Jet Tender recommendations

You need to edit your subject line to Jet tender advice or experiences, not such as broad. I have a love hate relationship with them. We had a 2018 Williams 395 which was just under 13'. As far as performance goes, it was GREAT. It would hold 7 people relatively comfortably (basically could carry 2-3 more people than the same length outboard tender). It would get up on plane with 7 adults in it and run 20-25 mph. 6 or less it did even better. It rode pretty good. NO 13' outboard tender would do that. That being said, we had to clear crap out of the intake twice......once took 2 hours with 2 people laying on our backs, because the owners sucked up a plastic mulch bag. Another time they got in shallow water and it sucked up sand and they had to take everything on the engine apart and flush the sand out. So bottom line, you have to be a little more careful with them.

How did it handle at sow speeds ?

We love jet tenders. We have both gas and diesel. Williams did have both gas and diesel in their 445 and the diesel weighed 704 pounds more. It was also about 5 knots slower. The boat you're using them on will be what you'll need to consider. Generally, if you have space for a 17' tender on your bridge or deck, then the weight of a diesel won't be an issue. However, if you're having to put it on a transom platform, then gas is the way to go.

Performance and ride are incredible. One negative of most I've seen is limited range but that doesn't bother most people who only do short runs in it. We, on the other hand might run over 100 nm in ours in a day.

Is diesel safer? Yes, but that doesn't mean I consider the gas unsafe. It's a protected fuel system and not significantly less safe.

The problem Capt J refers to of getting crap in the intake is not one we've had in thousands of miles. However, here's the reason. We do not consider them to have 6" draft as many do. We consider it to be at least 2' and try to avoid less than 3'. If we're in less, we go slowly. Williams has stopped listing draft on their website for that reason.

We love jets in garages. However, even on deck they have the advantage of sitting low and no outdrive to deal with and less intrusive.

Now, while Williams dominates the market, there are others out there. Aquascan sells them, Ribjet has small ones only, Novurania has them in their Launch series, 20' and up. Carbon Craft has jets, although very expensive. Castoldi has a full line starting at 14'. Theirs are all diesel. Avon now has an eJet, 14'+ with electric. They did have jet models in the 13-16' range but stopped selling in the US and now I think worldwide. We had a 330 in a Riva. AB is introducing from 10-14'. King Watercraft in New Zealand goes from 360 to 480, but I believe all gas Yamaha and previous jets using that engine did not have good reputations. It's basically the same as used on their PWC's. However, it may have improved over the years.

Our jets are now anywhere from 6 to 8 years old so do have some time on them and our experience has been good. We do flush them after use and we do put them back on deck or in the garage, so ours never sit out uncovered or in the water overnight.

Jets will cost you more than outboards. We think they're worth it, but we're still in a minority. Jets are more popular in Europe than the US as more boats are built with garages or come standard with jets.

Assuming you mean slow and not sow, I'll be interested in Capt J's answer. We think they handle great but we're regular and experienced jet users. They handle far differently than outboards and when you combine a rib with a jet, the key is to know you must apply power for handling. It's a different way of docking, I'd call it docking with authority, but you learn to use reverse as part of the process.

I wouldn't, we don't, but I can't tell you how much it would harm anything. I believe it's better to remove, but I don't know the degree of better.

Can't imagine using the tank for diesel would be a problem, but we've never used ours for gas or diesel.

It tracked pretty good as Williams has 2 small skegs. At idle speed no wake you had to make constant corrections but small ones, at slow speed minimum wake it was pretty good with a steering correction say every 10 seconds, at speed it steered extremely well. The more people in it, the better it tracked at slower speeds and the better it rode. It would bounce you around a bit hauling butt with only 1 person, but put a second person in it, and the ride was night and day difference.

I would NEVER pump gasoline on a yacht, as in EVER. We carried an extra 10 gallons in 2 Sure Cans and left them in the tender when traveling, tied them on the bow when anchored. We did the exumas exclusively, and the tender held 13 gallons, and we'd use about 5 gallons a day cruising around 30-40 miles +/_ per day in it with 6-7 people.

I wouldn't consider any brands other than Williams for a jet. They seem to have the design down to a science. Their customer service was excellent. The build is very good quality and the seating design on the 395 is excellent. The diesels are just too heavy for their size, only time I'd consider one is if it's going on a large yacht and makes the fueling of it much easier.

We bought an AB Jet 430 (14’) in March. It’s AB’s version of the same size Williams. Same engine, same seating layout for 7. We love it as our little dayboat. It’s fast and get easily pull a slalom skier with 3 adults in the boat.

We do leave it in the water over night without flushing it. Time will tell if this is harmful. It has an easy access flushing port, and could be flushed in the water (closing the intake), but there is still a lot of metal sitting in the water.

At slow speed it takes some getting used to, but actually handles quite well. It turns on a dime and can be steered at near zero speed.

I just ordered the ABJet 330. Yes Williams seems to be the market leader but after reading what I could find I didn’t think I would go wrong with the ABJet. Reason for me going with a jet tender; I think for my vessel having an outboard with an exposed prop is just a potential hazard (my tender will be on my platform) for someone to hurt themselves especially when docking. In addition, I think the jet takes up less overall space than an outboard since the engine is beneath you. That’s my 2 cents. Good luck.

As AB is a newcomer to jets, it looks to me like they're doing everything right. Avon was comparable to Williams when they had their jet line. AB is also using the same engines as Williams.

You make a good point in that a 14' jet is really the equivalent of a 15' or 16' outboard.

We carried a Williams 385 on our Sunseeker Manhattan platform and while I don't like having a tender on a platform, it worked well.

And by the way, the technical support from AB Inflatables and our dealer in FL has been Outstanding. We had some minor issues with component parts and got direct and rapid response from the manufacturer. A+ for this.

The one issue is that on the East Coast, outside of Florida, the number of service centers for the Rotax engines are few and far between. I was told that any Sea Doo dealer could work on my engine, which was a stretch. Both AB and Williams (and all the others) put proprietary software in the engine control, so only their “authorized” dealers can access the ECM. I’m over a hundred miles from the closest dealers in Boston and Annapolis. It seems Williams only has one dealer in all that area ( Sag Harbor NY), os they are not exempt from this either.

AB is working diligently to sign up more dealers and my engine issues are very minor, so can wait til COVID is over and we feel safe to get back to FL.

Williams did use Weber engines, then their successor, Textron. They switched to Rotax only in the last few years. I'm not a fan of that change for the reasons you outline although most of what I've heard has been positive.

Do you have the ECM/ECU number from the Rotax? You may find it's been used elsewhere by Rotax. Rotax is far more widely used than I was aware.

Rotax marine engines are in Sea Doo, Scarab, Williams, ABJet, and probably others.

• The AB dealer told me I could go to any Sea Doo dealer. Not true
• AB told me that they have a proprietary software key that they only share with their own ABJet dealers.
• Rotax told me that my computer should be able to be read by any dealer of "boats" (not jet skis) that have Rotax engines. I have not verified this yet - the nearest Scarab dealer is 70 miles away inland.

I'm now waiting for AB Jet to tell me if they can sign up a dealer near me. This is frustrating, but like I said, the problem is minor and can wait. AB in Columbia, the dealer, and even the local Sea Doo guy have all been super responsive, so kudos to all.

Try one of these:

https://www.rotax-kart.com/en/Find-a-Dealer/United States of America

Or one of these:

https://dealerlocator.flyrotax.com/

Those are kart and aircraft rotax service centers.

Or find a Chaparral dealer. They use Rotax in their jets.

Or a Glastron dealer as they do also.

If AB is restricting access, that's stupid. I'm thinking they're just knew to this and not well informed.

Jet tender? Just don't, they are all horrible. Just use a 4-stroke outboard on a decent RIB.

Well, clearly we have a difference of opinion. How many jet tenders have you owned and the brands and what issues have you had? I don't think you can lump them all together.

I bought my jet over an outboard powered boat because I had just over 14' of foredeck space to dedicate to the tender. The jet is 14'2" overall, seats 7 (in seats, not on tubes), does 39 knots with 4 adults, pulls a slalom skier, and has no exposed propeller. An outboard powered boat fitting my 14+' configuration would be at most a 13' boat, maybe 12'. Less seating, less hp, etc. etc.

It was the right choice for me - even being trapped in a service center desert.

I don't think you'll end up trapped. Too many people using Rotax in too many applications.

I owned a Zodiac Projet 420 for 10 + years and transported it on my swim platform. First the positives....GREAT performance, outboard cannot get even close. 3 grown men in the boat towing a full grown skier at full speed. No comparison to any outboard RIB close to its size. On the negative, mine had a Weber engine, which is like a piece of jewelry. Maintenance was significant. Parts were expensive and nobody could work on them. I would recommend that you NOT leave it in the water for extended periods and flush after every use. Be very cautious running in shadow water...it is a vacuum cleaner and the smallest piece of debris can stop the jet from working properly.

If you are just looking to use it like a dinghy and have it run when you want it to and put it away with without much worry...go with an outboard. If you re looking for performance and to be able to tow skiers and have a ton of fun (and can live with the extra cost and maintenance)...go with the jet. You will not regret it.