Jet Ski's & Chartplotters/VHF

[vjmehra]

I went on a Jet Ski for the first time a couple of weeks ago....then again a week ago, was pretty impressed to be honest, although admittedly this was in the South Pacific and maybe a tad warmer than here!

That said, it got me thinking and I can see how they could be quite appealing as an alternative to Ribbing, for short blasts out after work perhaps. But one thing does bug me, looking around the manufacturers websites, there seem to be little or no provision for fixed VHF and/or chartplotters.

Now I can see how using a VHF @ 50 knots may be a tad tricky, but stopping to use one, would surely be plausible, or am I over complicating things here and do people who jetski use handheld VHF's?

More than the VHF, the chartplotter (or lack of) bugs me, I guess maybe its just not practical to mount one, but it seems a bit risky to me as there definitely isn't any scope for using paper charts or realistically even an iPad, so how do you navigate effectively?

 

[aquapower]

I went on a Jet Ski for the first time a couple of weeks ago....then again a week ago, was pretty impressed to be honest, although admittedly this was in the South Pacific and maybe a tad warmer than here!

That said, it got me thinking and I can see how they could be quite appealing as an alternative to Ribbing, for short blasts out after work perhaps. But one thing does bug me, looking around the manufacturers websites, there seem to be little or no provision for fixed VHF and/or chartplotters.

Now I can see how using a VHF @ 50 knots may be a tad tricky, but stopping to use one, would surely be plausible, or am I over complicating things here and do people who jetski use handheld VHF's?

More than the VHF, the chartplotter (or lack of) bugs me, I guess maybe its just not practical to mount one, but it seems a bit risky to me as there definitely isn't any scope for using paper charts or realistically even an iPad, so how do you navigate effectively?

I have been a jet skier for about 20 years now although not as much now as I used to. Most of mine was on a lake so plotter/VHF was never an issue because on the few times I did use at sea I carried a handheld in the locker, although I remember when buying one a few years back there was an optional Garmin hand held GPS/plotter with mounting bracket, this was available on a Seadoo but not sure what others were offering. I did a few long trips on mine and the only problem was the range (about 50 miles) otherwise a good alternative to ribbing as a more manageable size.

 

[LittleShip]

so how do you navigate effectively?

You just ask one of the boats you have been annoying which way it is to the beach.

I think they are one of the worst sea going vessels ever invented. You can hear he bloody things for miles, even worse than the old 2stroke engines on speed boats.

Grumpy.....er I mean Tom.

 

[vjmehra]

Yeah they definitely don't seem that loved on these forums!

I've never really seen them causing any offence (although I've read plenty of stories on the yachting sub forum!!!) and I definitely can't hear them above the noise of our 2 stroke engine on the RIB!!!

 

[LittleShip]

Hmmm !

1 Likes Jet Skies.
2 Has a noisy 2stroke rib.

There's no helping some people.

Tom.

 

[vjmehra]

If its any consolation the rib is up for sale...

The only question is, what to get next

 

[Searush]

If its any consolation the rib is up for sale...

The only question is, what to get next

Lead swimming weights? Concrete flippers?


Jetskis don't generally need nav stuff as they seldom stray outside the areas reserved for beach swimming as far as I can tell.

 

[Geoffs]

Jetskis don't generally need nav stuff as they seldom stray outside the areas reserved for beach swimming as far as I can tell.

That's right, generally blasting around at 50 knots in the 5 knot limit, as speed limits don't apply to them, do they?

 

[vjmehra]

...and mobo's never give way to yachts blah blah blah...

I have only ever been jet skiing twice, both times with an instructor and never in the UK, so please don't include me in whatever negative views you have.

Also, what exactly is:

Lead swimming weights? Concrete flippers?

Supposed to mean???

 

[LittleShip]

The only question is, what to get next

Can I interest you in a very nice sedate and comfortable 32' Grand Banks

Tom

 

[vjmehra]

I'm not overly familiar with the boat, but I have heard good things about them, I like the idea of a trawler style boat, very different to what I'm used to.

That said, I'm not looking to buy anything immediately, hopefully we'll sell the rib before the start of next season, spend the season chartering the odd weekend (sail and power) then possibly look to buy at the start of the 2015 season

 

[landlockedpirate]

I have had a few jetskis, the truth is sit-downs require little skill and are simply boring after a very short time.. For the first few years I was convinced that if I bought a faster one each year it would be more exciting, it wasn't. Stand ups require a little more skill and can be fun for a short time in the right conditions.

However I did do a few trips with the club I was with, including a cruise from Rhos On Sea in North Wales to Liverpool. I cant describe how bad it was, they are not designed for cruising at constant speed in a straight line. It was supposed to be a return trip, but I left the ski on the beach in New Brighton and got the train back to recover the car and trailer.

The reason jetskis dont have chartplotters/VHF ?

Because anyone who spends more than an hour or so playing in the waves just off the beach would have their brain turned to mush by the constant bouncing and high pitched wail, so they wouldnt be able to read or talk anyway.

Seriously, they are toys, not cruising boats.

 

[Portofino]

Back in 1992 I and 149 others raced on a " raid bleu" from Marsielle to St Tropez .
It was over 2 days with stages to refuel every now and agian ,ending up with a gala dinner/ prize giving black tie function at the end .
Eurosport filmed it from helicopters ( French like this kind of stuff -think Paris -Dakar )
Support boats fly bridge Guy Couach,s would set off 1/2 in advance at each leg only to be overtaken by the pack soon after the start .
As you can imagine ,we all strung out forming a huge squadron and would descend on unsuspecting tourists on a beach to refuel ,water and start the next leg .We had a waterproof map and support RIBs chased up the rear towing in breakdowns .
The Factory works teams ,Seadoo, Kawasaki ,Polaris and Yamaha followed with F1 style trucks on land .
They also did running repairs to privateers ,indeed Seadoo replaced a snapped throttle cable for me .
More of a pride thing - wanted all there modals to finish .
After day1 my spine was compressed -disks squashed/ slipped.? Face red the salt spray removed sunscreen .
After day 2 -as above but could bear ly walk + severe nappie rash / ulcers where the two cheeks rub .
Spent the next week immobile round a pool in Golfe Juan -wife went to pharmacy and came back with nappie rash cream .

Oh it gets worse -race was a W/E at the start of 2 wk hol .
So when I felt up to sitting on the dam thing agian ,I enquired at the local Capitaneries where to launch so I could explore the coast a bit more -gentilly with wife as pillion and a pick nick in the storage box -you get the idea August on the Cote d Azur .Told -ok just use or slip Golfe Juan-So one nice calm morning off we went and launched -wife did not feel up to to it
" you go off darling and I will sit on the jetty reading a book etc"
Great I thought so off I shot full speed to the distant islands ( isle d Lerins) .Out o f sight from wife a large Gray patrol boat with a machine gun mounted on the bow flashed e down .
They " did" me for speeding in a national park -arrested me cuffed me took me down below and proceeded to tow the Seadoo back to Golfe Juan -Wife thought there had been an accident as all she initially saw was the empty jet ski on tow .
£ 400 fine/bail? later i was let go -on the understanding i was to appear in court in the morning -Paid by card -immediately phoned the card Co explaining I was forced to pay under duress ,they agreed to cancel the transaction by close of buisness .This was Thursday of the 2nd week .Fearing a French late night knock on the door ( rented appartment) we packed up and skipped town /country and within an hour crossed into Italy .We managed to drive to Zeebruger for ferry to Hull without re-entering France .