Don't Get Stuck! 5 Steps For Shallow Water: The Watercraft Journal, EP. 65

Beaching your PWC or running aground happens to the best of us - but it can be avoided. We give you 5 tips to avoid getting stuck and what to do to keep from hurting your ski if it does.
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[@bigjwilkins]

25 year rider. All of these steps are great info!! I have made every mistake listed and learned from that. This is great for rookie and novice riders! Great informative vid Mr. Shaw!

[@watercraftjournal]

Great to hear!

[@timshull59]

As a newbie I appreciate these kinda vids.

[@watercraftjournal]

Happy to help!

[@Junkpusher77]

I literally just subbed the other day and have already found a dozen videos that gave me tips like this that I can actually use. I don’t know anyone else with a watercraft so I have to learn everything for myself. Thank you Kevin.

[@watercraftjournal]

Thank you so very much, Tyler! Glad we could help!

[@WKP21260]

Very informative. I'm a new rider and your lesson was a great help for me to keep my PWC from being destroyed before I can really have fun with it. Great job!

[@watercraftjournal]

Glad it helped!

[@mariokasapi8961]

Great tips, Kevin. Thanks!

[@watercraftjournal]

You bet!

[@YourAubsome]

@7:57 - My 6 year old daughter drove a PWC we rented a few weeks ago with me sitting behind her just like yours is. I had never seen anyone else do it before until now :)

[@watercraftjournal]

Shh! Don't tell anyone.

[@markknight85]

That’s actually illegal to do in Michigan, but I won’t tell 🤫

[@lisamcnutt5799]

This was a great informational video!

[@watercraftjournal]

Glad you think so!

[@KnightsArmory]

This was great. I am getting my first sea doo next week and I totally pictured myself pulling up on the beach like you said not to. Thank you 😁👊

[@watercraftjournal]

WHEW! Do NOT do that, or you will destroy your carbon seal and sink to the floor.

[@Mrsh-18]

Thank you so much! Very helpful video.

[@pascalbordy3180]

Excellent vid, thank you

[@watercraftjournal]

You're very welcome!

[@pathworks]

Got stuck yesterday on a mud flat riding the back bays of Wildwood, NJ. You'd think "No Man's Land Island" would be somewhat of a warning - especially when the tide is going out. Sat for 8 hours waiting for the tide to return. Found it best to turn the PWC around and back out nose first as dragging backward wasn't going to happen (840 lbs). 50 or so yards later, I was free. I remembered this video to bounce the craft to clear it. I did it from the bow though as I didn't remember bow or stern. Thanks for your video.

[@watercraftjournal]

Yikes

[@PWCtips]

Excellent content as always. Sucking up debris is probably the #1 thing new owners do to break their skis.

[@watercraftjournal]

Thanks! Sadly, we see far too many "old hats" doing the same thing too.

[@MarcM143]

The audio is glitchy on this vid

[@watercraftjournal]

Yeah, the first few minutes the lapel mic was cutting in and out. We tried to clean it up. Sorry!

[@b4ds33d]

No, even half through the video it’s happening. I think when the clips were edited together some of them got truncated by a fraction of a second.

[@ianbarlow7045]

I am new to PWC's, great video very informative keep em coming Thanks.

[@tedstryker7965]

Great video and information thank you.

[@hardwoodhitman5131]

Informative vid,,,,,this is good stuff for newbies.

[@watercraftjournal]

You'd be surprised how many self-proclaimed "pros" don't even know this stuff.

[@chrishatton9235]

Very helpful for us new pwc people!

[@watercraftjournal]

Our pleasure!

[@palmer8008]

Thank you. Really good advice. Especially on cleaning out the jet pump! Now that I know this, hopefully I will not need it :-)

[@watercraftjournal]

You're welcome!

[@aarondashiell3488]

Nice Sea Doo! I just picked the same one up last week! I love it

[@watercraftjournal]

One of our favorites!

[@aarondashiell3488]

@@watercraftjournal let me know when you want to get out! I’m in Louisville Kentucky

[@davidgarton2387]

Incredibly useful information,,, thank you 😊

[@watercraftjournal]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hockeynutt9434]

Excellent Vlog,

[@tim850csi]

Been on the water a LOT, mostly ocean sailing and I finally popped my run aground cherry on my mom's brand new jet ski the other day. Lake Champlain is a fickle beast and is mostly comprised of black shale on the bottom making depth changes very difficult to see. I consult the chart whenever I go out and was sure there was 6 feet of water between two island. Oops. I was at idle and tooling along at 4mph (idle speed) and then it happened. Scrape. Followed by what sounded like some pebbles in the jetpump. The thing shut off on it's own accord, my heart sank. I pushed it off the tiny muddy / loose rock shoal I found myself off and restarted it. It ran poorly for a few seconds. Turned it off and when I restarted it whatever was in there cleared and it ran perfectly on the run back to the lift. No damage from a visual inspection, not even a scrape in the hull. Guess I was lucky.

[@watercraftjournal]

Grab a flash light and take a look at the prop and wear ring. Otherwise, you made out like a bandit!

[@jason3714]

Great video, it helped that you have the exact same Ski as mine!

[@schizzleful]

Good information.. thanks

[@watercraftjournal]

You're welcome!

[@Pas-pd7ht]

Thanks for the very informative info

[@watercraftjournal]

You betcha.

[@deanhansen5041]

Tried to get to the Knik glacier back in 2005. Water was too silty to see an inch deep. Impossible to stay in the channel. We grounded half a dozen times each. The water was about 33 degrees. Chill blained feet broken intake grates and new impellers. We turned around before we got to the glacier. Wasnt fun but it was an expensive lesson.

[@watercraftjournal]

WHOA. That's crazy.

[@raulrecinos563]

Thanks need this!

[@seancraven2361]

I'm brand new, everyone I have talked too says for beaching, come in hot and shut it down in time ( 6 or 7 ft of water. ) and coast in. Accidental shallow stuff is as per your advice. I have a minkota on mine aswell so I can use that for spot lock or just the shallow stuff.

[@pascalbordy5829]

Awsome advice

[@watercraftjournal]

Thank you! Every little bit helps to keep people on the water!

[@maxflight777]

Yep, second time out on my WakePro 230, I sucked up seaweed into the pump. The water was too cold to dive in and pull the weed back through the grate. Beaching the ski (it wouldn’t go more than 3 knots !) it was a huge struggle to lean it over , to expose the ride plate, then pull the weeds out. Stressful!

[@watercraftjournal]

Ugh, that's a drag.

[@kkutube1972]

This also happen to me twice on the same day because I did not cut the engine. Thanks, Kevin.

[@davidoden]

Good advice to give, Barkley lake gets low this time of year and you better know where you are.

[@watercraftjournal]

It sure is!

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Nice info!

[@watercraftjournal]

Glad it was helpful!

[@rexxx777]

I took off in about 1.5 feet of water and straight away my seadoo started shuddering. Went forward and reverse, shaked then had to swim down and couldn't feel anything. Put it back on the trailer and saw a seashell stuck in the impeller blades. Got it out at home but still what a pain. You're fun ride is over before it begins. I hope there is no damage. $$$$$

[@andrasw2417]

scary feeling hey especially if its the first time haha. This has happened to me multiple times but with sticks its so annoying. Worse youll do is wear out your wear ring or damage the impeller. Still better than your engine blowing.

[@CharlestonSharkTeeth]

18 year owner here. Yes I agree with it ALL

[@watercraftjournal]

Thank you!

[@leonardbevitt7830]

First time seeing the new seadoo in its natural environment

[@watercraftjournal]

LOL

[@JuniorJr_23]

thanks

[@watercraftjournal]

You're welcome!

[@silversorcerer9316]

Kevin, After I go riding my seadoo should I unscrew the drain plugs ? I was told by a friend to unscrew the 2 plugs for a little while , is that to let the inside dry? whats the purpose of unscrewing the drain plugs ?

[@MarcM143]

Kevin at 6:00 you get up into the ski in less than 2 feet of water and turn it on revving up the engine in reverse and forward. Won't that just suck up more debris or sand off the bottom?

[@watercraftjournal]

Almost! At 6:15 I reboard at 3.5' feet of water (I'm 6'2") and fire up the ski at idle speed. It's clear that I'm not revving it. I do not reboard in the same location I'm filming my "A-roll" footage (the GTI is literally resting on a sunken tire to keep it still LOL!).

[@JimmyMusignac]

Correct way to do things in shallows.

[@alfonsobruno2289]

Hey buddy soon i will be gett3 my brand new 2021 seadoo 300 at the dealer they told me if i wanted to change my plastic wear ring to stainless wear ring MY question to you is SHOULD i change my plastic wear ring now OR wait till i used it wear it out AND then change for stainless IM going to use my machine 6 months in florida in salt water and 6 months fresh

[@watercraftjournal]

You can change it any time really.

[@austinchannel33]

Would something in the intake like small sticks and leaves and pine needles, etc, cause it to over heat a little bit?? I took mine out other day and the lake had a few patches of trash and debris. I avoided and went around the majority of it. And it ran great would I docked it for the day. I went to take it out yesterday and hit the throttle and it wouldn’t move. Just vibrated. So I got off it and reached underneath the intake grate and I didn’t feel anything.. and didn’t see anything in the jet..out the back. So I got back on. And idled out to deeper water and just kept revving it up. Until it finally would go. And I stopped and put it in reverse and gunned it back and forth a few times and then same in forward. And it seemed to be just fine. But then I noticed a few minutes later when I was going fast that the temp was up to about 199°F and normally it only gets up to about 195°.. so I idled a bit and it came back down to 188° which is the normal temp for it. So I’m just wondering if something is still up in it and causing it to overheat more then it normally does? Thanks for any info!

[@watercraftjournal]

Absolutely

[@dianabrockwaysutherland2942]

I saw a Brown Water indicated on my display. Can you give advise on that?

[@watercraftjournal]

Never heard of it. Sorry.

[@bikingforever5289]

How you recover your jetski if low tide miscalculated left you stranded 5m away from water? Sure, wait for high tide to come, hahah. But if not possible to wait, than what can you do. Something unconventional? A tarp under to provide a lide? Dig a channel? BTW. love the vid.

[@watercraftjournal]

OOF! That's a tough one. If you've got the arm strength (or a few friends) lift from the rear and drag it out to the water. Then flush the pump as best as you can by pressing and pulling the ski in and out of the water.

[@robprice6573]

I am new at this but would it be better if you just anchored it in the water off the beach?

[@watercraftjournal]

YES! That's the point, Rob. Thank you!

[@Personlpp]

Some debris just wont come out and the cavitation never ends. Two examples for me this year already is a piece of tree branch just large enough to fit through the grate. Second a plastic chain link. The impeller notched a grove into it and it would not let go. Both times had to bring it home and both times used a wire coat hanger made into a hook and got it out. ANY suggestions how to dislodge while on the water? I tried rocking and all that stuff.

[@watercraftjournal]

Please see our live session dedicated to this topic. It aired just a couple weeks ago.

[@rexxx777]

Had the same thing happen with a sea shell. These jetskis are so delicate and vulnerable.

[@senditsillly1423]

Any news on the 2021 GP SVHO??

[@watercraftjournal]

Yup. We'll have the exclusive first.

[@MrTyler8877]

I Just bought a lake house. Private dock with access to the lake through a channel. The channel is about 2ft deep. Owner says he gets pontoons and jet skis through. He said the pontoons have to be trimmed up and go slow and he said jet ski basically full throttle it from the dock to the lake or vice versa. Said when it’s on plane it will make It through fine. What’s your thoughts on this?

[@watercraftjournal]

There’s a very good reason that all 3 manufacturers insist on a minimum of 3-feet of water.

[@MrTyler8877]

@@watercraftjournal that didnt really answer my question in any way whatsoever lol

[@Ryan-ml2fc]

What happens if I got stuck and gave it throttle and sucked up sand?

[@watercraftjournal]

Presuming that you got stuck and throttled it in the sand... first, don't ever do that again. Second, get it out of the water and up on a trailer ASAP. Flush out the exhaust, and thoroughly spray the inside of the pump where the drive shaft enters the hull (the carbon seal). You've already likely impregnated it with sand, so you're kinda screwed no matter what you do.

[@gapa11]

If you pull from the back when leaving the beach why not do the same when going in??

[@watercraftjournal]

Because you're preload the pump with sand just as Kevin said.

[@dimris5761]

do you need to do these steps if you have idf?

[@watercraftjournal]

Yes.

[@yakihazoom]

step 6: buy YAMAHA

[@watercraftjournal]

LOL! This crap happens to all brands. And Yamahas are NOT immune to people's stupidity.

[@mikecancilla3]

True.. but seapoos sink!

[@cday6160]

And Yamaha’s are slow. Soooo there’s that.

[@THELEGI0NTTV]

@@cday6160the fact Yamaha hold the record for fastest jet ski lol

[@danieltran9011]

😂😂😂

[@SouthernBear71]

Do jetski's suck fish into the engines?

[@watercraftjournal]

LOL you don’t know how the these things work, do you?

[@TheOne-yc1wt]

Nothing sucks more than having something lodged in between the impeller and housing causing engine not to turn over

[@watercraftjournal]

It would have to be a pretty big rock or stick to jam the impeller enough to keep the engine from turning over.

[@TheOne-yc1wt]

@@watercraftjournal about half a fist size!

[@joecook3223]

Or a ski rope haha. Ask me how i know...

[@what-it-do2855]

@@joecook3223 Same here. Ski rope sucked up while idling. Was miles from my truck on Lake Monroe. 😬😬

[@joecook3223]

@@what-it-do2855 😢

[@michaelnesiti7249]

Great video, except for a the hiccups in the audio.

[@watercraftjournal]

Sorry about that

[@BattleGroundElite]

Maybe redo this video since the audio is kinda messy.

[@watercraftjournal]

Yeah, that's not going to happen.

[@tripacer160]

Great videos but the music in the background while you are explaining your pro tips is unbearable!

[@justthisguy1948]

If you don’t run your jet ski up on the beach you shouldn’t have one

[@watercraftjournal]

Exactly!

[@fish25guy]

Jet skis don't have "props"

[@watercraftjournal]

Semantically, you're 100% correct. A propeller is a fan which propels a fluid by pushing against it: it converts rotational motion into linear motion. An impeller is a rotor that produces a sucking force, and is part of a pump.

[@TheNo1prodigy]

That music....🤮... Why???

[@watercraftjournal]

To piss you off. Glad it worked.

[@TheNo1prodigy]

Well I will pay you the favor by unsubscribing and giving you a thumbs down... Happy to pay you the same shitty comment...

[@bullishpaulmccarthy3228]

Do giving the steps on how to write RC do And hit the chest water and then sparingly up to his knees What a joke

[@watercraftjournal]

WTF does this comment even mean?