Jet boat Impeller question...?

Question

Hi. I have a 2003 sea doo jet boat. just before the season closed, I took the boat on a river (fox river in IL). I didn't know how shallow it is, but there were other boats on it. Then it became really shollow, and I was going like 20-30 mph, and suddenly i stopped. I got out and the water was below my knee. Now I'm scared that I damaged the impeller since it collected everything on the waterbed. It started fine, but I scrached the boat pretty bad. Also the intake is grill is kinda twisted and scratched. But still don't know if the impeller is damaged. I took it the next weekend on the lake (lake michigan) and worked fine, perfectly, I was able to reach speeds of 50 mph. But before It used to go a little faster, above 55. Now i'm waiting for the season to open, so I can see if it works fine. But if its damaged, how much does it typically cost to fix it, at the sea doo dealer. Thanks a lot

Answer 1

Hearing that your boat still hits 50 after the grounding tells me that no significant damage to the impeller was done. Saying that your performance is slightly lower, if that is indeed the case, says that maybe a little damage occurred. When substantial damage happens, you'll fell like the prop is "slipping" and the engine will "wind up" when you accelerate. I'm sure you've noticed the charactaristic "wind up" that you hear and feel when you accelerate from a dead stop until the "bite "of the impeller takes place in the water. This characteristic will be evidenced al all acceleration levels and throttle responsiveness will be greatly diminished. Replacing the impeller with a good SS performance wheel will run about 250 clams, providing the impeller housing is okay. Make sure you intake grate will not allow any large objects in to the impeller assembly, that's what causes the damage.