx skies with the 4 tec engines I ALWAYS carried a spare jet pump with me in my tow vehicle and I did need to change it on the boat ramp more than once, I still have the spare pump as a matter of fact. Sea Doo is setup quite different than Yamaha . And changing the pump out was fairly easy to do.

 

[itsdgm]

Nope, never needed a spare.

 

[dan144k]

I travel with a spare impeller when i am on vacation. Also i bring the tools needed to replace and change if needed. I once used a 4" grinder to cut off a stuck impeller in a parking lot, but we got the boat back on the water in about 4 hours.

But i also travel with a spare cover, in case the 1st cover gets destroyed.

 

[rsg1963]

In thousands of hours of jet boat use (Jet Skis mainly) I've only had my day stopped twice by a pump issue. One time ended the day, the other time was simply a rock lodged between impeller and housing. All other times were simple clean outs. Never even considered carrying a spare anything except plugs. No way I'm wrenching to "pump removal" level on a lake day. If it ever happens, we will simply shift to shore play until the day is done.

 

[Redneck_4Play]

Way overkill IMO. Would you carry a spare motor too?

 

[Speedling]

I mean, you plan on doing the great loop cruise then yes, otherwise, nope.