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PWC expeditions?

evernoob

evernoob

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May 21, 2020
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Have common folk attempted this? Is it a regular thing? I haven't even seen a documentary about one.

I was thinking some of these older PWC have a lot of capacity, and could serve as a tug for a gutted one. Then you could build the second one deck-up sort of like a lifeboat for a containership, as in Captain Phillips with Hanks.

Then for the line you could use a golf cart or sxs strut on each end, and because the tow's hull is a PWC, you should be able to plane out for cruise speed.

You could cross Lake Michigan like this, and have a comfortable vacation (with periodic stays at a hotel) cruising down the St. Lawrence Seaway, maybe to the Maritimes. After that, maybe a Polar Expedition re-tracing Top Gear's Magnetic North Pole but on PWC.

I guess people camp with them out West a lot, who does this and what are the specialized modifications people do?

Deepwater thots for no reason-

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Look up Jet Ski Brian he is doing fairly long distance offshore fishing off of a jet ski. He details some of the mods he has done to make him self seaworthy. Bieng safety conscience a long distance from shore needs to be a priority.
 
People ride them from Miami to the Bahamas. They race them around Catalina island from the mainland. That’s about all I would ever want to do on one.
 
Fuel is a big problem. And pulling anything behind it makes you burn it A LOT faster, so even if you're towing a trailer with your extra fuel, you're getting diminishing returns.

There was a group I rode with when I was in TX that would do long runs around galveston bay and up some of the rivers and they usually had a support boat carrying extra fuel along with planned marina stops.
 
Eric said:
There was a couple that ran from CT to FL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8oBfoTWUcE
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Ok I see a lot of people are doing the logical thing. That'd be one, Great Lakes to Buffalo, Erie Canal to Hudson River, to NYC, down Intracoastal to New Orleans, up Mississippi to Illinois River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, back across Lake Michigan home.

4iQtKQB.png
 
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I couldn't even imagine how much $$$ you would burn through in just fuel. When ours was new (2000ish) it drank fuel like it was free.
 
evernoob said:
If you're using 100+ hp then yeah you will burn through a lot of fuel.

You should be able to plane out a PWC and a towed PWC together with 25 hp I would think.
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No you wont. You obviously havent spent much time on a pwc or any jet craft. They dont tow or steer well at lower rpms. No planing hull runs efficiently towing anything.

PWC suck for "cruising" in anything over 1 footers, fucking around theyre great, theres no V to cut waves so youre bouncing everywhere or putting along. Youre exposed to the elements and catching salt spray all day. Theres no putting on casual clothes and going down to a decent restaurant. You ever spent a whole day on one? Try doing it for weeks at a time. Theres a reason cruisers run the boats they do.

That long of a cruise sucks in a small boat let alone a PWC. When I was a kid we would do the Ohio then part of the Missisippi in a 22 cuddy camping along the way for about two weeks Cruising and seeing the sights for longer than that would suck in a boat that small as an adult a pwc would just be a pain in the ass.

What about inclement weather? You just gonna sit it out for days at a time waiting? Fuck that. Pay your rent, get a second job then buy a real boat. I sold the center console and Im looking for a 25 to 28 walk around and Im not even sure Id want to do the great loop in that.
 
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Some of my friends took them from Pittsburgh to Parkersburg WV. They had to go through multiple locks. Fuck that.
 
Stuck said:
No you wont. You obviously havent spent much time on a pwc or any jet craft. They dont tow or steer well at lower rpms. No planing hull runs efficiently towing anything.

PWC suck for "cruising" in anything over 1 footers, fucking around theyre great, theres no V to cut waves so youre bouncing everywhere or putting along. Youre exposed to the elements and catching salt spray all day. Theres no putting on casual clothes and going down to a decent restaurant. You ever spent a whole day on one? Try doing it for weeks at a time. Theres a reason cruisers run the boats they do.

That long of a cruise sucks in a small boat let alone a PWC. When I was a kid we would do the Ohio then part of the Missisippi in a 22 cuddy camping along the way for about two weeks Cruising and seeing the sights for longer than that would suck in a boat that small as an adult a pwc would just be a pain in the ass.

What about inclement weather? You just gonna sit it out for days at a time waiting? Fuck that. Pay your rent, get a second job then buy a real boat. I sold the center console and Im looking for a 25 to 28 walk around and Im not even sure Id want to do the great loop in that.
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We get it, you'd prefer the Land Rover to the motorcycle. :flipoff2:
 
furthest Ive gone out was out 30 miles out (60 round trip) in the open water (Marina Del Rey). I turned back because I stopped for a break and saw a text message on my phone that stressed me out and ruined my mojo.

No gps or radio, it was foggy but I could still see. I didnt get to ski much this year because of ersonal issues.

​​​​Yamaha fx140, one of the best open water skis out there. They drink gas if you are on it, but I was doing about 20-30 (on glass water) and it wasnt bad.

I am waiting for time and motivation to build a fishing setup in the back. I have a Penn rod with a Chaparra (I think) lure waiting for it. My dream would be to hook a tuna in the open water.

P.S. Its scary as fuck going into open water alone without any gear. Or maybe Im just a pussy. Or dumb.

#skisurf bros.
 
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arse_sidewards said:
We get it, you'd prefer the Land Rover to the motorcycle. :flipoff2:
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Yes. Because Ive ridden the motorcycle (pwc) a couple hundred miles and it sucks. I also had one set up for saltwater fishing like jetskibrians. I thought it would be cheaper/easier than taking the big boat out. Fuck that. The last thing I want after a day of pulling grouper or mahi is to ride back on a jetski.
 
scooter2374 said:
I couldn't even imagine how much $$$ you would burn through in just fuel. When ours was new (2000ish) it drank fuel like it was free.
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They said that they had to stop very 50 miles for gas, can you imagine driving from NY to FL in a car and having to stop every 50 miles for gas?

Aaron Z
 
aczlan said:
They said that they had to stop very 50 miles for gas, can you imagine driving from NY to FL in a car and having to stop every 50 miles for gas?

Aaron Z
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Yeah we could make it down river and out around Sandy Hook and play on the beach for a short bit before having to head back, doubly worse because it was a 2 stroke so unless you brought some oil with you you could not stop at one of the marinas to fuel up.
 
Stuck said:
No you wont. You obviously havent spent much time on a pwc or any jet craft. They dont tow or steer well at lower rpms. No planing hull runs efficiently towing anything.
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Every planing hull has a minimum planing speed which someone playing on a PWC is going to exceed within 30 seconds. PWC come out of the water pretty fast so it's clear that this speed is well, well below play speed.
 
evernoob said:
Play time isn't representative of what the craft can do.
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evernoob said:
Every planing hull has a minimum planing speed which someone playing on a PWC is going to exceed within 30 seconds. PWC come out of the water pretty fast so it's clear that this speed is well, well below play speed.
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Can you ever admit someone in a thread might just know more than you? Or in this case, many people?

You've obviously never spent any or much time on a PWC. There are several people in here that clearly have.

You're wrong. As usual. You're wrong.
 
evernoob said:
Every planing hull has a minimum planing speed which someone playing on a PWC is going to exceed within 30 seconds. PWC come out of the water pretty fast so it's clear that this speed is well, well below play speed.
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You should play far far out in the ocean on one. And you don’t really need a life jacket. They are plenty safe.
 
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