Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

craze1cars

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I'm giving serious consideration to some of these as my next bowrider to replace the old Rinker sterndrive:<br /> http://www.yamaha-motor.com/boat/products/lifestylehome/home.aspx <br />Would LOVE to hear an objective opinion from anyone else who has switched from a conventional sterndrive runabout to one of these newer twin 4-stroke jet boats from Yamaha. My primary use would be watersports...<br /><br />I'm really interested in specific differences you may have noticed regarding power/accelleration, handling, fuel economy, maintenance, and general build quality of these rigs. And curious how the wake compares to a sterndrive (I primarily slalom so a flatter wake is my preference, but I don't really want an inboard for various reasons)<br /><br />Thanks to anyone willing to share their experiences.
 

craze1cars

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

Hmmm...hearing nothing but crickets so far...i guess not too surprising as most people around this forum seem to run older stuff.<br /><br />Several magazine reviews rated these rigs very high, and the prices, features, and modern technology look extremely appealing to me when compared to the old-school technology of all the sterndrives available today. Anyone out there have any gut opinions at all they might like to share...whether you have any first hand knowledge or not?
 

ziggy

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

ok, i'll bite. i know nothing about their jet boat though. but i do have the same engine as in that boat in my watercraft (see below). yamaha has the high output (HO 160) and the regular mr-1 (140hp) engine. only difference i can tell between the two is the piston dia. 160 is a bit bigger and perhaps a little bigger throttle bore i think on the mpi. i've got 200 hrs on my pwc now. i havn't done anything to it repair wise. it starts first time, everytime so far. mine is an 02. #2000 something off the line. so mine was one of the new trys when yamaha started going to the 4 stroke. it has very liner power and i can get up a water skier just fine. i'd guess the wake would be rather small compared to an io as it's a jet. only thing i've done to my watercraft are aftermarket stuff, which is available. a pump seal kit, which plugs up a void in the intake shoe and causes cavitation. a diffent impeller for better low end and top. oem was 17 pitch, aftermaket is 12-19 setback. and aftermarket velosity stacks and air cleaner. better breathing. those mods got me an extra 5 mph on a gps. $500 round abouts. being that i'm at 200 hrs i have a maint schedual of adj. the valves at this point. not something i think i will do myself as its not near as easy as just adj. a nut for the proper setting. think the dealer wants around $4-500 for this adj. and looks pretty envolved. you would have two to do if ya got the twin jet. oh, don't know if yamaha has fixed it or not but i don't think so. it's very hard to check the oil level. it goes up and down on the dip stick depending on temp. of the oil. i use yamahas prescribed oil check method of warming up engine at 7K for 5 min. idle for 2 min. and check. this is the only method i think that gives me a correct reading. when i do this it's right on F on the dip stick. after cool it reads just below L on the stick. quite a range. on a bad note. my mr-1 used oil up till about 165 hrs. now does not use near as much. i don't know why. dealer said that the engine would use oil and that was normal. i didn't think it was. though after reading i think that perhaps it is somewhat normal for a 4stroke to use some oil. hasn't casued me any grief other than haveing to keep an eye on the oil level though, and adding as nessesary. side note. everything on my watercraft seems to be well enough made. and my last note is that the only miss manufatureing that i've seen is where yamaha glues the nut in place inside the hull so ya can attach the ride plate, intake grate. the creatons only get glue on half the nut and it scares me to unscrew these parts as i'm afraid i will break the nut loose from the glue. than haveing a drag to get the bolts out. though it hasn't happend to me, (yet) i could see it happening. maybe between 02 and 06 they got someone who could put the glue on the nut now though, i don't know :) ........
 

craze1cars

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

Thanks for your comments...it seems to me that the motors in the boats are completely different from the motors in their PWC's based on comparing specs...almost nothing is the same, but I'm sure they have similar technology. I'm assuming your 02 has carbs? Or is it EFI? The new boats are all EFI which is real attractive to me. And I figured it should be trouble-free...Yamaha seems to have a reputation across the board on ALL their products for being high tech AND of high quality. That's the biggest reason I'm considering their boats. I'm also just about to purchase one of their 4 stroke snowmobiles, an Attak with a 998cc EFI 4 cylinder 4 stroke. Yet another motor that sounds the same, but actually is totally different. Even in snowmobiles they offer TWO 998cc motors. TOTALLY different from each other. One is a 3 cylinder with carbs, the other is 4 cylinder EFI. I obviously have no ride time on mine yet to pass judgement, but I'm expecting it to be outstanding. Yamaha just seems to have these things nailed from what I can tell. As for your oil consumption, I'm hearing that quite a lot, and everyone says it's pretty normal. I'd have to say I'd expect any motor that's regularly turning 10,000 rpms to use a fair amount of oil, and that seems to be what Yamaha is saying about their oil consumption. They still seem to run forever, though. So adding oil at times won't bother me much. And your valve adjustment raises an intersting maintenance question, I'll have to check into whether that's recommended on these newer motors or not. But I'm the type of guy who'd run out and buy a shop manual and all the special tools to just do it myself. Learning something new has never bothered me and nothing is ever as complicated as it first seems. Anywho...thanks a bunch for your thoughts, I appreciate every little bit info I can gather.
 

ziggy

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

c1c, what specs. are you compareing that are so completely diffenent from pwc to boats? my pwc has a 998cc 4stroke, 20 valve mutlti port fuel injection in it, deemed by yamaha as the MR-1. ( 3 versions. mine, the 998cc 140hp. the 1098cc 160hp, the high output version, and a the 1098cc 110 hp. a detuned HO)a marine version of the R-1 mortocycle engine. i may be confused here. but the three cyl. engines that i thought yamaha had are the 2 stroke ones. and i don't think they have carbs. they are fuel injected too. at least the marine ones are. don't know at all about the snowmobiles. <br />yep i got the shop manual for mine too right away. about 6 or 7 pages on valve adj. they use pads of diffent thickness to adj the valves. and does take special yamaha tools to accomplish. <br />straighten me out if i'm incorrect please. i just wasn't aware of these 3 cyl. carbed models ('02 and newer) and i'm not aware of any major differeces in the 4 stroke pwc engines vs the jet boat engines. i'd be interested in those diffences too. i really think they are the same engines in these toys. now i'll go read the yamaha web site and see if i can see what yer talking about.....
 

Reel Poor

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

I bought a new 2000 model LS2000 with twin 135 hp engines. It was a lot of fun, ran great. The boat had great acceleration and would run 55mph. If I remember correctly the hull was built by Cobia for Yamaha. Lots of room and very stable, had all the options. There were some issues with the clean-out ports for the jet drives as they would blow-out occassionally (they do float). The dealer replaced them twice but the problem kept happening. I finally discovered that where the o-rings seated in the bores, there was a build-up of crud and would not let the plugs seat properly, therefore they would not latch in properly. We boat primarely in salt or brackish water and the salt was leaving deposits on the o-ring seat. There was also an issue with the oil injection system where one of the cylinders did not get enough oil and caused a major problem (needed new engine) but Yamaha replaced it no questions. We also boat where there is ocassionally a lot of grass in the water whitch was a major pain. I only kept the boat 10 month and will never own another jet driven boat for myself. Dont misunderstand what Im saying, the boat and service all in all was great, but was not good for my application.
 

vipzach

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

craze1, I met a guy this summer with a new yamaha boat. I loved the layout and the general feel of the boat. He took me for a ride and it had great take off and a nice ride, never got to a top speed though, lake patrol was out pretty heavy and that lake has a 35 mph top speed. <br />He said it took a little getting used to, how it manuevered at low speeds and how to pull up to a dock.<br />Over all he said he loved it and didn't want another i/o. I really liked the boat, the ride was great, never noticed the wake though.
 

craze1cars

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

Ziggy....hope no offense was taken cause I certainly meant none. I honestly know very little about these and am just researching far & wide and gradually obtaining more accurate data. Now that I've looked a bit deeper I see your '02 was the first year that had that 998cc 140HP, 20 valve EFI setup. I'm sure that's somewhat similar, but I can see some differences. Appears that their 2006 21 foot boats come with twin 1052cc 110HP 20 valve motors. Different ignition systems, obviously detuned and running slower RPMs (8,000 vs 10,000), and it appears these lower powered ones have single throttle bodies and I believe yours has 4 throttle bodies. Eveyone is speculating that these are set up for more torque at lower RPMS, while their PWC motors have more HP at higher rpms. I'm sure there's a lot of similarities between them as well. Your 02 was the very first motor with this new setup that they've been gradually modifying and morphing for the past 4 years. Appears maybe they're going more the route of massive HP in a light package for their PWC's, and recognizing that detuning them for smoother and quieter running with better economy and torque, and maybe longer life may be more important for a big runabout (my observation only). The 3 cylinder carbed motor I was referring to is in their snowmobiles only...not watercraft...check out the Yamaha Nytro among several other models if that has any interest to you at all.<br /><br />Also, I found this forum which is quite interesting for anyone else who may have a similar interest: www.yamahajetboaters.com<br /><br />And thanks, Reel, for your experience. Those LS2000s were definitely different from what they sell today as they were 2 strokes, and I understand the LS's were a blast to drive. Also learning that their new rigs are almost a completely different breed...more like a smooth user-friendly runabout/cruiser than an in-your-face wild sportboat like your LS likely was.<br /><br />And thanks vipzach for chiming in....maybe I'll just need to keep my eyes peeled for someone who's running one next spring and try to bum a ride on one. I don't have any Yamaha dealers nearby that are on water to try a test-drive. Besides, word on the street is these 06's will not be available 'till Feb anyway, so the reality is that NOBODY has a clue right now how they run or ride...all speculation at this point. A ride would certainly answer my questions better than hours spent typing!<br /><br />Thanks to all. <br /><br />Keep the comments coming if you got 'em!
 

watered down

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

There is a discussion on BoatingABC about these boats and a few current owners have given some very helpful reviews. Check it out.
 

craze1cars

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

Watered down....that is an absolutely GREAT link. Extra long and just loaded with outstanding info. Naturally it has way too many people shooting their mouths off and speculating about a boat they've never driven or owned, but after you weed them out there's a couple very well spoken owners who gave some great information about what I wanted to learn.<br /><br />Thank you VERY much for finding that for me. I may actually sign on over there and try to fire that one up again to learn a bit more.<br /><br />I really liked what this guy spit out...a former I/O owner who answered a ton of questions that were in my head. They even discussed the wake for watersports and everything...there's even photos over there of the wake and the boats in action. That churning wake and jet spray is my biggest concern now...I wonder how that works on a slalom since I generally prefer a shorter rope. I thought I'd share some of what was written here for other's benefit in case they were curious:<br /><br />"I own a Yamaha AR230 HO and would like to respond to a few things that were stated above.<br /><br />Yamaha makes two types of Jet Boats. Ones with the older 2-stroke engines, and ones with newer hightech 4-stroke engines. The 4-strokes are marinized versions of their R-1 Motorcycle engines which have a very good reputation. They are quiet, powerful, and fairly fuel efficient. (especally the HO models). A lot of the opinions expressed here seem to be based on the older boats.<br />There is no problem and no warranty issues with operating the boat in shallow water. I am not sure where this came from as I just checked. Even though the boat is 23 ft, it only has a 18inch draft and I have operated it in 2ft of water many times with no problems at all. We have taken this boat into many rivers and coves that would be almost impossible with a standard I/0 bowrider. In fact, Yamaha demonstrates these boats at WOT in 2-3 ft water to demonstrate the advantages of jet drives.<br />There is no trim to worry about. About once or twice a month, I've seen people take off their skeg and damage the prop because they forgot to raise their trim at the boatramp. ouch. LOL<br />Because the MR-1 engines are not based off a truck engine, they are simple, easy to maintain,and after the 10 hour oil change, maintenance basically involves changing the oil and adding some grease every 100 hours. There are no belts, no cooling pumps, and complicated plumbing that you see on Mercury and Volvo drives. And because they are smaller, it allows for the great swim platform that you see on these boats. They are very easy to winterize.<br />The MR-1 engines do rev up to 10K rpm, but I don't not find these are noiser than running an I/0 at WOT either. I've heard some pretty noisy I/Os. Many people that have ridden in the boat are plesantly surprised at the turbine like sound these twin engines make.<br />Yamaha has a huge amount of experience building boats. In Japan they build everything from small recreational boats to huge 100 footers used in commercal ventures. I would say they have more experience in boat building that almost any recreational boat builder in the USA. If you do a search there is a thread here where I posted photos of some of their Japanese boats.<br />As far as longevity is concerned, I am not aware that the MR-1 engine and its R-1 sibling have had any problems. There are tens of thousands of jetskis, waverunners and motorcycles using this platform and no where are there any reports of these engines wearing out if they are properly maintained.<br />The boat is capiable of some very fun things such as doing a high speed spin (tell everyone to hangon). It can do a sub move - a messy manuever but possible because you can throw the boat into reverse at WOT since there is no transmission. I don't do this one but a lot do and say it is exciting.<br />Because there are two independant jets, the boat can be turned 180 degrees on its on axis. This is also a big head turner at the boat docks as an I/O can't do this.<br />It is also a great crusing boat. This is one of the things we do a lot in this boat. It has a very large high quality bimini top, plenty of seating, and space to layout, eat, etc. The table can be mounted inside or out on the swim platform. I even use a magma grill attached to the ladder to cook out.<br />Though engine failure is rare on these boats, having 2 engines means you wont be stranded. You can always make it back home on just one engine running<br /><br />To be fair, a jet boat does take a bit more practice to handle at slow speeds, but there are addon rudders that will help with this if needed. Having 2 engines with independant trottle and directional control adds another element to help with steering if you take the time to learn it. I have noticed there is bias against jet boats by some on these boards, but I can tell you this boat never fails to get compliments when I am out with it and people always want to know about it when the learn it has jets instead of a prop. Many many times people will come up to ask about it and it always turns heads on the lake too mainly because most people are not quite sure what it is. (I guess being used to the more typical brands) As we all know no boat fits everyone's needs but this one works very well for us.<br /><br />BillyB, On smooth water I have measured the boat at 53-54 via gps. The speedo is hanging around 59 or so at this speed. Comfortable cruising speed is about 32-35 mph (7500 rpm). There is no trim at all and I am not sure what it would add to this boat. If you are sitting still and punch the throttles, the boat will go to plane in about 2.5 seconds (its pretty impressive) and at that point will quickly go to full speed. I've never measured gas mileage, but we usually don't use more than 15 - 18 gallons or so of regular gas on a weekend. That's not enough for me to worry about. The boat holds 57 gallons. <br /><br />Seabuddy, I have seen nor heard nothing that would indicate that you can't operate this boat in shallow water. From my experience the boat is more than fine in shallow water but you should exercise the same prudence that you would with and I/O. If you knock off an I/O outdrive because you went too shallow, I assume that isn't covered either. <br /><br />I would say that in comparison to an I/O, you can certain go in much more shallow water and not suffer any ill effects for doing so. I tend to slow down to trolling speed in water that is 5 ft or less mainly because I don't want to hit a sand bar. Over time the impellers may wear if you keep sucking in a lot of sand, but beyond that I don't see the problem. This is not likely to happen if you don't go fast in shallow water. And they are not that difficult to replace if it does happen."
 

ziggy

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

c1c, no offense taken. i just didn't think we were on the same page. it seems that we are now though. :) i was just trying to say that i think the mr-1 motor seems to be ok in my mind and from the experiences that i have with mine. these are all good comments on this thread too. though i would use a little caution in the shallow water. jets suck stuff up off the bottom. just think of the low pressure there is when that impeller winds up, and it winds up quick too. :D ... i think staying away from grass would be a good idea too......along with ski ropes, and ball hats. ;) ya should see what a jet pump does to a ball hat, it's funny if yer not the one that has to remove it is all i can say about that..... good luck on your persuits.
 

craze1cars

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

Just fer giggles and to see if anyone else happens to be still reading this antique post, I thought I'd share I just ordered a 2007 Yamaha Attak snowmobile. It's running a version of the same 1.0L 150 HP 4 cylinder motor they use in these boats and watercraft. It should be a screamer! <br /><br />Still contemplating the boat....thinking a conventional propped boat may be better for my uses, though. Peace out..
 

firehouse100

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

Originally posted by craze1cars:<br /> I'm giving serious consideration to some of these as my next bowrider to replace the old Rinker sterndrive:<br /> http://www.yamaha-motor.com/boat/products/lifestylehome/home.aspx <br />Would LOVE to hear an objective opinion from anyone else who has switched from a conventional sterndrive runabout to one of these newer twin 4-stroke jet boats from Yamaha. My primary use would be watersports...<br /><br />I'm really interested in specific differences you may have noticed regarding power/accelleration, handling, fuel economy, maintenance, and general build quality of these rigs. And curious how the wake compares to a sterndrive (I primarily slalom so a flatter wake is my preference, but I don't really want an inboard for various reasons)<br /><br />Thanks to anyone willing to share their experiences.
 

firehouse100

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

I just found this forum, but I will give you some insight on the yamaha jet boat. It is fairly fast, very fun to operate at higher speeds and responds well off the throttle. I can tell you that it might throw more wake than you prefer for a ski, but is great for wake boarding at about 6900 rpm,s. I have pulled four yes four 60" solid surface tube with nine yes nine teenage kids that had the best time of thier life.I tend to push the envelope a little. This boat has plenty of power. I put a 26 gallon fresh water shower in and had a friend build a 60 quart insulated cooler in the two rear compartments and still have room. Now for the bad parts, it does challenge your skill at low rpm,s (no wake zone), it tends at higher rpm's, when moving through waves or wakes to get squirly, I believe this happens because there is no rutter in the water, the jets just keep pushing. Other than that this thing is just fun.
 

boysxtwo

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

Originally posted by vipzach:<br /> craze1, I met a guy this summer with a new yamaha boat. I loved the layout and the general feel of the boat. He took me for a ride and it had great take off and a nice ride, never got to a top speed though, lake patrol was out pretty heavy and that lake has a 35 mph top speed. <br />He said it took a little getting used to, how it manuevered at low speeds and how to pull up to a dock.<br />Over all he said he loved it and didn't want another i/o. I really liked the boat, the ride was great, never noticed the wake though.
 

boysxtwo

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

Hi There Vipzach, I realize that this posting is pretty old but I was wondering if you might have this mans name and or a way to reach him? My husband and I just recently bought a 06 Yahama Jet boat as well and love it with the exception of trying to dock it, very difficult to do and we were looking for some pointers from someone but we know no others that own one. Other than losing all control of the boat at low speed, more so at docking the boat has been great. Any help I would greatly appreciate.<br /><br />Thanks
 

firehouse100

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

To nhbound,If you have not tried these ideas yet, try these. Whenever pulling into dock try moving slower than usual by shifting the throttle to the nutral position and back. In windy conditions try heading into the wind for more control, also it will take some practice using the two throttles one in reverse and one in forward. I have found that slower in better. Good Luck!
 

boysxtwo

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Re: Any Yamaha jet boat owners out there?

firehouse100 said:
To nhbound,If you have not tried these ideas yet, try these. Whenever pulling into dock try moving slower than usual by shifting the throttle to the nutral position and back. In windy conditions try heading into the wind for more control, also it will take some practice using the two throttles one in reverse and one in forward. I have found that slower in better. Good Luck!

Thanks for the info, we will definately try that out, ASAP.
 
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