Questions about Jetskis

[Saint Nick]

So, I'm interested in buying a watercraft so I can go out to the lakes and go bananas. What I was wondering, is it possible to get a powerful enough jetski that can pull a tube, is this even possible? What kind of brands should I look into? What things are important when buying something like this?

 

[SearchMaster]

Yes, jetskis can pull a tube, many (most?) can pull a skier or wakeboarder as well. Keep in mind that (a) most water laws require a spotter other than the driver when pulling a rider, and (b) riding behind a jetski on a tube is much less fun than riding behind a boat because there's no wake.

 

[Svnla]

I like Sea Doo.

Here are more information:

http://www.google.com/search?s...enUS236US237&q=jet+ski

 

[AMDZen]

Jetski or Waverunner? Jetski's have the power to pull a tube but skiers or boarders not so much, if they are very talented then yes, but they lack that whole shot power. Waverunner's on the other hand have much more power in this department.

If you can afford it, the new Honda's are freakin' incredible and by far the best out there, except their pretty expensive. You get what you pay for

 

[cheezmunky]

Honda FTW 2-stroke has more "kick" (kinda like turbo lag but based on throttle and not rpm) but 4-stroke eats about 1/3 the gas in my experience (2stroke seadoo vs 4stroke honda). the honda also handled better

 

[Lola]

We had a three-place Waverunner several years ago and it was perfect because it was "able" enough to have a lot of fun on with one person, but it also had enough power to pull someone wakeboarding and to use for tubing.
From what I remember, we chose the Yamaha because of the reliability of them. Nothing against any other brand, but we never had any issues with ours.

 

[FiLeZz]

Word to the wise.

My hondas eat a full tank in about 4 hours of ridding.



Now do the math of of gas. To fill up both skies it was about 15 gallons each.
30x4bux about 120 bux for 4 hours of fun.

Price will only go up on gas.

the fun factor was not worth the money in gas..

 

[ViviTheMage]

shiettt, I have ski'd behind oodles of jet skis, just make sure the driver doesnt blow and give the skiier/tuber loads of slack, or down they go, and out come the arms.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

How could you think of buying *another* gas consuming vehicle? We need to curb our gas consumption because of CO2 emissions, and you are hurting the enviornment. Come on, think about the whales and fishies.

/sarcasm if you didn't realize it on your own

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Do they sell them in an 8 passenger variety, because it more effective from a mpgpp perspective.

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

The new Yamaha FX SHO is more than powerful enough to pull a tuber or a slalom skier.

 

[slag]

sure do, its called a BOAT or Break Out Another Thousand.

 

[Darwin333]

Yes, most sit down PWCs can very easily pull a tube. As far a specific model that really depends on your budget. I have a Kawasaki 15F and my parents have the supercharged sea-doo from the same year. My Kawasaki is MUCH more fun and roughly 4mph slower.

With a top end model you can easily pull 2 skiers with plenty of power to spare. Even though its a small craft, its basically just a big ass engine wrapped in a fiberglass shell. The Kawasaki Ultra 250X cranks out 250 hp.

 

[Zenmervolt]

If your main desire is to pull tubers or skiers on the cheap, I would recommend a small jet boat rather than a jet ski.

That said, jet boats and jet skis lack the ability to "pop" a skier right out of the water the way that a propeller-driven boat can and will tend to drag a skier a bit more before they get up. Also, since they lack central tracking chines and have the tow eye located on the transom instead of on a center post inside the boat, they tend to get pulled from side to side if you are pulling a slalom skier.

If you really want to ski and tube, your only really good option is an inboard, prop-driven, ski boat like a Correct Craft Ski Nautique or a Master Craft ProStar. I grew up with Ski Nautiques, so my own bias lies in that direction. And I'll also admit to a bias against using jet boats (or any jet-propelled watercraft) as a tow vehicle.

ZV

 

[jai6638]

Whats the difference between a waverunner and a jetski? When I googled them, they both looked the same.

 

[legoman666]

We have 2 Yamaha jetskis. They were both bought used but one is newer than the other.

Jetski A is older, but it has a 50% higher max speed (60mph according to speedometer) , is smaller, has MUCH looser steering, is very unstable with more than a single rider and you will get soaked will riding it.
Jetski B is newish, has a max speed of ~43mph, can fit 3 people fairly easily, is very stable and almost impossible to flip.

I absolutely love riding on jetksi A. And yes, this has almost nothing to do with the OP so here:

Yes, I see jet skis pulling tubes or water skiers all the time. We have a house on the shore of Lake Norris in Tennessee that we go to about twice a month: http://www.home.fuse.net/norajm/dock.jpg

Along with the 2 jetski's, we also have a Sea Doo Challenger
and a 18 or 22' Suntracker pontoon boat.

Me being awesome a year or two ago: http://img209.imageshack.us/my...norrisjune07003gb1.jpg

I've flipped jetski A (the one in the pic) numerous times. It's very easy. I've only flipped jetski B once, and that's because there was three people on it.

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: jai6638
Whats the difference between a waverunner and a jetski? When I googled them, they both looked the same.

Waverunner is yamaha brand name, Jetski is Kawasaki brand name, Seadoo is Seadoo brand name, all three are Personal Watercraft.

 

[Saint Nick]

Well, not only do I want to pull people, but enjoy skimming around big lakes such as the Ozarks and whatnot. I'll do some looking around... It'd be fun to have a couple PWs to go out with friends. But boats are probably just as fun, too. Its kind of a toss up. I don't exactly want to spend a lot of money at first, but still want to have a fun PW with some kick and still maintain stable rideability.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus
Do they sell them in an 8 passenger variety, because it more effective from a mpgpp perspective.

They actually do make small jetboats that would work.

 

[jai6638]

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: jai6638
Whats the difference between a waverunner and a jetski? When I googled them, they both looked the same.

Waverunner is yamaha brand name, Jetski is Kawasaki brand name, Seadoo is Seadoo brand name, all three are Personal Watercraft.

oooh damn.. I thought that Jetski is what they called the Watercraft.. Cool! thanks

 

[Demon-Xanth]

As far as 2 stroke vs. 4 stroke, many lakes around here no longer allow 2 strokes, so don't bother looking at them.

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: FiLeZz
Word to the wise. My hondas eat a full tank in about 4 hours of ridding.

Now do the math of of gas. To fill up both skies it was about 15 gallons each.
30x4bux about 120 bux for 4 hours of fun.

Price will only go up on gas. the fun factor was not worth the money in gas..

Not to mention the fuel needed to tow the craft to the water. Perhaps a rowboat is better, if you paddle fast enough

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: jai6638

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: jai6638
Whats the difference between a waverunner and a jetski? When I googled them, they both looked the same.

Waverunner is yamaha brand name, Jetski is Kawasaki brand name, Seadoo is Seadoo brand name, all three are Personal Watercraft.

oooh damn.. I thought that Jetski is what they called the Watercraft.. Cool! thanks

Well to be fair a jetski was the original and the name means the older style jetski that you stood on instead of sit down.

 

[AMDZen]

Originally posted by: FiLeZz
Word to the wise.

My hondas eat a full tank in about 4 hours of ridding.

They all drink gas like that

 

[AMDZen]

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: jai6638
Whats the difference between a waverunner and a jetski? When I googled them, they both looked the same.

Waverunner is yamaha brand name, Jetski is Kawasaki brand name, Seadoo is Seadoo brand name, all three are Personal Watercraft.

Although this is kind of true, Seadoo doesn't make a Jetski and the others do. Jet ski's you stand up on and are smaller, used more for jumping waves. Waverunners you sit down on, seadoo's are waverunner's. The sit down style is used more for cruising and using with multiple people, its more powerful but you get less air because of the weight.

Seadoo is overrated for the price, buy the Honda instead