Waverunners

Tracee in Egmont Channel

Tracee near Egmont Channel with the Skyway bridge in the background.

Waverunners Anchored

The Waverunners anchored at Egmont Key.

The Waverunners have been a blast. We looked at quite a few personal water craft brands and models before going with a pair of Yamaha VX Deluxe. These are comfortable, stable, have a great range (100+ miles on a tank) and are faster than we need (50+ mph). On a calm day we had them up to 60mph just to see what they could do. That was about their max speed. I find that it gets on a plane at about 17mph and our usual cruising speed is between 22 and 26mph.

We really like the ability to have neutral and reverse. The No Wake button is often used but we don't use the cruise control option very much.

Anchoring without pulling them on the beach turned out to be a bit of a challenge. Regular anchors bounced around too much in the storage area while riding and sand filled bag anchors didn't hold. We ended up using Sand Shark's screw in anchors and they work great (make sure to get ALL of the sand out of them before collapsing the poles or they will jam).

Waverunners Beached on Shell Key

The Waverunners beached on Shell Key.

53 MPH

It's a bit hard to see but the display shows 53mph. I didn't want to loose control while trying to get a better photo while steering with one hand. I wouldn't attempt this with any waves.

I found that there is an unexpected bonus for having the waverunners: spare generator gas during hurricane season. I use some gas stabilizer once the water cools off each year with good results. I'm writing this in mid 2025 and the many of the local boat ramps that had floating docks are still not repaired from last year's hurricane.

Using AGM batteries it's important to keep a trickle charger on them or it will be a struggle to bring them back to life.

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