The Coast Guard limits PWC to 70 mph?

A dealer just told my friend that the Coast Guard limits all PWC (jet skis) to 70 mph. He was looking at getting one of the new supercharged versions (RXPX260) and was told he'd have to have it modified to go any faster.

Any truth to that rumor?

here in NJ you need to have a boating cert to use a PWC.. too many idiots get hurt on them

personally, going 70 or more on some very unforgiving water makes most people an idiot.. and gets them the inevitable saltwater enema

sounds like the Coast Guard limit may not actually be a regulation....

http://www.pwcforum.com/general-pwc-jetski-discussion/3074-top-speed-regulations.html

For the average user of those damn things, 70 is way too fast.

I've been on one at 72. Short hull, built for stability, rode like crap. That thing would absolutely beat you to death. Haven't ridden one since and don't miss it.

My Dad's Yamaha (mid 90's model) made it into the mid 40's. That was fast enough for me..

I recall a TG episode including a broken hull due to speed in rough water.

I've ridden them at near 70 mph speeds and roughness wasn't really an issue. The water you're riding on determines the roughness.

I'm not sure you really could go 70 on rougher waters. They are usually pretty stable even at extreme speeds, that is if the driver doesn't decide to do a 360 at speed. I do a lot of 180s and 360s but that has taught me things you can't do on one. There's nothing like getting the jetski to turn and you continuing on in a straight line. When you do that a few times even the hard headest person will learn.

BTW the new one is 260 hp. That doesn't even compute in my head!

We bet a friend he couldn't stick a 180 at top speed on a 62mph ski. Despite repeated attempts, he couldn't.

I've been up to 65 on a TigerShark. I was having fun catching up to cars on the A1A beside me, then passing them. It was then I realized that running 65 mph on the water in such a small boat was beyond stupid. After that I went back to wave bashing on the Atlantic side like a proper moron.

How would the Coasties catch them? Their patrol boats don't go anywhere near that fast.

cwh wrote: How would the Coasties catch them? Their patrol boats don't go anywhere near that fast.

Binoculars + registration number on the side?

These are pretty quick.

My dad's friend has an Ultra 250 and let me ride it. Its nuts. I highly suggest one.

My Sea Doo runs out of throttle at about 40 which is about as fast as I ever want to go on one. I don't even want the twin carb version of my SP.

z31maniac wrote:

cwh wrote: How would the Coasties catch them? Their patrol boats don't go anywhere near that fast.

Binoculars + registration number on the side?

and they only hold a couple gallons of fuel... eventually they have to come and get you either way

One of my high school jobs was as a boat shop gopher in North Texas. The Coast Guard has a recommended limit on power for boats, based on hull dimensions. For typical bass boats like we sold, the limit was 150HP. In Oklahoma, that was enforced. In Texas it was not.

Apparently, boat speed is very important in bass fishing.

In the line of engines we carried, 150HP and 175HP engines had the same tin, the only outward difference being stickers. So ... the shop might have sold a few 175HP engines with 150HP stickers. Or not...

Oh, yeah, sometimes one of the live wells would become a beer cooler, too. Maybe.

I have been on my cousin's PWC at the lake and could just barely get it to 70mph according to the speedo. It was plenty fast enough for me. I could only do it where there wasn't alot of traffic and not a non-wake zone. I also had to go in a straight line, do a 180 and double back over my path because it had smoothed out the choppiness of the water. If it wasn't smooth at that 70ish mark it would beat the berkeley out of you. I couldn't imagine doing this in the ocean. Yikes!

My jet skis go about 40mpg and I don't know how I could stay on them at a higher speed because they are only 27" wide at the rub rail, I have the old fashioned standup jet skiis. The type that can do submarines, tail-stands, log-rolls, barrel rolls, backflips, and many other interesting things. I'd love to see any new ski do that type of stuff.

The stand up jet ski scene is very similar to GRM in that many of the subjects of desire are long out of production and many people have just begun making their own parts. even though standups are going out of production this year there is enough aftermarket support that one can build a whole now machine using only aftermarket parts. A carbon fiber hull can be had for just over 5 grand and a fiberglass hull for somewhere under 5 grand, much cheaper than the new, stock machines too.

cwh wrote: How would the Coasties catch them? Their patrol boats don't go anywhere near that fast.

Hahahahahaaaa!!!! You're funny.

We have 80+ knot boats with .30 cals on the bow. You aren't getting away.

Javelin wrote:

cwh wrote: How would the Coasties catch them? Their patrol boats don't go anywhere near that fast.

Hahahahahaaaa!!!! You're funny. We have 80+ knot boats with .30 cals on the bow. You aren't getting away.

And if you've done a bit of boating in South Florida, you've heard the "in pursuit, expending live rounds" call on the radio.

Jeez. My Polaris would get to the upper 40's and that seemed quick. I do want another one...

slopecarver wrote: ...The stand up jet ski scene is very similar to GRM in that many of the subjects of desire are long out of production and many people have just begun making their own parts..

I always found the old style far more interesting then the "small boat that you sit on" style that is popular now. The boat ones seem like they would get boring pretty quick while the stand ups seem like you could spend a lot of time figuring em and getting good at doing stuff on. You can probably also store 3 or 4 stand ups in the same space some of the new ones take up.

There's a size between the ski type and the newer small boat types. Now those are fun. The newer larger ones aren't nearly as agile, but they are smoother on rough waters.

The new single seaters are usually the size of the old double seaters or even the triple seaters.

carguy123 wrote: A dealer just told my friend that the Coast Guard limits all PWC (jet skis) to 70 mph. He was looking at getting one of the new supercharged versions (RXPX260) and was told he'd have to have it modified to go any faster. Any truth to that rumor?

I haven't heard anything about a Coast Guard limiting top speed. But its pretty strange that almost all modern machines with power between 155-300hp top out right around the same...about 65-70.

That new RXPX-260 is bad-ass. I was able to take a pre-production unit out on the lake and it was amazing. Fast as hell and comfortable too. It actually has indentations for your legs to grip the machine. I've riden every modern sea-doo and kawi and this is my favorite!