New Jetboat owner has a few questions

This past weekend I purchased a 95 Sea Rayder F16 with a 120hp Merc for my wife. We took it out for our maiden voyage with it and came back with a few questions/lessons learned and we're looking for some advice.

First thing that happened was we took off but really couldn't get up on plane with myself, my wife and the kids (less that 400lbs total) in the back. Once I had my wife go sit in the front it did however get up on plane. The previous owners had some blocks up in the front that they told me they used for anchors, but wondering if it was really to help them get up on plane?

Second thing was as we were cruising I went over an area that had some sea weed below the surface. After which I could never get back up on plane. I ended up taking the boat into shallows, hopped out and pulled some seaweed from the water intake. There really wasn't a significant amount, so I was pretty surprised that that was the culprit. Does that sound normal? Anything else I could do?

Once I got out there again I took my dad for a ride. He commented that while we were going that a lot of water was getting shot out like a rooster tail and wondered if we were losing a lot of power because of it. Is that normal, is there some adjusting that could be done?

Lastly, anyone know of a good place to buy replacement parts? The steering wheel is broken and the latch for the radio cover is also broken.

Thanks in advance!

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

First of all , Welcome to Iboats , please edit your picture to fit the screen, It is a pain in the *** to have to scroll sideways to read . Yes these boats will slow down in a heartbeat if the intake grate is clogged . You may want to consider Smart Tabs to help the boat plane quicker and perform better .

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

Sorry about the large picture. I took it out of the post and just left it attached.

Thanks for the welcome!

I just did a search for smart tabs and came across a video. Do they really make a huge difference?

Also, the engine seems kinda loud when going full throttle. Is there some kind of sound insulation that could be done?

Any comments on the rooster tail? It's not huge but does seem like there's some wasted energy there.

Thanks!

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

Well first of all I love my Smart Tabs . The noise could be lack of sound deadening insulation in the engine compartment . I have mine completely insulated for sound and can carry on a conversation at WOT with people at just above normal talking volume .

You need to post a pic of the rooster tail I really want to see how high it is , If it is water level and just extending about 10-15 feet behind the boat it is normal , I am going to mod my jet drive this winter to try to get rid of it and make flow better .

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

Not sure of the specific model, but some of the SJ ride plates have posts at the rear of the ride plate (rear end of the boat) that you can add spacers/washers to and adjust the trim down. You remove the screw/bolt on each side and add a washer at a time between the rideplate and the post. That may help plane better also.

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

I'll try to get a picture of the rooster tail when I can. It's wasn't huge, but it did seem like it was a little excessive.

What type of material did you use to deaden the sound? I thought about adding something myself.

How much did those smart tabs cost? How difficult to install?

I'll take a look at adding some washers. I unfortunately won't have the opportunity to get back on the water for a few more days but I'll report back when I can.

Thanks for all the help!

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

calledinsick said:

Not sure of the specific model, but some of the SJ ride plates have posts at the rear of the ride plate (rear end of the boat) that you can add spacers/washers to and adjust the trim down. You remove the screw/bolt on each side and add a washer at a time between the rideplate and the post. That may help plane better also.

Click to expand...

only the 175+ models get the adjustable plates. Nothing to adjust on the 90/95/120's.

I suspect your rooster tail is probably from the reverse bucket. It is most likely down just a little bit too low and touching the output. As the boat ages the cable will stretch, and if it hasn't been maintained this will happen.

smarttabs are easy to install and will dramatically transform the boat. it will plane much faster, but it will also make it more stable. (no more spins!) You can rig up a hook system to hold them full up for when you want to go out and have fun with it, and then leave them in the normal position for all other conditions.

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

Good Idea Smokin ,Arctic , Can you post a pic of the reverse gate at WOT from the back of the boat , The bottom of the gate should rise to 1/8 to 1/4 inch above the nozzle top.

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

lol, had to look up what WOT stood for.
http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/WOT

When I was looking around at the jet I did notice that the rounded gate is a bit loose and was wondering if that might be part of the problem. I've been away from home for the last few days due to a funeral, but I'll try to get a picture as soon as I can.

Thanks for all the help. This forum is a wonderful resource!

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

Sorry , At WOT (Wide Open Throttle) the bottom of the reverse gate should be 1/8 to 1/4 inch above the top of the Jet nozzle . Loose is fine they need some clearance to move in the water. If the bottom of the gate is in the Jet Flow performance is DEAD .

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

Here's a shot of the nozzle.

I adjusted the linkage by loosing a couple of the bolts and sliding the entire bracket as far forward as I could, and then re-tightened. That seemed to make a TON of difference. I took the boat out on Sunday and things were much better.

I did still have a problem though. I almost ran into two buoys because the boat refuses to turn left. Scared the crap out of my wife both times when I had to all of the sudden turn right because he boat wouldn't go a little left to avoid them.

I checked out where the nozzle sits when the steering wheel is all the way to the left and it's just barely past the mid point, pointing very slightly left.

When I turn the steering wheel right the nozzle goes very far to the right.

Couple questions i have are what is the range of the steering wheel supposed to be? It really only turns 1/8 of a full rotation to the right and left before it hard stops. Is that normal?

Also, what's the preferred way to re-center the nozzle with the steering wheel?

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

So, tonight I did some more research (aka taking things apart) and I found the problem with the steering. 2 of the teeth within the steering helm had been broken off. See picture.



So my next question is, what's the likelihood I can buy a replacement part for this instead of having to replace the whole thing?

The part number on it is 3940415

it's off a 95 sea rayder with a sportjet120

We were really hoping to take the boat out this weekend, so I hope I can find a part quickly.

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

You are going to need to start calling boat scrap yards to find the part , no luck searching for it on my end . But I did come across a post in a old web site that said you could have it welded and then grind the teeth as needed and it worked for both his steering as well as a pinion gear repair . Never tried it myself but it could work in given the light load on the steering gear .

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

The JB Weld experiment failed. The replacement parts from a Bayliner reflexx failed also (in that I couldn't make them fit).....I ordered a new helm.

Re: New Jetboat owner has a few questions

Hate to see it fail .... Wish you had tried welds and a grinder , think that would have worked ! You might want to put the reflexx parts on ebay to recover some expense !