Yeah, I used to own one. Had it for two years and it worked pretty good in calmer conditions in the backcountry of Florida Bay. I lived on Big Coppit Key about 6 miles North of Key West at the time.Divecoz wrote:The Jet Ski Idea
Has already come and gone not many seem to have been sold and you can pick them up now pretty cheap when you se them on the boards . That tells me they didnt work as well as hoped for. IMHO
http://www.shuttlecraft.com/
They put an insert into the back of the boat that is fitted to a particular waverunner model. It fit good and tight like a glove. You ride it in and friction kept it in place. You only had to push with the legs and the waverunner would slide right out and you were off.
I had a 1996 Yamaha waveventure (3 pax) with the 110 horsepower motor. I got the shuttlecraft in 1997 and sold it in 1999.
The waverunner would go 55 mph on its own and about 28 mph when pushing the shuttlecraft. The problems with the shuttlecraft were:
1. The area around the waverunner mount collected water as in the centerboard trunk of the MAC and was a big source of drag and hence limited its top speed.
2. The boat was not designed for the ocean and took water over the side when it got rough. I did take it out to the reefs on the Atlantic side when it was calm and it was great then.
3. The manufacture quality was on par or maybe even worse than the MAC.
To adapt this system to a sailboat would be a stretch but with clever design I think possible. A waverunner, I have a GP1300 Yamaha that puts out 165 hp and weighs about 700 pounds, would be a great powerplant although it is really thirsty - will drain the 13 gallon tank in an hour.
I have to say it was really nice to be able to cruise out some place, moor the big part with all your stuff in it, and then roar around on the waverunner to explore. And a stable 3 person waverunner is unbeatable as a dingy.
