Hello All - Getting a 2000 Islandia next week

[davidwjacob]

Hello All,

Wanted to introduce myself. Im Dave, Hello!

I am picking up a 2000 islandia next week. My wife and I have been looking for one for a while with the optimax and we found one a hour away in amazing shape.



Were very excited about it. We will be boating on the Susquehanna River in PA. anyone have any advice for us with this boat?

look forward to talking to you all soon

Thanks
Dave

 

[SeptemberC]

Congrats! You'll love it!!

 

[Dr Honda]

No real "Got-ch-a's" with that boat. BUT... if it has an Opti engine... it's been swapped. A 2000 Islanida should have the first gen 240 EFI in it.

Regardless... once you get it... post up some pics.

Congrats, it's a great boat.

 

[Mikerd]

I have the same boat, mine has a 240 EFI though. Great boat! Fun to learn how to boat with.

 

[biffdotorg]

No real "Got-ch-a's" with that boat. BUT... if it has an Opti engine... it's been swapped. A 2000 Islanida should have the first gen 240 EFI in it.

Regardless... once you get it... post up some pics.

Congrats, it's a great boat.

Tony's right, they came with either a 210 or 240 in 2000. That may be a good sign though, the previous engine may have taken a crap and you have a "newer" engine in it.

 

[davidwjacob]

No real "Got-ch-a's" with that boat. BUT... if it has an Opti engine... it's been swapped. A 2000 Islanida should have the first gen 240 EFI in it.

Regardless... once you get it... post up some pics.

Congrats, it's a great boat.

Here are some pics, i picked it up last night. cant wait to run it.
https://goo.gl/photos/pZDMToc7Tn85nAUa6

--Dave

 

[islandia-duane]

Looks good! Did you get a test drive?

 

[davidwjacob]

Looks good! Did you get a test drive?

no, heard it running, and gonna put on water saturday.

 

[islandia-duane]

You'll enjoy it!

 

[Dr Honda]

Looks good. AND... it's the best family boat made.

 

[davidwjacob]

ok all, i had it on the water saturday. I misinformed you all, its a 240 EFI not the optimax.

I have to say i love this boat. although never driving a jetboat before there were a few things i was not used to.

1. When you reverse it seems to be backwards from a prop boat. when i turn the wheel clockwise the stern turns left instead of right, so that threw me off getting it off the trailer.

2. Should the engine rev up when the steering hits all the way right or left? i figure that is to adjust steering when idling.

Here is a video i took with my friend driving:

https://goo.gl/photos/ztqauyyxGqGBqCam8

The boat ran great, and My family and I cant be happier.

I have a question: at slow speeds it sounds like there might be a cavitation in the impeller, after speeding up its very smooth, i dont know how to describe it, but here is a video of it running at a slower speed, although i dont think you can really hear or gauge it. dont know if its normal for that at slow speeds or should it be nice and smooth at slow speeds?
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipP3nTcJwWF898RTovBn_TdYAdITZiItwTJMD1Mz

I just rewatched the video, i dont think you can tell anything from it. LOL

its going to the marine shop Saturday to be winterized and shrink wrapped. so i will ask them to check the impeller.


talk to you all soon.
Dave

 

[biffdotorg]

ok all, i had it on the water saturday. I misinformed you all, its a 240 EFI not the optimax.

I have to say i love this boat. although never driving a jetboat before there were a few things i was not used to.

1. When you reverse it seems to be backwards from a prop boat. when i turn the wheel clockwise the stern turns left instead of right, so that threw me off getting it off the trailer.

2. Should the engine rev up when the steering hits all the way right or left? i figure that is to adjust steering when idling.

Here is a video i took with my friend driving:

https://goo.gl/photos/ztqauyyxGqGBqCam8

The boat ran great, and My family and I cant be happier.

I have a question: at slow speeds it sounds like there might be a cavitation in the impeller, after speeding up its very smooth, i dont know how to describe it, but here is a video of it running at a slower speed, although i dont think you can really hear or gauge it. dont know if its normal for that at slow speeds or should it be nice and smooth at slow speeds?
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipP3nTcJwWF898RTovBn_TdYAdITZiItwTJMD1Mz

I just rewatched the video, i dont think you can tell anything from it. LOL

its going to the marine shop Saturday to be winterized and shrink wrapped. so i will ask them to check the impeller.

View attachment 37723
talk to you all soon.
Dave

Play with the steering, it is more of a feel thing, than a right/left as it is just blowing thrust out either side of the jet. It's more art than science. And keep in mind, it will turn easer at full lock, than just a bit right or left. That is what you are experiencing at full lock, the steering assist does bump the throttle a bit as a jet as now steering without thrust.

On that length of a boat too, you have to keep reminding yourself, you are steering the stern and not the bow. So many folks get their first boat over 16ft and it doesn't sink in that the stern moves more than the bow at slow speeds.

I have gotten real good at spinning the boat around the docks as if it was on a turntable and then using my rotation to make it look like I am parallel parking my boat. It looks impressive once mastered, but takes a bit of practice. Once you have it in your head that you are moving the stern, it will make sense. I always approach a dock at an angle and then bump reverse when the bow is near, then steer the stern in and it parks right up to the dock.

Good luck!

 

[islandia-duane]

Dave the direction you turn the wheel is the direction the bow moves both in forward and reverse.

When you turn the wheel all the way to left or right at docking speeds the steering assist engages... Slight revs to help instead on applying throttle.

 

[islandia-duane]

Your wake looks good too!

 

[Lumps]

Hi David,

I am really jealous. I wanted one of those but they are just too much boat for me to tow with the minivan.

Anyway, on a related topic, it looks like the trailer has the surge breaks. there is a cylinder of break fluid that pumps into the breaks in the trailer when you stop (the front of the trailer compresses it). in your pictures you are missing the little cover (mine is missing too). on mine the trailer has been run for ages with it empty. Apparently this is hard to recover from. it may be worth while giving this a good check to make sure the breaks are still good. I am told the test is if you can move the hitch in and out by hand then the breaks are dry. if you can't budge it then they are good. still may need maintenance but still working.

I just raise this because this is a lot of boat to stop if your breaks are as shot as mine are.

 

[Dr Honda]

As above.... you will get use to how a Jet drives... and it's WAY easier to maneuver once you are use to it. On this boat... the bow moves the same way regardless of forward/reverse. That works to your benefit. Go out to a quiet spot, and at idle... turn the wheel all the way to one side... and then work the direction lever. You will find that you can hold yourself in one spot, and literally rotate the boat on it's own axis. In close quarter docking... this is a god send.

The other side to this is... you can walk the boat sideways !! When coming into a dock (like in your pic) You can come at it at a 45 degree angle... then pop it into reverse, and turn away. What winds up happening is, the nose stops, but the rear rotates in, and you come in sideways.

And finally... since it's just a bucket in the back for direction... and not switching a gear box... there's no annoying gear grind going back and forth. You can use this to your advantage too. When coming in... you can roll between F/N/R and really control your speed (down to a crawl) but you still have directional control.

FYI... you may find that the auto-throttle is annoying once you get use to the Jet, and most of us have disconnected the little cable from the steering box. (it's easy enough to just bump the throttle manually if you need a blast of power)

Go out to the lake early... and practice. Once you get the hang of it... you won't ever want an I/O again.


As far as the low speed cavitation... I don't know what you mean... and the vid doesn't come up. (Post it to Youtube or Photobucket)

 

[davidwjacob]

Hi David,

I am really jealous. I wanted one of those but they are just too much boat for me to tow with the minivan.

Anyway, on a related topic, it looks like the trailer has the surge breaks. there is a cylinder of break fluid that pumps into the breaks in the trailer when you stop (the front of the trailer compresses it). in your pictures you are missing the little cover (mine is missing too). on mine the trailer has been run for ages with it empty. Apparently this is hard to recover from. it may be worth while giving this a good check to make sure the breaks are still good. I am told the test is if you can move the hitch in and out by hand then the breaks are dry. if you can't budge it then they are good. still may need maintenance but still working.

I just raise this because this is a lot of boat to stop if your breaks are as shot as mine are.

Thank you , i will check this.

also i have a 7 pin round trailer plug used for campers and such. i have purchased a 7 to 5 pin adapter, but when i try to back the trailer uphill i cannot, the breaks lock.

I have traces out the pins with a meter and when i put in reverse none of the pins get voltage. i think i need a brake controller to send the voltage to the proper pin, do you know?

 

[Dr Honda]

The OEM surge brake doesn't have an electric lock-out. You have to manually put a pin in it to hold it from braking.

I got rid of the crappy surge, and swapped in electrics. They work SO much better. Not to mention you have breaks backing down a steep ramp, or you can turn them off (from the cab) when the trailer is empty, or you are backing slowly into your driveway.

 

[ORION '95 Speedster]

You are lucky. Buying a boat without test driving it in the water is usually a huge mistake. It could have had engine problems or a bad jet drive.

 

[davidwjacob]

You are lucky. Buying a boat without test driving it in the water is usually a huge mistake. It could have had engine problems or a bad jet drive.

It was a toss up between this or a new bayliner deck boat. i really wanted this and was prepared to invest money into the motor or drive if i needed to, i still would have gotten in it all for less than the new bayliner, and i feel i got a better boat and really what i wanted.

but yes you are correct. i did get lucky.

 

[davidwjacob]

The OEM surge brake doesn't have an electric lock-out. You have to manually put a pin in it to hold it from braking.

I got rid of the crappy surge, and swapped in electrics. They work SO much better. Not to mention you have breaks backing down a steep ramp, or you can turn them off (from the cab) when the trailer is empty, or you are backing slowly into your driveway.

Is there a kit i can buy to convert it out?

Dave

 

[davidwjacob]

As above.... you will get use to how a Jet drives... and it's WAY easier to maneuver once you are use to it. On this boat... the bow moves the same way regardless of forward/reverse. That works to your benefit. Go out to a quiet spot, and at idle... turn the wheel all the way to one side... and then work the direction lever. You will find that you can hold yourself in one spot, and literally rotate the boat on it's own axis. In close quarter docking... this is a god send.

The other side to this is... you can walk the boat sideways !! When coming into a dock (like in your pic) You can come at it at a 45 degree angle... then pop it into reverse, and turn away. What winds up happening is, the nose stops, but the rear rotates in, and you come in sideways.

And finally... since it's just a bucket in the back for direction... and not switching a gear box... there's no annoying gear grind going back and forth. You can use this to your advantage too. When coming in... you can roll between F/N/R and really control your speed (down to a crawl) but you still have directional control.

FYI... you may find that the auto-throttle is annoying once you get use to the Jet, and most of us have disconnected the little cable from the steering box. (it's easy enough to just bump the throttle manually if you need a blast of power)

Go out to the lake early... and practice. Once you get the hang of it... you won't ever want an I/O again.


As far as the low speed cavitation... I don't know what you mean... and the vid doesn't come up. (Post it to Youtube or Photobucket)

Dr. Honda,

maybe i am just being over critical, here is the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzG0X7NOy_8 towards the end you can kind of hear everything vibrating and rattling.

thanks
Dave

 

[Lumps]

Thank you , i will check this.

also i have a 7 pin round trailer plug used for campers and such. i have purchased a 7 to 5 pin adapter, but when i try to back the trailer uphill i cannot, the breaks lock.

I have traces out the pins with a meter and when i put in reverse none of the pins get voltage. i think i need a brake controller to send the voltage to the proper pin, do you know?

as stated above the surge breaks don't rely on your trailer's wiring. however, its a good sign that you can't back up a hill since that means your breaks are actually doing something. on the top of your trailers tongue there is a circular hole cut out. this is supposed to have a black cap that covers up everything. you can get one that is made from metal and has a small rocker that will stop the parts from sliding past the cap when you are backing up. this essentially stops the break cylinder from pushing in. you will be able to back up a hill but you will have to go back there and "engage" it.

 

[Lumps]

Dr. Honda,

maybe i am just being over critical, here is the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzG0X7NOy_8 towards the end you can kind of hear everything vibrating and rattling.

thanks
Dave

I think I can hear what you mean. on my old boat, when we were trying to pull a skier out of the water and "gave er" too hard it would cavitate. Basically the boat is moving slowing and the water is not rushing in to the pump and you are essentially ripping the water in to vapor. I don't know if this is what you are seeing. I guess other things can be at play. maybe a worn impeller and or wear rings? I think some one suggested in a different post about air leaking in. (this was for the rotax style engines so I don't know if that applies.)

or maybe this is just normal for a big boat accelerating too quickly from slow? I couldn't tell how hard you were pushing it. on ours we just learned to deal with it. we still got 50 mph at full speed so we just let it slide.

 

[davidwjacob]

I think I can hear what you mean. on my old boat, when we were trying to pull a skier out of the water and "gave er" too hard it would cavitate. Basically the boat is moving slowing and the water is not rushing in to the pump and you are essentially ripping the water in to vapor. I don't know if this is what you are seeing. I guess other things can be at play. maybe a worn impeller and or wear rings? I think some one suggested in a different post about air leaking in. (this was for the rotax style engines so I don't know if that applies.)

or maybe this is just normal for a big boat accelerating too quickly from slow? I couldn't tell how hard you were pushing it. on ours we just learned to deal with it. we still got 50 mph at full speed so we just let it slide.

with this boat , when we ran it saturday and anything more than just idling through the water was really smooth, it just seemed to vibrate alot when we were idling and just puttering around with just having it in "F" with no throttle. but once i throttle up at all , its smooth as silk

if that makes any sense.
Dave