Yamaha GP1200 top heavy

[Southtowns27]

My girlfriend just bought a 1997 Yamaha GP1200. It's been well used, but not abused, and has 120 hours on it. I test drove it before purchase and it ran great. Yesterday, we attempted to take it out for the first time. With both of us on it, it is EXTREMELY top heavy at slow speeds. It damn near capsized on more than one occasion. It is over a half mile from the launch ramp to open water and we have to idle the entire distance. I really didn't think we were going to make it... Yes, it's that bad. The thing also seems to sit way low in the water. At idle it pushes A LOT of water. It actually sits so low that the stern is low enough to let water up into the footwells. I actually thought the thing was taking on water at one point, but it is completely dry inside. Out on the open water and up to speed, it seems fine, no stability issues. It also seems just fine with only one rider on it. Just wondering what we can do, if anything, to help this out?

 

[Grub54891]

Buy another one.......????? That way it'll be more stable. Is it designed for 2 riders? There should be a capacity plate somewhere on it for max weight.

 

[Southtowns27]

Buy another one...Really? Thanks for the useless comment. It IS designed for 2 riders, and a capacity of 375 lbs, which combined, we are under.

So, can someone actually help me?

 

[Grub54891]

Just attempting to help. I was not trying to be an a**. I'd imagine it's not designed to go slow, I don't think there is much you can do about the stability at lower speeds. Adding ballast really is not a good thing with them, And I think that would be the only option to choose from. Just like a larger boat with a flybridge, the upper helm area has a max capacity, any thing over that it becomes unstable and tips over. You are not over capacity but slow speeds make them top heavy.

 

[SeaDooSam]

I have a gp800r which I presume is a different ski, but with just one person on it, water definitely gets into the foot wells. It sits very low and is tippy as hell. Since mine is like that, I would say it is normal. If the bow is going down too much do you have things in the front storage compartment that are too heavy?

 

[JimS123]

I have ridden that same model and found it to be quite tippy with 2 riders. That vintage Yami wasn't exactly very stable. In contrast, the same year SeaDoo would run with 3 people all day long.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the 'ski per se'. Just be careful. The older Yamis were quite weight sensitive.

 

[SeaDooSam]

I have found the seadoos to be much more stable as well. I refer to my seadoos as Cadillacs and my Yamaha as a sports car. My seadoos are literally floating couches while the Yamaha takes some skill to ride.

 

[jeffg42669]

I've got slightly younger gpr (01) and it is similar to your ski. The hull design of that boat is indeed tippy at slow speeds, especially idle w 2-up riding.
If you have trim, trim up to raise the bow a bit and ride just a tad above idle in your no-wake, just a small touch more speed will help w stability. Learn to keep your weight centered at those speeds. If you wanted to you can also adjust the idle up a few hundred rpms.
Nothing is going to make it great, it's a fun ski to ride and very sporty but if the tippy factor is too much for you then buy a different ski.

 

[slag]

Two person PWC are best for 1 and 3 person work ok with 2. It's just how they are. And yes, like you said, they can be tippy, especially close to the max weight.

 

[captkevin]

If you are going to do lots of riding with 2 people you will be much happier with a 3 seater.