13 replies to this topic

[Sean R]

Hello,

HELP!! I am thrilled to be the new owner of a 2008 Sea-doo Challenger 230 SE. It's a great boat and I really look forward to the years of fun that I'll have with my family. Unfortunately, I'm struggling at the beginning to figure out the proper technique to operate/maneuver the boat at slow speeds. I have a Sea-doo PwC that I've driven a little bit (late last summer), so I'm aware that you cannot steer a jet boat in neutral. Problem I'm having is when I have the boat in a slow forward speed (so I can steer), I'm then not sure how to slow it down in tight quarters, etc. For example, when I try to put it on my boat lift I'll go a good deal past the lift versus stopping on top of it. I was wondering if I needed to switch to neutral, and then to reverse, to slow it down/stop it, but that seems to be alot of work and may not slow it down fast enough. I also thought I might be able to have the lift up slightly (as the lift could potentially slow the boat down), but I was concerned that would damage the lift given the weight of the boat. I would love to learn from those who are "pros" at this how to control the boat at slow speeds and in tighter quarters. Your help would be greatly appreciated!!

Sean R from Wisconsin (Newbie)

[Kevin Leclair]

You hit the nail on the head, reverse will become your best friend at slow speeds. Like you mentioned you need to throttle to steer at these speeds, I have found that it is best to just leave the the gear in forward but not give it any gas, this should give you enough throttle to stay on path of the direction you are going when approaching a dock, trailer or lift. If it is a windy day or you need to make a more sudden change in direction then you will have to give it some more throttle -- the key here is just not too much. If you find you are approaching too fast then shift to reverse and change the direction of the steering wheel to correct your over steering. It will take some time but one you master it you will be a pro!

[1fastboat]

I experienced this when I got my first Doo, Sportster SCIC. I found the best slow speed control was with the throttle all the way back and I would stay in neutral... steering is fine in neutral if you are moving slow and depending on your rpm you will probably be going forward a bit, if not tick into forward a bit and the back to neutral, as you get close tick back into reverse to slow/stop. Notice I said tick, basically feather the leaver between forward and reverse, you don't need to go all the way, I found this gave much better control of the boat, remember to leave the throttle alone unless you need to, slower is better and easier to manage, hope this helps

[STEPHEN X-20]

Practice, practice, practice. Find a good isolated cove and get a real feel for how the boat handles at all speeds. Then know that we all get a little nervous at busy docks. The more you do it the easier it will become but add lots of boats manuevering around in a no wake zone and it becomes a major challenge. I especially hate the double slips when a large boat is taking up their entire half and I have to slide in beside.

Good luck!

[j1g1c1]

Reverse is the brake of all boats, even the new IBR is just a fancy reverse system.

[michael]

I have the same boat. I added the Cobra fins to the jets it make a big difference at slow speeds and docking. I also adjusted the gates which gave me a true neutral. Now my boat sit still in the water in neutral.

[ssanders]

I have the same boat. I added the Cobra fins to the jets it make a big difference at slow speeds and docking. I also adjusted the gates which gave me a true neutral. Now my boat sit still in the water in neutral.

Can you send pics of the Cobra jet stuff? more details?

[johnny quattro]

I have the same boat. I added the Cobra fins to the jets it make a big difference at slow speeds and docking. I also adjusted the gates which gave me a true neutral. Now my boat sit still in the water in neutral.

Hi! Michael,

I'm a newbie with a 230 Challenger, 510hp.

Still going forward while in Neutral is still odd too me.

Any chance of an explanation or instruction on "adjusting the gates"

Thank you in advance.

Johnny Quattro

[All About Mojo]

Ditto! Cobra jet fins work great. Now just need to adj so N is true N

[Mod]

I ran into the same problem when I first tried docking. Put it in reverse and everything was backwards compared to a prop boat. I just keep telling myself that when in reverse left is right and right is left. When going forward at a low speed reverse will be your friend if you come in too fast. Easiest thing to do is come in slow and bump it into forward as needed.. I found with mine in neutral when you full lock left or right the engine picks up to about 1200 rpm. I can basically go sideways just by going left to right.

[Pete Z]

I avoid using reverse if at all possible. On my boat it is just way too aggressive and moves the stern side to side at an alarming rate of speed. No good for close quarters manouvering. I'm hoping to adjust it, as noted above it is your "brakes", but really on a boat as small as mine it's seldom trully needed.

Like any boat plan way ahead of time and make sure you are moving at dead slow speed long before you get anywhere near your intended moorage. Leave the throttle(s) at idle and literally bump the shifter into forward for just a second and then pull back into neutral. Keep doing this and make course corrections as required each time you bump it into forward. Think of it as coasting the boat into the dock as slowly as possible by just giving it little, momentary shoves. Practice this at an empty dock or seawall when you don't have an audience so there is no pressure. If you watch other boats dock you'll soon see that the experienced boaters come in dead slow, bumping in and out of gear then gently come against thier mooring or into thier slip with only a minimal amount of reverse needed to stop. Only the inexperienced boaters come in fast then counter that with a ton of reverse and throttle. Those are the guys with all the dock rash on thier hullsides.

If things start to go wrong and is looks like a bump into that new Cobalt at the dock is inevitable DON'T PANIC and for God's sake do not grab the throttle!!! You are definitely going to make matters far worse if you start giving her throttle and frantically steering and shifting every which way. Stay calm. For one thing you should be going dead slow when you are close enough to the dock to be in real danger of actually hitting something, so at worst there is going to be a very minor bump unlikely to cause any damage to anything other than your pride. That of course doesn't have to happen at all. Remain calm, think about what you need to do to correct your situation and do it, all without touching the throttle. It sounds easy and it is. Usually the best course of action is to completely abort the docking procedure, go back out and start all over again. If you are on your approach to docking and things start to go awry, start over rather than try to make your failed docking manouver work. Your plan was flawed to begin with, so start anew. Adjust for wind, current or what ever and try it again. Always CALM, always at DEAD SLOW bumping in and out of neutral, so you are already almost stopped when finally coasting into your intended target. If it takes you ten times, so what? Not to mention if other boaters see that you are having some difficulty (even if you are not sometimes) being a friendly lot, they will almost always lend a hand at the dock if you want to have someone onboard toss them a line. Stay calm, practice, plan ahead and keep your approach speed as slow as possible. It works.

Jet boats are not impossible, or really even that hard to dock properly, but they do require a different technique than propped boats.

Oh, did I mention to stay calm? lol!

[pray4snow]

I have the same boat. I added the Cobra fins to the jets it make a big difference at slow speeds and docking. I also adjusted the gates which gave me a true neutral. Now my boat sit still in the water in neutral.

How easy is the gate adjustment for true neutral on the challenger??

Thanks for the info

[biffdotorg]

X2 on the CobraJet Steering. I would say that we SeaDoo owners may not benefit from them as much as the Yamaha JetBoat owners. The SeaDoo factory steering is just more precise.

That being said, the cobrajet fins do help. It was a tough one to justify not knowing how much they would help. I do notice that the boat stays planted a little better pulling tubers and skiers as well.

After a week vacation on the lake this past week, I did have the opportunity to parallel park our X-20 as our dock allowed for a nice bow-out tie up. We had calm water and this boat will truly go sideways when a person plays with the F-N-R gate at idle speed. It's fun to watch people run around the boat trying to figure out which rub rail will come up to the dock as a pull a full 180 spin and slide it in sideways to the exact spot I threw bumpers over the edge for!

Keep in mind, these were ideal conditions for dinking around like this, but it was this sort of practice that every owner should do so that you can be confident at the loading dock and not panic.

PRACTICE!!! And remember, gate adjustment or not, there is no true neutral on a jet. There is always water pumping in some direction.

Good luck!

[FJHIII]

I adopted a new strategy for docking, I prefer coming in perpendicular to the doc. The bow is aiming at the area where I want the bow to end up on the dock. Going slow, I do a hard turn at the last minute and the boat does a sharp turn ending up snug against the dock.

It is usually very windy (15 knt) and tidal suges where I dock and coming in using this method really helps.

Now I favor docking on the starboard side (driver's side). I do most of my docking solo.

I am using 2 large ball shaped bouys too and this gives a lot of protection on super windy days when I come in "hot". They store easily in the bow storage and I also use them to retrieve my anchor in 100'+ water using an anchor buddy frim West Marine.