Innovations & Technology That NEVER Went Mainstream: The Watercraft Journal IRL

[@gpsportmgmt]

That spring loaded self adjusting pump cone sounds pretty cool. Really wish I would've had that when I was racing.

[@gpsportmgmt]

Wouldnt the passing velocity be countered by the increased nozzle pressure pushing back against it?

[@watercraftjournal]

Again, it's not available anywhere is it?

[@stannagel461]

Let's do this!

[@watercraftjournal]

Pony up the investment money!

[@The.Consultant.]

As your 20,000th subscriber I think we should celebrate this moment !

[@watercraftjournal]

Nope. We're 3 away.

[@gpsportmgmt]

The most trick trim tabs I ever saw were something I first saw Bruce Skelton use on his daughter's championship winning Kawasakis. They were powered by air. He used the same tanks that paintball guns used. Every time the handlebars were turned, an air shot was blasted and it shot the tabs down pneumatically. I rode one of Rius' runabouts once that had the hydraulic trim tabs. Very trick looking as well.

[@watercraftjournal]

Rius regularly used pneumatic tabs. As did all the Team Green guys. Kawasaki even filed a patent for a mass public trim system in 2001. Too many pinch points for people to get hurt on.

[@racerx2084]

My buddy raced an HX one year. He then bought this HX that had a snowmobile 800 engine in it. Ski ripped. But only problem in only ripped for a little bit. Always had an issue. Main reason why original owner got rid of it. The XP with the big bore reminded me of that.

[@watercraftjournal]

Very cool!

[@glenn5189]

whats the picture of before you click play are they jet nozzles

[@watercraftjournal]

Yes, adjustable jet nozzles for standups with optional rings.

[@gpsportmgmt]

@@watercraftjournal the Hydrospace had optional rings. Definitely a cool innovation that never caught on. It's more of a racer thing and even most racers never put enough time into figuring out the proper pump "gearing".

[@mckmas]

This is a must see!

[@watercraftjournal]

Thank you!

[@gpsportmgmt]

Didnt SeaDoo start with the shock on the HX? I can definitely see why it was cool from an aesthetics standpoint. The shock for the top deck has to be the craziest idea that ever came to production IMO.

[@watercraftjournal]

Yes, the HX

[@pl1068]

The Honda R12 and R12X come standard with a drop nozzle, my R12X turns really hard.

[@JuniorJr_23]

Thanks, WCJ

[@watercraftjournal]

You’re very welcome!

[@racerx2084]

Seadoo 3D is up there, lol. One thing I can think of that Yamaha came up with and still uses today but I think gets thrown into a drawer for the most part is the security fob. Was surprised too when Yamaha didn’t use the fzr steering on the gp18

[@watercraftjournal]

Thankfully it’s been retired.

[@michaelmcgowan764]

Congrats on the 20k !! I appreciate when you explain the science behind designs of ride plates, intake grates and hull designs etc. I rewatched your ethanol gas / knock sensor/ octane rating video today. Great stuff

[@watercraftjournal]

Appreciated!

[@timblack33]

Seadoo could add the “drop nozzle” by simply adding a steering angle sensor and doing it through ibr software. Cost would be minimal. Same way they do launch control. I’m watching this like a year late and probably my favorite episode. Suspension would be great, Everything I can think of that has a suspended operators station the feet stay rigid so you’re spot on there. There’s a guy near me that has one of the old seadoo suspension skis that replaced the coil over with and air lift shock (not a load increase airbag looks like a shock but has a bladder) and i thought it rode great. The fighter jet style nozzle makes a ton of sense I was looking at some transmission patents Polaris filed the other day and thought about how nice that would be on a touring style ski. Some form of CVT for the impeller, cruise at half the rpm’s and would open the door to some crazy engine mapping/impeller combinations. Variable geometry turbos are reliable now, it would also be interesting to see that tech applied to jet pump stator.

[@racerx2084]

4stroke super chicken would be awesome

[@watercraftjournal]

LOL! Hilarious!

[@racerx2084]

I had riva tabs on my GPR 1300. They did what they were supposed to do. Had the plate and a r&d extended nozzle also. The 3 worked well together.

[@watercraftjournal]

Very cool!

[@gpsportmgmt]

I've always wondered what would happen if racers put their effort into pump efficiency instead of engine performance. Being that jetpumps are so in-efficient, it seems that any improvement in that department would yield exponential performance gains. While any improvement in engine performance comes at the cost of reliability, harder to ride (high compression sucks), and the gains the opposite of exponential. I had heard over a decade ago that Yamaha had leased some special new innovative pump tech from the military that was going to revolutionize pump efficiency. But nothing ever came of it. Part of me also just wonders if pumps are inherently inefficient and will never be more than what they are.

[@watercraftjournal]

Having spent many an hour chatting with Michelle at Skat-Trak I know there has been monumental efforts made into pump efficiency. The problem is (as always) cost. Truly efficient pumps require more working parts (almost double or triple) than what is sold today. Thrust-adjusting cones, 16-18 vane stators, indexing "iris" nozzles, etc.

[@gpsportmgmt]

@@watercraftjournal fun fact, one of the reason's stock class skis handled so well was the 6 vein pump set the rider up better in the corners. So for a while there we were testing/racing with full skat trak setback pumps, with only SIX veins. They made a mod/gp ski have the OEM feel yet still hooked up in the chop. I understand why more veins might be faster. But not necessarily faster around the track since the pilot is a wildcard variable.

[@ironmnsar]

I could use a pair of strapino ratchet strap. My other pair corroded and locked up

[@watercraftjournal]

We gave away our first set. Tune in to Sunday (17th) for our next giveaway!

[@jasonmekush5280]

Great stream , if you do end up down in ft myers next month, Im only 1.3 hours away have to meet up w you guys on that ride.

[@watercraftjournal]

I’ll be testing the new Kawi’s that week.

[@stevenzielke3242]

Can you do a quick clip breaking down that KSpeed STX kit and benefits? Great show tonight. Thanks

[@watercraftjournal]

We'll have the full breakdown as an ARTICLE over at www.watercraftjournal.com

[@gpsportmgmt]

You had the SeaDoo brand manager ask you "what ski are they missing?" and you didnt say STANDUP?!?!?! iM uN-sUbScRiBiNg nOw.

[@watercraftjournal]

Absolutely. Standup market is D-E-A-D. It accounts for less than 3% of the total PWC marketplace.

[@gpsportmgmt]

@@watercraftjournal you ever think it’s dead because the existing standups suck? The Kawi is a pig with zero fun factor. The original concept Kanamori had was using the H2 motor in a smaller hull. That ski would’ve been more popular. The Superjet is a better attempt. But fugly and they (by their own choice) limit production to just 500 units while every dealer has a wait list. If SeaDoo made a REAL standup - it would sell. Assuming it’s hulls werent sitting on showroom floors waiting for electronics like the rest of their lineup LOL. (Im also assuming that SeaDoo would market a standup - and do so properly, which I concede is a pipe dream in itself)

[@watercraftjournal]

Absolutely not. It's dead because Americans (culturally) don't want their fun to be difficult to do. Look at the decline of youth sports equal to the rise of gaming. Look at growth of adult video gaming (which I despise). We've discussed this exact topic in other comment sections. The rise of popularity of sit downs swelled at the cost of stand ups. Stand ups require athleticism and effort; sit downs (for the most part) do not.

[@gpsportmgmt]

@@watercraftjournal we’ve discussed this topic but that doesnt mean i agree with your assertions on WHY the standup market is dead. The sitdown’s rise did not come at the expense of standups. Totally different demographic. Literally nobody switched to runabouts because they thought it was better. The runabouts opened up a new/different consumer base. And the mfgs decided to close of the original base because bean counters assumed standup riders would migrate to the runabouts. The standup started dying only AFTER the marketing budget was cut and then racing was directed towards runabouts. And your claim that people dont like fun or athletic sports anymore isnt true either. Dirtbike sales are plenty healthy. The difference? 1. Dirtbikes have a VERY healthy marketing budget behind them 2. There are plenty of places to ride them The fact that permanent bouy courses / race parks dont exist for PWC racing (standups) is why your average motocrosser doesnt ride standups during the summer months when MX is miserable. Heck, I own 3 dirtbikes and ZERO standups right now. 1. I cant even get a new superjet at retail 2. Where can i ride it? 3. If Im being honest I want a 2020 2t Superjet because it's faster and more fun to ride in any condition. You cannot blame the genre if the mfg's refuse to build what the enthusiasts want. A standup has to have certain characteristics to be a standup. It's more than a handlepole. That's something the bean counters will never grasp. Motocross would be dead too if it only had one permanent track in existence (ie body beach). And they started building dirtbikes that were twice as big and super heavy and not fun.

[@gpsportmgmt]

Bushman stealing someone else's idea and passing it off as his own innovation??? You dont say LOL.

[@watercraftjournal]

Yeah, there's a bit of a dust up about that. There's a reason certain products are off of the store now.