Towing a SeaDoo Speedster

[Freestyle]

Does anyone have any experience towing a SeaDoo jet boat of the 4 or 5 person ilk?

It would be towed behind a 43 DCMY at our usual 8-9 knots.

Thanks

Bruce
Freestyle
1976 43 DCMY
Tampa

 

[Genesis]

Most of these have a hose that must be crimped when towed, otherwise water will flow back up into the engine via the muffler/silencer system and destroy the engine.

Other than that, the only issue I can think of would be the potential for flooding in rough seas.

 

[Angela]

I don't know if the engine on a Speedster is like the ones on the PWC, but when I had one and wanted to tow it, there was something about not being able to rush water through the engine when it wasn't running. Running at a very, very slow "crawl" speed was OK, but nothing more. Therefore, I installed an "on/off" valve inside that cut off the water flow through the engine. With that in the closed position, I could tow it at higher speeds.

There was someone on my dock did not heed that warning and trashed his PWC towing it at speeds greater than a crawl. You may want to call SeaDoo and ask if your Speedster is the same.

 

[neosin]

we have 2 honda 1200 turbos and tow them all the time at 9-10kts Setup yourself a good rig and check to see if yours can be towed without doing anything. Otherwise just install the valve and be done. Ours didn't need anything because of the design.

DO not try to tie your jet ski up to the side of the boat "overnight". The best thing to do is let her swing off the back. If any wind she will follow well behind the boat. I will swing both of ours one off each side of the rear of the boat at about 5 to 10 feet out. If the weather kicks up they ride out well. If you build your rig right you can swing out two and they will never touch.

Other than that... Have fun... i love taking out jets out to redfish island, the ship wakes can be a good hour of fun every time one passes... Cool part about our area is a ship will pass and the wake hits the shallows and grow to 4 - 6 feet... man they are fun... And it's safe because we are a 1/2 mile from the ship.

 

[Passages]

I just bought a 14' Sea Rayder for my son. (No Sea Ray jokes please)

The jet drive is powered by a 90 hp Force powerhead. I just finished flipping through the owners manual and the only warning regarding towing applied to bridal arrangement and danger of tow line snap back.

No mention of tow speed - I suspect the exhaust arrangement is different on jet boats as opposed to PWC.

Call the dealer just to be sure.

 

[Genesis]

Depends on the engine.

Some of the SeaDoo jetboats ARE PWC motors. The dual-engine ones in particular have two Rotax engines in them that are identical to those in their PWCs, and they require the shutoff valve to avoid flooding the engine.

PWC engines tend to use water flow off the jet (there's a tap for this purpose) for cooling water. Those are succeptable to flooding because when the engine is not running there is no exhaust gas pressure to prevent water buildup in the mixing chamber/silencer that can flow backward into the engine.

Some others use what amounts to an outboard powerhead coupled to a jet pump. Those have traditional outboard-style cooling systems with an impeller-driven water pump and are fine as the impeller, when stationary, blocks water flow.

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

Do you have a flybridge ?

We have our 13' boston whaler on our hardtop (no flybridge) and have on one occasion put a jetski also on top....

Made the boat a bit off balanced.....But was "doable" for a short trip.

And the other couple brought the booze and food...... AND paid for the fuel.

Am having to rethink how I feel about jetskiers.........

 

[John Dickson]

I have the Seadoo Speedster 16 ft twin engine and have dragged it many times behind my old 40 Searay. We towed it from the bow eye with a bridle off the transom that split and attached to both rear cleats. We also clamped one hose on each engine to prevent water from backing up into the cylinders. Check you operator's manual and it will show you exactly which hose to clamp. The service manual also shows the same hose on each engine. Mine has twin 110 rotax. If yours is newer, you may have the "head" which will require another reveiw.