Can You Leave a Jet Ski in the Water?
Have you ever wondered how long should you leave a jet boat in saltwater? Will your jetboats be just fine after long exposure? Let’s find out. There are a variety of ways on how to prepare your jet boat for extended exposure in saltwater. If you decide to leave your jet boat in salt water for some time, there are a number of things you can do to ensure that it runs smoothly and efficiently when you return.
In this article, we’ll be talking about a few ways on how saltwater affects a jet ski. We will also discuss the methods on how to care for your jet ski particularly when used or stored in saltwater locations.
Table of Contents
- 1 Caring for jet boats' engines left in saltwater
- 2 Using Salt-away to clean your engines
- 3 Flushing your jetboats with fresh water
- 4 What are the short-term risks?
- 5 What are the long-term risks for your jet ski left on saltwater?
- 6 Doing preventive maintenance for jet propelled boats
- 7 Frequently Asked Questions About How you can Leave a Jetski in the Water
- 8 Can a jet boat be left in the water?
- 9 Are Yamaha jet boats good in the ocean?
- 10 Can you leave a Yamaha jet boat in the water?
- 11 How to not leave a jet ski in the water
- 12 Let's wrap it up!
Caring for jet boats' engines left in saltwater
The engine is classified as a major boat part including jet boats. When you feel chills in your face after the winds blow, that’s probably because of the engine power. Thanks to its speed, you are able to feel that carefree feeling along with the blowing winds.
Since engines are made of metal, they are particularly vulnerable to the effects of salt corrosion. It is very hard to repair a metal surface after it has become corroded, thus the corroded surface will almost always need to be replaced.
In comparison, it is much easier to take the proper precautions for your boat right from the start after considering the expense and time of replacing the engine of your jet boat.
If you are wondering if there appropriate time measures when leaving a jet boat in open water, then here’s the catch. In maintaining your engine that is about to be left in saltwater for some time, ensure that you don’t exceed the maximum two weeks time frame that your boat sits on it. This may be a liberal amount of time but others even observed adverse effects after only a week of leaving their boat in saltwater. By following the right time guidelines, you will have a helping hand in caring for your vessel.
Using Salt-away to clean your engines
Another method for caring for your jet boat after exposure to saltwater is using Salt-away. So what is this Salt-away? It is actually a chemical spray that will help you clean and protect your boat after being exposed to saltwater.
So how do you use it? To make use of Salt-away, you’ll have to wash out the bottom of your boat then have it sprayed with it. After that, rinsing the boat is no longer needed.
Using Salt-away is the best method to rinse the engine from all the salt and other particles found in the water. After exposure, using Salt-away is important especially when you’ll leave your boat again in salt water for a few more days. You can find this product cheaper after linking to Amazon.com or from affiliated sites.
Flushing your jetboats with fresh water
We mentioned that rinsing the bottom of the boat is no longer necessary. However, rinsing the engine is a different thing. In order to rinse your engine with Salt-away, you will have to do few more steps. First is you have to connect the engine where there is the general water intake. Next, for around thirty seconds, run only fresh water from a hose through the engine.
The final step will need a clean, fresh water source, to flush the engine. This will make sure that kelps, weeds and salt residue are taken out before they can cause any damage. An automatic bilge pump can help you flush and spray out water and clean your engine.
By doing this on a regular basis, the fresh water will remove the salt and particles that may have piled up in your engine or other surfaces. This will be very helpful after a week that your jet ski has been left in open water.
What are the short-term risks?
You may think that leaving your jet ski for a few days won’t cause any harm. However, leaving your jet boat in salt water, or any water for that matter, exposes it to the risk of fungi, barnacles, and other plants growing on the sides of your boat. This usually happens especially when you do not know how long should you leave a jet boat in saltwater.
Some people have their jet ski anchored to keep it from wake and wind zones. However, there may be situations that are unavoidable for your jet ski that is why you have to make sure your jet ski does not hit the dock whenever you make a stop to buy fuel from a gas station.
If the wind is strong and the boat hits the dock, this can lead to possible damage to the surface of your boat which can also greatly affect its speed. These particles add a rough surface to your jet boat and prevent you from doing a smooth glide, especially in the open waters. That is why it is important to use a bilge pump to flush your jet ski and vessel after every time it is left on the water for several days or weeks. You should also check your jet ski if it needs bottom paint repairs in case it bumps the dock.
The risk of theft and sinking
Another thing that you should be thinking about is getting your stuff stolen and the watercraft sinking. If you simply tie your jet ski on the dock lines, chances of theft or vandalism can occur. Your jet ski might even be stolen when you leave it on saltwater without having a specific return date. Several ways to prevent this from happening are to dock in a safe marina with visible security to make sure your jet ski does not encounter these problems.
If you think your jet ski can never sink as you have tied it securely, then you might need to rethink this. Once there is a leak on your watercraft and it reaches the hull, it wouldn’t take long before it sinks. In most cases, it will go underwater within an hour or two. Remember to have your jet ski pull out once you spot leaking especially during freezing weather conditions as this can speed up sinking.
What are the long-term risks for your jet ski left on saltwater?
You might think leaving your jet ski unattended for a week will not hurt since it is not on an everyday basis. You might even be confident enough thinking your boat has a cooling system and nothing can possibly go wrong while on the dock. However, it is a good idea to get the jet ski out of the water daily and keep it in dry storage until you are all set to use it again. By doing so, you are preventing long-term risks and damage including corrosion, and some instances getting it damaged by natural elements and flora and fauna.
Doing preventive maintenance for jet propelled boats
Checking the engines and the fuel regularly, ensuring that the hydraulics are maintained well and are prepared to be used will help provide the best preventive maintenance work for your jet boat when you take it out on the lake. You also have to make sure that there are no rough edges or cracks when you do your jet ski bottom paint job. It must also be fresh and ready for use, and it must effectively prevent growth on the hull of your boat.
Lastly, ensure that the boat’s engine is regularly flushed and cleaned by using a bilge pump especially when leaking occurs. Don’t forget the important role of getting it clean using water flush or spray, as mentioned earlier, to remove foreign materials that are possibly stuck within and that affect the jet boat’s performance.
Frequently Asked Questions About How you can Leave a Jetski in the Water
Can you keep a jet boat in saltwater?
Keeping a jet boat in saltwater may not be the best idea. Jet boats are made to cruise on freshwater but they can also run as well in saltwater with added preparation for before and after saltwater use. You have to equip your jet boat with added gear to work well on saltwater including a jet pump that is used for flushing and cleaning.
Without these additional equipment, you may experience more resistance as you do jet drives, especially when steering and shaving off speed as compared to cruising on fresh water smoothly.
How to prepare your Jetboat for a saltwater excursion
Checking your boat’s hull
Freshwater vessels may be equipped with a hull that can take the calm waves. Using this type of boat can be a tough ride compared to riding a sea doo or some jet skis. You need to make sure you have the right hull for the right body of water. It would be a good practice to ask for advice from professionals on how to make this work.
Knowing how your engine cools down
If you need to use your boat on salty waters, try to check how it handles the new environment by starting on the shallow part of the water. If you use your freshwater boat, after several hours of exposure, your boats’ engine needs to be flushed out wherein a bilge pump comes in handy. This is extremely important to avoid corrosion and damage once it dries up. This won’t be a problem for saltwater jet ski and boats as they have flushing features using jet pumps automatically.
Can a jet boat be left in the water?
If you choose to leave your jet boat or any type of personal watercraft on the water for several days on the site, this will not be a problem, given the weather is fair with no threats of hail or storm.
But letting them stay on the water site for long periods may cause your boat to build up rust and eventually corrode. Saltwater is capable of corroding metal parts of a boat and can do extensive damage. It can also cause major damage on the boat’s surface which means you will have to pay for repairs and have its bottom paint done.
Without maintenance, bolts that are constantly exposed to saltwater will be impossible to remove. Too much water exposure can damage the color of your boat, causing them to fade. Boating experts suggest not leaving your jet boat in salt water for more than a week or two to keep it safe and prevent failure of the engines.
Are Yamaha jet boats good in the ocean?
Most of Yamaha’s jet-drive bowriders were designed to be used in lakes. You can see these vessels pulling tubers and anchored somewhere in the lake for a party. Jet boats can still work in saltwater but expect some differences in performance as compared to when it is in freshwater This is because the jet boats’ hull is designed for the calm freshwater with smaller waves.
To test your boats’ adaptability on saltwater, you can take it for a ride when there are fewer huge swells. Expect to have a rough ride when bigger swells are coming since the freshwater hull is designed differently. Make sure to do flush after the day is through when you take your boat home.
Yamaha’s 242 Limited S series jet ski can fare in both freshwater and saltwater setting. This 360 horsepower jet drive boat was designed to be the best all-around family boat. It delivers exceptional ride and can also handle the demands of water sports.
Can you leave a Yamaha jet boat in the water?
Many people have been asking the same question, whether or not a Yamaha Jetboat can actually be left in saltwater. As you know, these types of vessels are easy to navigate just like most jet skis. They can work well in both bodies of water but do perform best on freshwater as they are designed for that particular water type. However, leaving your Yamaha sea doo in salt water for too long a time can corrode its engines and cause galvanic corrosion on the metal parts of your boat.
The engine is the most important part of your boat and should be given proper attention especially when you left your jet boat in the salt water for too long. Engines have metal surfaces that can easily corrode due to salt and these surfaces when rusted need to be replaced. Proper precautions need to be followed and applied to avoid the costly replacement of the vessel’s engine. If you’re planning to sell your vessel, corrosion caused by zinc anodes will have a big deal effect on the resale value of the boat.
How to not leave a jet ski in the water
Okay, so you’ve probably understood the fact that leaving your jet ski in the water for too long can cause real damage. This is even when you think you’d still flush it with water afterward. You might even think your jet ski will be just fine because you will not leave it on the water for weeks. However, you have to be aware that a jet ski runs better on a lake thus getting a trailer to bring it home is better.
This is because a jet ski needs to be out of the water every day to make sure that it stays fine while preventing damaging effects in the long run and extra costs for a paint job. If you’re trying to keep your first boat out of salt water, then contacting a jet ski lift can be a good idea.
A jet ski lift works similarly to docks. Your jet ski is lifted higher making it safer and easier to maintain. Aside from giving your jet ski a lift, you can also store your jet ski in houseboat storage during the offseason and get it out for the boating season. This can be a good move instead of leaving the jet ski on floating docks.
Let's wrap it up!
If you are wondering if you can actually leave your boat on salt water, then the answer is YES! Can you leave it every day? Think it over. A jet ski is light so you can easily get it on a trailer and bring it home. Besides, it needs to be taken out of the water every day or else it becomes easy for it to break. A trailer will surely have enough space for your jet ski. If it’s off season, you can simply take your jet ski home.
This will prevent rust and your jet ski from continuously bumping on the dock. Experts also suggest that you don’t leave your watercraft too long in the water as it can cause severe damage that will probably leave a hole in your pocket.
