Tomorrow, first time out for newbie - tips??

[CZSteve]

Alright, my brother and I are going to take one of the 1996 GTX's out tomorrow for it's maiden voyage.
Neither of us have any experience with PWC's; we do have plenty of general boating experience from V-Hulls, current 24' Pontoon, and I have some Jet Boat experience when a good friend had a Berkley w/ a 460 Ford MANY years ago...

Work Done:
Gray fuel lines replaced, cleaned internal carb fuel filter & selector (carb filters looked very good, some early signs of 'goo' where lines attached to selector valve), new inline fuel & oil filter, new spark plugs, cleaned RAVE valves w/ new gaskets & o-rings, new wear ring, and pump oil changed.

All tags are current, have insurance in place, full fire extinguisher, rope attached to front bow hook and coiled in front compartment along with a collapsible paddle.

I currently have our toon out of the water for maintenance and cleaning; plan on just going out to a small / mid size lake near the house - plan on one person on the ski at a time and not venturing out too far.

The ski starts and idles fine. We don't have the anti-rattle kit so obviously have impeller noise - while running on water in the drive it 'sounded' like we had a rattle from the motor area but not sure (I have a substantial loss in one ear and hard to tell where noises come from); my wife just noticed from the noise from the rear but she was a few feet away manning the water faucet, I was over the open engine compartment. Had a nice 'Pee' stream coming out the back along with some water out the exhaust.

1. Plan on getting the anti-rattle cone but should the rattle be gone when we have any type of load on the pump? Normal to notice the rattle noise transferring and sounding like it may be coming from the motor when in the drive and the seats are off?
2. The information gauge is un-readable; wrinkled screen - will repair polarizing film later.
3. Obviously plan in verifying the carbon seal is not leaking when we first launch.
4. Suggestions on things to watch or listen for?
5. Riding technique suggestions?
6. Any additional gear recommended for initial run?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[nammer]

charge battery before u leave, and make sure to put in drain plugs (happened to me like 4 times, had to pull ski out, and let drain ) and let er rip! have fun

 

[Dr Honda]

Don't worry about the anti-rattle. It's junk... it doesn't solve the issue... and they do melt once in a while. (That casues all kinds of other issues) Sure... "Seadoo Rattle" sounds bad... but it's not causing any damage, and the Band-aid isn't a fix.



As far as, what to watch for... just listen. The engine will tell you if it's happy or not. If it's fading in the upper RPM's... DO NOT keep riding it. A lean run can be death to a 2-stroke. After riding for 5 or 10 min... stop, and look under the seat. Look for leaks, or signs of running hot.

Other that that... go have fun.

 

[CReynoldsMIZ]

Here's a tip that people, especially newbs, seem to forget. ALWAYS before you leave your house, start your ski up and run it for idk maybe 10-15 seconds to make sure everything is running right. The worst feeling ever is going to the boat ramp, assuming your ski will start, only to get there and find out that it wont.

Dont ask me how I learned this tip, but I will say I might have firsthand knowledge on this lol

 

[blairwill4]

I agree with [MENTION=43106]CReynoldsMIZ[/MENTION]. Im superstitious as hell. What can go wrong will go wrong. So I always start and run my ski before leaving so that way theres no doubt its gonna do the same when we get there.

 

[CReynoldsMIZ]

Yup I went with my buddy twice to the lake about a half hour away. He has a 97 spx. We threw his on my double trailer and left. First time we went his battery wouldnt start it. Had to go get a new battery and wasted about 3 hours. Second time something else similar happened and neither time he tried to start before we left, I was so pissed the second time it wouldnt start. Especially when it costs time, gas, launch fees, frustration, etc...

 

[bell99man]

Learned that watching my dad launch a john boat over the years and fighting with an old Mercury after it was in the water. His eventual cure was to buy a new Johnson. He still never did pre-start anything but that new motor fired on the second pull every time.

Take a spare set of spark plugs and wrench in case you foul them.
With one rider that machine should jump right up on plane with a full throttle start. Don't do this in shallow water however. It will suck all kinds of crap right off the bottom in knee deep water.
After you get the hang of how it turns, try to see how hard a turn you can handle. It is not as nimble as the smaller skis but you will still be floored at what it can do. Have a blast!

Kevin

 

[kicker]

Here is a link to a list of goodies tha a few guys made. Just some stuff you should consider taking with you on you lake runs.
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthre...r-trip&highlight=being+prepared+for+your+trip