I Bought a RARE 1980's Jet Powered Surfboard

[@douglasvannuys]

MAN!!!! This video brought back SO many wonderful memories. When I was 16 years old, I worked at a marina as a dock boy, and we had a fleet of these we would rent. On my days off, I was allowed to sign one out and play on it for the day. Many Many hours I spent on one of these! Thanks for posting!!!

[@TheFdjas]

Hold old are ya?

[@DontbeAsshole]

There was no way this was the one in lake almanor was it? ...

[@mmaaddict78]

Are they as hard to ride as it looks? Seems like it would take a lot of skill to ride one of these.

[@gravedigger6632]

It's a Mandela effect we would've clearly seen one before as I grew up near the beach.

[@bigJayCanada]

I hear ya! I was a young boy (14) and we were renting a Houseboat for a week travelling up the Trent Severn waterway in Northern Ontario Canada. We stopped at one of the many Locks there and we saw these for rent at a Marina. Rented for an hour. was awesome. It was the coolest thing going at the time:) Oh the good old days... EH?

[@GarageAddiction]

Never knew I needed a jet powered surfboard until right now. Nice work!

[@2vintage]

Yeah go get one!

[@TheShrewdServant]

You know hue don't ya?

[@richeyrich2203]

Well, now they are electric. Boost makes a nice one

[@idkjames]

Lol same. Id love to take this to the ramp at boynton lol.

[@deejay7060]

@@2vintage where is the throttle on that?.

[@listenupfools731]

Just for kicks,id take the impellor and have it 3 d digitally imprinted,so in case you need another one,they can just print one out,its possible you can have a more efficient, or higher performing one made

[@RT-vo2vh]

Thats a cool idea ... freakin technology these days .... 😮😮

[@jaredmcquiniff5362]

I’ve seen these, but never in person. Living in Florida, I would expect to see these rare finds on marketplace more often, but surprisingly they don’t really pop up much. Great find Joe!

[@ChrisTopher-ib7tt]

I grew up in Iowa. A friend of mine had one of these and brought it on summer vacation in 1979. We spent hours driving it around on Tablerock Lake near Branson, MO. It was a blast, and I always wanted one after that but could never find one for sale. Great find! I'm sooo jealous!! I wish somebody would start making these again.

[@mikejones420]

really cool video Joe, you have some of the best content on youtube, not only cool machines, but educational as well, keep up the awesome work :)

[@RARufus]

Joe, you are quickly becoming the master of weird and wonderful small engine machines. Just awesome man!! Keep it the excellent work.

[@southernslipping4225]

Dude can literally fix anything he’s a genius on engines

[@ar2043]

Man… That thing turned out to be a real dime-piece. You definitely scored on that one. Good job.👍👍👍

[@mattreid8768]

I grew up in the 80's and I didn't even know they made this. Pretty cool.

[@phillmckrakin2518]

Same here ,never saw one until now.

[@St.PetePicklers727]

Good to know

[@sebcam9498]

That’s the way it is: the older you grow, the more you realize you know only little

[@localenterprisebroadcastin5971]

The 80s were full of awesome things like this especially in aviation…many of these companies were sued out of existence.

[@NicCageForPresident2024]

Same here. Never seen or knew this existed

[@Military-Museum-LP]

I have no idea how you can keep up this pace. I love this channel!

[@joerutkowsky3261]

My cousin had two of them. They are sooo fun. You can sit down on it or stand. As a small kid I always sat down. Fuji industry is the same maker of motors in the old Polaris Indy snowmobile and Polaris sportsman 500 atv up until a certain year. I believe into the 2000’s

[@grahamlee1661]

My 2006 Subaru Forester XT is also stamped as being made by Fuji Heavy Industries. I believe they were the parent company of Subaru Automobile Division.

[@skoolzone]

Fuji industries behind the brand Hitachi good brand

[@larryrodziewicz8437]

I've had 3 of these back in the 90's and can tell you a few things to watch out for. That hull is a 2 piece design and filled with foam. You really want to make sure that seal that goes along the edge of the board is no loose and seal on very well all the way around. If you don't it will leak water in and that foam sucks it up like a sponge and it will become real heavy and will lose performance. The newer surfjets that came out later are a one piece hull design to stop the water leaking in. The throttle is controlled by a grip that has hydraulic fluid in the hose to the carb. My SurfJets had subaru engines back then. I still may have my service manuals around for it also. Hope some of this info helps you.

[@heyLeesComet]

Another dope find! Nice work again Joe, love siiting back and catching up on your videos on Sunday mornings

[@windridermaui]

I can't believe I am seeing it. I had a summer job growing up in Minnesota working for just that company, test riding Surf Jets. There were a blast to ride!

[@ar2043]

Joe, If you ever have impeller problems and need to get that one fixed or whatever… They can almost always be fixed. Even if they need to be re-welded and ground and balanced. Anyway, remember this post. You will want to call and talk to Dave at IMPROS or Glen from SKAT-TRAK. The two leading authorities on impellers on the globe. I still have 10's of impellers on my shelf from Dave and Glen (from my PWC racing/riding days) that look like absolute jewelry. 👍

[@ar2043]

Oh man. Didn't notice but that's terrible if that's the case!!!

[@АлексГор-з7р]

У меня в России есть такая доска, с Японии привезли.

[@lucascady4992]

That is one of those buy's where you just have too! Never seen one, never rode one, nobody I know has either?! Hell yeah! Buy it, ride it, sell it, check it off the bucket list!! Definitely something to talk about when you're older!!

[@coryernewein]

Fuji makes a hell of a good small engine, my old 92 Polaris Indy ran 80mph with the crank bearings turning to dust. Rebuilt it in a weekend and it's still going strong. Have fun with that slick unit young man🤙

[@corporalclegg914]

nice 1st rip, Joe. those crafts are a blast & a fun way to guarantee shrinkage. you made it look easy, especially for one that hails from a land-locked non-surfing US State. glassy waters will give ya confidence to carve around. heel-side turns are tricky. nice pickup. have a blast this summer, Dude.

[@RadioReprised]

Hey Joe, that's a Subaru! Fuji has been around quite awhile but we mostly know the Subaru car line here.

[@tomlindo2863]

They made the engines Polaris used in everything snowmobile and PWC up to the early 2ks.

[@theoneandonly2421]

Awesome brother, ive never seen these before and they are from my time and day. Your always impressive, with all these new machines. Keep grinding brother!!!

[@PongbyAtari]

Have you ever heard the term "When the novelty wears off" this is the poster child for that. 😅 On the other hand when Jade was filming you riding it was much more impressive it looked pretty cool. You did a good job riding it get a half dozen of those racing each other now that's entertainment 😊😊

[@WildBill1006]

That thing is awesome. Wonder how many people were watching you from the shore wondering “what the hell is that”

[@2vintage]

Yeah lots of people were watching

[@Joe_HamRadioGuy]

Now that's a head turner. That's looks fun, surfs up 🏄🏻🌊 🤟

[@Hanky_Bannist8r]

I remember these things. I also remember them being almost just as expensive as a stand up jet ski. They didn't catch on too well on the west coast.

[@dseednorwayn47]

Brings back fond memories. Me and my friends used to rent those boards every summer back in the days. Had a ton of fun on them.

[@Giitzerland]

These are still made, but they're much smaller, lighter, and faster. This is still a really good purchase, I've seen them go for upwards of 8-10k even for these older models. There's a few engine swaps, if you want more reliability/power. I'd suggest replacing all kill wires, lines, ropes, and handles that come with it, since they're often used in salt, or brackish waters and those old lines tend to degrade easily.

[@SirOsisofLiver]

Fuji Heavy Industries was the name of the parent company of Subaru at the time. It's since then been just renamed Subaru. Never seen one of these before cool find.

[@18wheeler77]

Joe, should consider getting a drone to follow you around. That would make for great riding shots.

[@moparman1962]

That thing is pretty darn cool and it does look like a LOT of fun to ride. And how it runs and the condition it is in is amazing for it's age. Do you plan on keeping it and having fun and enjoying something fairly rare and unique? I would keep it, definitely. This was an interesting video, like you said at the beginning of it, we haven't seen one of those before, or even heard of one.

[@dylantedlock]

It's restored 🙂.

[@ARA-tg2hl]

Great video Joe. What a unique machine and I’m sure a heck of an experience. Kinda thought of a NASCAR race while watching you ride that thing. Can it make right hand turns? 😂 Enjoy all your great vids.

[@JW-fq1pp]

It can make turns either direction, just depends on which way you lean. Surfing is an art, my first time I came out with bruises I didn't know were possible.

[@markschaffer3736]

Awesome mix of content ,keep up the good work

[@David.-_-]

I really enjoy these weird old school videos. I've never seen these type of videos. I found you last night, you are really honest I like it

[@mikeschlup5279]

You are correct...I have never seen one before...

[@mikeschlup5279]

Fuji Heavy industries is Kawasaki...

[@johnquinn6500]

Been watching this thing for sale for months now, glad you are the one that bought it

[@prophez23]

Those things are super awesome and very hard to find. And they are really expensive if you do find one. You did great one this one! I've seen a few of them but haven't seen one that clean. I'd keep this one and enjoy it.

[@moretrash4you]

I bet the Cboys would be *ecstatic* to give him $6-7k for that thing

[@rangefreewords]

They were never really cheap. They had price point similar to stand up wave runners.

[@MR-puffnstuff]

Wow you been doing water crafts more lately trying to getvthe family out on the lake together that sounds nice.

[@AnthonyRBlacker]

I'm surprised he let you take it for the price you got it for! That thing looks SUPER amazing! What a find. edit: 1980s Japanese work, that is probably only second to German back then! That thing is a beast of a machine. Extremely well built, I'm sure of that.

[@derrickwoods2803]

Second to Germany? Japanese has always been better than German garbage how many German motorcycles you see make it to 200k miles without an overhaul

[@thomaswescott2829]

I actually worked for this company that built these when it was located in Janesville Wisconsin in the mid to late 80's .Wouldn't be surprised if I had my hands on that exact one. There were 3 differnent models at that time. Had lots of fun with those back in the day !! Took them home from the shop all the time in the summer.

[@jefftuckercfii]

At the beginning of the video the sticker on the engine said Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and Made in Japan. But maybe that was just the engine? Your company built the hull and the controls and such?

[@kriskris5330]

That thing is sick! Good find

[@Detailonthemove]

Fuji Heavy Ind. makes Subaru, so that is technically a subaru surfboard hahaha

[@kartguy]

Probably like a real one easier to stand up as moving, but then again could be why they didn't keep making them lol Pretty sweet!

[@Devilboy-6666]

I love it when you do odd things awesome. I live in the UK and we don't have any cool stuff like this. Been watching your videos for the past 6 months now awesome keep up the good work..

[@LivingNed]

I wonder why they stopped making these, they seem cool af.

[@lucascady4992]

EPA,? Probably fell into the 80's death machine category?! Thanks a lot Nancy Reagan!!😂

[@AZVIDS]

No, people became lazy! It is a workout, not like sitting on a Seadoo!

[@sean6049]

They do make them. And they are wayy better than this turd. Look up on Google "JetSurf"

[@whowho7969]

​@@lucascady4992👍

[@dickberry3910]

@@AZVIDSexactly.

[@danjohnson4819]

This looks like one of those things that you wake up the next day sore as hell cuz you use muscles you're not used to using

[@thebrokenbiker869]

Wow. Dude. I am not sure I would ride that thing. You are brave af.

[@warp3725]

You scared you get wet/lol

[@allan9603]

Vinnie: BARK BARK( To hell with that surfboard, I want my toy)!😅😂

[@tzajaczajac]

I'd say 40mph is a bit optimistic😂😂😂

[@prophez23]

No it'll do it. Guarantee it.. They're real fast.

[@tzajaczajac]

@@prophez23 possibly but he seemed he was doing about 20 in the video sounded pretty flat out to me. Some jet skis only do 40. Alot of people have no concept of speed on water. What feels like 60 is usually half that at best. But if anyone has a Speedo I'll stand corrected😂

[@exoc1]

@@tzajaczajac Agreeing with you on this one. Peoples guesstimates are always way off. But its 2023 and GPS is a thing, so it shouldnt be hard to verify.

[@tzajaczajac]

@@exoc1 exactly pretty easy to prove

[@mjodr]

"It goes 40 bro!!!" says the old guy who has never held a GPS while riding it and feels like it's going really fast. I guess the same as the guy who sold me my boat "It goes 76 bro!!!" as I slowly tweak the shit out of it to get it to break 50 mph and then at 55 it has the chine walk of death on a really crappy designed hull that will never break 60 in a million years. Ok, yeah, sure buddy.

[@VinzClorthokeymasterofGozer]

I grew up on the Mississippi river. A dude that also had a jet boat, and those water bike ski things, jet skis, and a bunch of other stuff. That surfboard was fun to just sit on and ride when we got tired. We would ride in the wake of barges for the huge waves to jump.

[@royhenson3379]

I have worked at Ranger Boats and built them for 15 years. I have never seen anything like this. It looks like it would be a blast. I figured building boats for years of my life and going to several lakes that I would have seen one of these, but I haven't these must be Rare.

[@jeffsmith7247]

Do you live in flippin?

[@royhenson3379]

@@jeffsmith7247 yeah close.

[@Jdwescott]

Joe you've surprised me again with something I didn't know existed, I would probably break my neck tring to ride it lol

[@motosquid5979]

You should put some mesh or better grate over the stock one definitely looks like it could easily suck stuff up in there. Very cool machine and loving all the uploads lately 👊👍

[@bonedome8324]

Fuji Heavy Industries is basically Subaru. What a cool find!

[@micahhittinger6083]

The company that made that engine also made jet ski engines for Polaris.

[@bigmurph1447]

And there snowmobiles

[@lustfulvengance]

Fuji heavy also makes Subaru cars and trucks

[@tomreynolds5767]

Fuji made a lot of Polars motors in the mid 90s on back.

[@tonyb1968]

I brought two of them from Ft Lauderdale to Newport Beach, CA where they're collecting dust. Very hard to get parts for. I contacted one of the importers who had some parts. I don't recall exactly the issue with the failure of the business but I think he said it was a dispute between the partners. Yours is in excellent shape, I hope it brings you lots of fun times. No doubt it will draw a lot of attention

[@tonyposillo8803]

This is one of the coolest videos you've made and iv seen pretty much all of them lol . You do awesome work. And make great videos. Keep up the good work my homie.

[@jefftuckercfii]

That's actually Fuji Heavy Industries, now called Subaru Corporation. Among many other things, they build Subaru cars and are a major defense contractor in Japan, building Boeing and Lockheed Martin aircraft under license for the Japanese military. The company was formed in 1953 and changed its name to Subaru in 2017.

[@dm1927]

My neighbor had one back in the day. He's past a few years ago never knew what happen to it. He used to say had a lot of fun with it. Jim rest in peace my friend. 2vintage have fun with it 👍

[@jeffreyness9741]

Thank you for helping me experienced something that I would never ever ever think about buying or riding on

[@scottbehl216]

It moves along nice. The biggest motor I've ever seen on one of those.

[@don-music]

I'm very impressed that you rode it as well as you did... I suspect leg exhaustion is why you were starting to struggle in the middle of the video.... that is so cool dude

[@robprice6573]

Joe that thing is awesome looks like a lot of fun, can’t wait to see Vinny on there with you.

[@jayjudd6518]

❤Ho Lee Chit Miss Molly. That is a Hootie hoot , getting on seems like a true challenge. Glade you can have fun with your finds. 😊😮.

[@GalpersKCCO]

I love this channel - really enjoy watching the process. But I truly come here every video to see Vinny. :D

[@xbpbat21x]

Now that's a stand up paddle board I could get used to!!!

[@andrewmoore3491]

Remember seeing this and I was a kid at the California State fair. I’ll never forget seeing those. Very cool thanks for sharing.

[@jeramizzle666]

Ear to ear smile right now. Thanks for this.

[@NemesisGrowz]

I was about to say how can you make a video and not feature vinnie but there he is 🤣

[@svenball5384]

with this one you will get a great fanbase amongst our local fishing and swimming community :-D

[@thomasdausch8557]

You are a natural at this JOE,,i see it now Joe and Jade travel to Hawaii for the National surfing completion ,stay safe out there Joe

[@michaelgunderson7415]

That thing is sweet as hell, i would mount a cooler to it as a seat/storage put on some tracks for rod holders and accessories and turn it into a fishing jet board

[@fishrider62]

That perfect for the lakes up there, I don't go in the lakes in Florida, brain amebas and gators, lol. I've been a surfer my whole life, you're a goofy foot, right foot forward. Regular is left foot forward. Just a little surf trivia, not that important. That thing looks awesome! You did a great job riding it.

[@markstoybox2058]

I love this channel. You really pick up some cool and unique stuff! keep up the great work😎

[@santatigerclaus]

on the 2nd lake i think you picked up some lily pad debris - it can stay on the intake until removed by hand

[@Bunk599]

Wisconsin looks like fertile grounds for locating odd toys. I don't understand were you find the time to purchase all these toys and repair them....Joe do you ever sleep? Your channel is one of my favorites.

[@geoffharris4697]

I have fond memories of the fun we had in SE Ireland in the 80s on these machines! Thankyou!

[@peteraitken6494]

Haha that is way cool joe never seen one before looks a lot of fun cracking find mate take care and have a blast 👍👌🔧🔧🔧❤️

[@smoknjoe73]

OMGOSH JOE just in case this wasnt my favorite channel (it is) but this thing is so cool! I love these vids. You shudda ripped it thru the wees and right up on the land then jumped off but maybe next time

[@RIVERSIDEREVIEWS]

Super cool, I grew up in the 1980s and you’re right never seen one in the wild. Came across this looking up old wet bikes which are also a bit odd.

[@scottmiller5799]

looks fun, next time you go out, strap a lawn chair to it and see how that works. lol

[@northwestmountainbikeaddic6874]

That’s sick! Looks like so much fun!!

[@Thedaleb1]

That’s Fuji Heavy Industries also known as the company that makes Subarus, I remember these from 80’s surf mags, they showed up in pictures every once in a while.

[@Jason71100]

OMG !! I remember seeing those things on an episode of CHiPs back in the day !! You always find the most unique stuff !!

[@chadswager1791]

Looks like so much fun great buy great video joe!!! Enjoy!!!!

[@deanlarkins5858]

I'm 56 years old. I was born and raised in Redding California. We did a lot of prospecting and we would go into Hals paint store because they also bought gold and sold dredges. They had two of these. I thought they were the coolest thing I've ever seen. Well that and a Honda Odyssey. LOL

[@bruce7275]

Dude you have some amazing toys and projects love watching your channel 😊

[@x1expert1x]

70s-80s watersports equipment and a cabin is such a vibe

[@OSXMan]

Polaris used Fuji engines for decades. Right up until 2014 in their 488 fan cooled jobs. So, that might be the path to look for any needed engine parts.

[@BVLVI]

Soooo Cool!!! The in use shots are suprisingly enticing.

[@ryedergrenier3561]

Weird fuji heavy industries is subaru. Idk if they make other things but every subaru ive worked on has that badge everywhere

[@RobKaiser_SQuest]

They also made engines for Polaris machines for a long time, my SL750 jetski's engine is a Fuji

[@ryedergrenier3561]

@@RobKaiser_SQuest nice i didn't know that!

[@jimmyhygaard2252]

That Surf Board Kicks,you really scored big on this one,nice to see from the start there is no work on this,just fun,fun and more,happy for you Bro.

[@chriscook3633]

It’s FUJU Heavy industries. Which is now the Subaru Corporation. That’s a great find. I saw a few of those during my travels around the western pacific in the early to mid 80’s.

[@iamdale2309]

I also saw the other video where the guy couldn't get it to run, this is the first one ive seen in action. Very cool, good riding too!

[@chrisnicol9011]

That’s a flash from the past. I grew up on a lake in the 80’s and my buddy had one of those. Lots of fun, hard to ride standing, need some core strength!

[@jeremylee1803]

I can’t really remember what came out first the jet surfboard or the jet ski u sit on, the ski jet was in police academy movie and in a James Bond movie in the 80’s. I could be wrong but I think if it wasn’t for jet surfboard or the jet ski, the modern wave runner wouldn’t be so popular now. Good find and u have a piece of history there for sure

[@andrewcheshire244]

You've given me ideas for a new fishing kayak (for big surf conditions-West Coast New Zealand).

[@GhostedEgo]

Looks like you was scared of the water lol. I don't like being in water where I can't see the bottom. I always think a big fish is gonna grab my legs 🦵 😂😂

[@Mikeofindy]

In my head, im picturing a simple little seat mounted on it, along with a couple of blocks to plant your feet on so you can shift your body weight around. That standing posture on those machines is exhausting.

[@jamesmcdermott6934]

That thing is just plain Cool!!! Imagine if you built the engine up as far as you could how quick n peppy it'd be!!!

[@862057]

Excellent. Have fun. Next up Vinny? My friend has a new model one made in Europe and the motor is right in the body of the surfboard so it is the same shape as a regular old surfboard. It has a time delayed electric start so you get on and trip the switch, wait a few seconds and it starts and goes.