Waverunner General Knowledge

We now have a Yamaha Waverunner at the cabin.

Late model, 4cyl. That's all I know at the moment.

What do I need to know about these things? General maintenance, etc.? I find it odd having a piece of equipment that I don't have Correct Craft-level knowledge on.

2000 posts for u.....grand pooper

Joel
Welcome to the club. I don't talk much about my SeaDoos around here ( We have (3)). Too much ridicule. But they are an absolute blast. When the water gets too rough to ski or cruise, we're on the SeaDoos.
One thing I learned quickly is that they are not like any other boat when it comes to engine work. One piece of advice is to find a good shop that specializes in PWC's. Winterizing is a breeze, but the engines and drive mechanisms are quite different. Use good oils, like you do in your boats. In the Seadoos, changing the jet drive oil is very important.
Another piece of advice is to tell the newbees that ride yours, and there will be many, that there are no brakes. My neighbor took his first ride on his buddies Seadoo, and had it ON the dock within 3 minutes. Two hours later, my other neighbor had a guest put one of his on his boulder sea wall.
Have fun.

Kevin.....

harddock wrote: Do not run one across the path of a ski boat, especially mine. I have had so many close calls with inexpierienced watercraft riders trying to get between my boat and my skier that I aim for them now.

Um, really?

As if anyone in my household would not know that. We are freaks about this kind of stuff.

They don't like sand.

Kevin, my first time in a slalom course, at the 2007 NE Reunion someone tried that. I was on my way to a full pass and the boat stopped suddenly and there was all this hollering...

It seems like a very complex engine in a very small area. I mean, 4cyl, 4 cycle in a space as big as our cooler. Hopefully Yamaha = Reliable. That was what the family was shooting for, anyway.

Theyre pretty simple to work on. A little different than a CC motor but nothing someone with a solid service manual and average mechanical skills cant handle from a maintenance stand point.

Anything requiring computer diagnostics...obviously youre SOL

Here, have a beer.

Joel, They are a lot of fun but get operated differently just by their nature, I had a 1996 Seadoo xp, 8 foot long and 110 hp. The thing had capabilities far beyond my ability to hold on to it. It was most fun spinning in circles and jumping waves, It is easy in the pursuit of fun for an adult, let alone a teenager, to ignore common sense and forget that everyone else on the lake wants to go at a constant speed and heading. As said be carefull letting newbies take it for a spin, the lack of a rudder is very strange to get used to, you need power on for any kind of directional change, and that violates normal instincts when you are about to hit something. I always instructed users to practice turning at slow speeds and trying to turn power off to reprogram thier instincts. I here the four strokes are much more reliable. I used to do searches for two strokes for sale and most had new engines. Mine did not so I decided to sell it before it needed one. I know every time mine went into the shop it seemed to cost 700$. try to always start it in several feet of water, stay away from weed beds, roll it the right way when it flips and dry it out and run it immediatly if somone turns it the wrong way and hydrolocks it, or it will rust up internally. Happened to mine once, would not turn over . I thought the battery had died till I charged it and still nothing happened. I pulled the plugs, and turned it over and shoot water two feet from the plug holes. I finally dried it out enough to start around sunset and ran it untill warm to re-lube everything, no problems afterwards but if I had given up and stuck it on the trailer for a week I may not have been so lucky. If it is has three up seating it will not likely roll . My little xp was very unstable at idle, and rolled often, but with just a little throttle it became very stable. I always started mine briefly after pulling it out of the water and reved enough to clear the extra water out. They are a blast though.

Joel,   as you know, when used properly, they don't deserve the bad rap some give them.

That said while I have never owned a 4 stroke pwc, they are all very easy to maintain. Yamaha does build very good PWC, and pride themselves with marine capable motors, unlike other brands.

In late fall, take the battery out and store at least inside the house and preferably put it on a trickle charger. Obviously you would change oil preferably before you put it away for the winter, but winterizing them is really as easy as starting it up out of water and clearing any water from the cooling system simply by revving it up a little. All pwc motors seem to be pretty failsafe for cooling systems and not having fragile RWP impellers like IB boats do. As mentioned they get water from the jet drive system, so no rwp impeller to burn up.


It's not really the sand that is the issue, but more so what is in the sand. Usually running these in a lot of shallow sand water will lead to excessive gap between the impeller( the prop on a jet system)and the wear ring that surrounds the impeller. I've personally never seen a need to replace any of the wear rings on any of the 8 pwc that my friend and my family have owned over the years, and we used to do a lot of river running in shallower sand.

I've rebuilt the one we have now, and also another that needed repair that my brother ended up buying.   Yes, working inside the hull of a pwc is a PITA, especially compared to a similar motor on a snowmobile.


Congrats on your purchase, and I know you, like my family will give pwc'ers a better name in the skiing community.

horkn wrote:    but winterizing them is really as easy as starting it up out of water and clearing any water from the cooling system simply by revving it up a little.

I do not agree Horkn. I know people who have been bit in the ass doing that. Best to use antifreeze, unless its getting stored in an area that stays above feezing. I'm not saying it would freeze, i'm saying it could. Not a risk I would take.

Mike

wakeboardin2k4 wrote: 05 210 wrote: horkn wrote:    but winterizing them is really as easy as starting it up out of water and clearing any water from the cooling system simply by revving it up a little. I do not agree Horkn. I know people who have been bit in the ass doing that. Best to use antifreeze, unless its getting stored in an area that stays above feezing. I'm not saying it would freeze, i'm saying it could. Not a risk I would take. Mike +1 Mike. For 2 gallons of antifreeze and 10 minutes of time to winterize the ski right. Its worth the effort

+2 I antifreeze untill it comes out the tail end. There are also reports of air boxes splitting due to water still in them from improper roll overs.

I love me a good jet ski ride. I do agree that there are some IDIOTS that ride them. But, if you love the water, love boating, and just love being out there a jet ski is really really fun.

My dad and I both bought used skis a couple years ago...when there is no one around and we have an hour to kill (not enough time for an all day boat outting) we will hop on the skis and just cruise down the river, hit up our backwater fishin spots, find out new huntin spots, and just explore some flooded water. It's a blast!

All the bouncing around when riding the sit downs tear the hair off my ass cheeks if it's rough out, f that. Stand ups are cool, and not just any idiot can pilot one.