Towing a Sea Doo... How to dock?

dgrumm

dgrumm

New Member
Feb 25, 2008
169
Midland ON
Boat Info
400DB
Engines
7.4l Bluewater
We carry our dinghy on the platform so docking has never been an issue. This summer we are planning on dragging the Sea Doo behind (as we always did with our previous 30' boat) as well as have the dinghy on the platform. My only concern is how to back into the slip while towing??!! If my wife runs the pwc to the slip, I have no one to toss lines. Maybe not a big deal with a perfect dock job, but if it doesn't go well I will be on top of my neighbor. I was thinking of bringing the sea doo across the platform (beside dink) once I got outside the marina. Just not sure how well the sea doo will do going sideways.
Anyone ever try this or have any good ideas?
 
If you dock at idle only you might get away with it. But if things go wrong and you have to use the throttles I think you might roll the ski. that would put you in a bad situation with no way to bail out. I take my ski and side tow it. When i get the stern in the poles I hold it there and release the ski to the bow of the boat. the ski does not effect my docking. I can act as if it's not there. A helping hand once you are in the poles is all you need
 
One thing to make sure is to pinch the water intake line before you tow the ski anywhere or you will flood the engine with water.

A way to make this easier if you plan on towing it is to add a ball valve in the line so you can easily shut off water flow.

As far as towing it sideways, if any water gets over the side (which it will from the thrust of the props) that ski is going over and it wont be very easy to right it while docking.
 
Unfortunately we don't have poles! Just a dock and another Sea Ray!
I think your right about the sea doo rolling due to prop thrust. Not a good idea. The side tow might work though..
Already have a valve for towing but thanks.
 
Why not put the wife on the PWC while outside the marina and bring it in, there's got to be a place to tie it up temporarily while she walks to your slip?
 
Hey, We pull our dingy behind us when docking because we have a narrow slip & with a Single Screw its near imposible to dock with any wind / current with the dingy on the Davits because it block my view. So, There is a couple of vacant slips near us so we just push it into one of the slips as we pass by, then we dock.
All the slips have finger docks so Its a little bit of a circus act but it works for us. We use 10 foot poles to push and snatch the dingy. I don't now about doing it with a Sea-doo if it has full rubber edge protection if it would hurt any thing if it hits the dock or another boat.
 
As TOB said, drop it off or put your kids or wife on it until you dock........I would think you would not want to land lock the jet ski in behind your boat anyway......You might want to use it and not the boat...I know it is not the same as a tender, but you could also walk the ski to the bow of the boat and just back in and have someone just watch the ski as you back down....
 
Dealing with this while casting off and docking were one of the main showstoppers for me to get a jetski. May be I can jastify this hasstle when my kids get a bit older, but for now we don't think it's worth it. In my case admiral most likelly won't ride it to the slip, so I would have to drag it with the boat somewhow. It's interesting to hear how other people do it.

I think there's another issue, which is storage. Even if you back it up with ski along the platform are you leaving the ski in the water? Without bottom paint it'll just get marine groth on it, at least some level of slime just in one week. I know I would b/c I left my dink once in water for a week and I had slime build up.

So, docking/pulling behind/storage are those factors that at this time for me doesn't make sense to have it. I prefer to pay for an occasional rental and not have the hasstle.
 
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I had two Sea Doos for years and got rid of them two years ago because they were such a pain. Make sure you plan to take them out of the water at the end of each weekend and flush thoroughly. They do not take well to being left in the water. Even in the fresh water where I boat, they quickly get gummed up with slime, taking away thrust.

Capt. Pete, welcome aboard. I remember seeing the Lady Ashley on Yachtworld as we searched for our 560 (and found one closer).

Paul
 
Ditto on the pain. This is one of the (ridiculously so) reasons we want to upgrade at some point, and that is the whole water toy issue. We really enjoy having the jet ski when we are out as it give us the mobility and the kids something to play around on while we are sitting there "being adults".

Our docking routine is stop at some spot where there is no boat traffic, pull the tow lines in, have someone get on the ski, me lean over on the wet swim platform and unclip the 'beaners from the tow ropes. Have spouse/teenager/friend on ski meet us at our slip. If we plan to use it for a couple of days, we'll have them drive the ski in first. The person on the ski will tie it off to the back of the slip and wait on one of the fingers while I back in. Hate the whole stupid routine, but love having the toy.

IMG_2752.jpg
 
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My opinion on the SeaDoo? Tow it with the bilge drain plug out. SINK IT! Ok, I have a big of bad feelings towards that product. Purchased a 2004 brand new off the show room floor for cash. Brought it home, ran it less than 70 hrs, and blown motor. Took it back to the dealership that I purchased from and they would do nothing for me (was just 1 month out of warranty). Soooo,, to new not fix it,,,,, $3000.00 later and a new motor was installed. Ran that one for 2 weeks (1 month). BLOWN! That was under warranty. Oh, but wait, I had to pay $700.00 in labor to have the newly covered warrantied motor installed. Ok. Motor #3.... Ran this one 1/2 of the summer and it decided to blow up even before I got it out of the no wake zone. Was there a motor #4 you ask??? No, Craigs listed that thing for $1,200.00 buck and called it a day.

Asked the SeaDoo certified mechanic if there was something I was doing wrong? He said no, could not figure out why those motors were not holding out for me. Did tell me that I was not running it hard enough.... I just had to laugh....

So, I really and truely hope you have MUCH better luck than I did with the SeaDoo. I will give you.... They are a blast to run around on,,, when they are running.....
 
I buy the old two strokes for next to nothin'- put in brand new engines and whatever other minor work they might need ($2-$3K tops) then beat em up for a few years. The cheap ones are just as much fun to ride as the $12,000 ones...

In fact, I find them MORE fun. The new four strokes are big and heavy- more like boats IMO. My little '96 XP weighs a little over 400 pounds- half the weight of the new ones- and blasts around like a little rocket ship. Goes almost as fast as the supercharged 4 strokes, too...
 
Backing into the slip with our dinghy is a little work. Approaching the marina, we slow down and untie the dinghy from the stern. My wife then gets out on the walk around and I hand her the line. She walks the line forward and secures the dinghy's port side line to our boat's forward, starboard cleat from over the rail. We secure it very tightly. We can then idle forward and back.

It's a little work, but it makes using the dinghy possible for us.
 
We've had to drag the dinghy in the marina with us a couple times for various reasons. Sounds similar to coming in with a jetski and is something I wouldn't be afraid to try out.

We stop outside and move the dink to a forward cleat opposite the side we will be docking on. It rides nicely along side. As we back into the slip, the dink stays in the fairway or is blown against the bow if there's any wind. We've done this several times with no trouble at all.
 
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