front sponsons for 4-stroke superjet?

Hoping to solicit opinions and a bit of a discussion about the pros and cons of front sponsons for the 4-stroke superjet for various types of riding, and would really appreciate thoughts and experiences especially from those that may have already tried same.
 

Quinc

Buy a Superjet
Location
California
Everything you should do to your ski is here: :)
 

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
Everything you should do to your ski is here: :)
What he said!
 
Everything you should do to your ski is here: :)
yes, thank you Quince and Big Kahuna, i have been following that thread with great interest since it started. Excellent stuff. I am making the over pivot steering changes for this season. That thread mentions rear sponsons but I did not see anything about front ones. I have seen some videos of Pro-AM Lite class races and noticed that many of the 4-stroke superjets in those had front sponsons, and similarly I have seen videos of folks in the surf with them too. The promotional descriptions and videos from some vendors of front sponsons, ProWatercraft for example, seem to recommend them for a variety of handling benefits. I have a 96 SJ701 that I have had for 10 years or so, and got the 4-stroke later last year, but these are really the only skis i have ever ridden, and so with such limited experience i feel like I just don't know. I live on a lake and was thinking this year to put out some buoys and try running these with the 4-stroke for something different. I am 65 so my riding is never going to be high quality and i will never race, but I just thought if the front sponsons would help me work on personal improvement and some fun running some small buoy courses i set up then this would be good. Since front sponsons don't seem like something I could just slap on and try - drilling holes in the hull seems like a bit of commitment - i figured I would ask here.
 

Kohldanielzimmer

Sierra Nevada Runoff Rider
Site Supporter
Location
Ahwahnee, CA
Be sure to get 06-07 oem cable and blowsion adapter when you put on the OVP. Unsure about front sponsons. I don’t have them on mine and it handles fine (now that steering system and cable have been replaced). Stock steering was embarrassingly bad.
 
Be sure to get 06-07 oem cable and blowsion adapter when you put on the OVP. Unsure about front sponsons. I don’t have them on mine and it handles fine (now that steering system and cable have been replaced). Stock steering was embarrassingly bad.
Yes, thank you. I have the RRP steering system and this makes for quite a bend in the cable if the cable connector ball is out (further to the right of ski centerline) towards the farthest outside end as the steering plate allows. In fact, on mine it seems if I try to move the connector ball out to the very outside (rightmost) end of the steering plate slot, the cable makes a such pronounced bend right in front of the stock cable bracket (there is a little rubber outer sheath sleeve on the cable just in front of the bracket, and two harder outer sheath pieces butt together right under that rubber, and this is where the cable makes a sharper bend - not an easy curve) such that the control cable has some resistance to the point of slight binding when handle is turned left to the stops; this makes it so that the outermost cable attachment adjustment allowed by the RRP system is not practical / possible with the stock cable and bracket.

I was looking at making a little aluminum adapter piece to move the stock bracket over a bit more to the right, and I think this would move the cable a bit right and allow the cable to be going through the bracket in a straighter way and so deal with resistance / binding issues; however, it seems like having a bit more throw in the cable (as in a pre '08 type cable) might allow that the directional jet nozzle could be adjusted so as to turn a bit further in each direction than with the stock cable throw. If this is really the case, then I think I would skip trying to adapt the stock bracket, and switch to a cable with more throw.

I am not sure about this last though, could anyone confirm that this would be the case, or am I screwed up in how I am thinking about what is benefit of extra throw?

Help with understanding about exactly how the extra throw works to a benefit would really be appreciated.

I think @tomski sells a heavy duty cable with more throw, and a bracket to move the first cable support point a bit to the right and further down the pole than stock.
 
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Be sure to get 06-07 oem cable and blowsion adapter when you put on the OVP. Unsure about front sponsons. I don’t have them on mine and it handles fine (now that steering system and cable have been replaced). Stock steering was embarrassingly bad.
I have installed the cable and bracket that @tomski sells. These are both really quality products.

The cable is 6mm (vs 5mm on stock) and so heavy duty for the application. High quality casings, and a very smooth movement in operation when installed. The cable has 105 mm (4 1/8 inch) throw, versus the 73 mm (2 7/8 inches) throw of stock) so 32 mm (1 1/4 inch) or 43% more throw than stock. Note that the stock throw is too short to adjust for maximum nozzle deflection even when combined with an RRP steering system (or RIVA branded of same). The extra throw of the new cable is more than needed to adjust for maximum degrees of nozzle deflection, and when combined with an aftermarket steering system facilitates a much quicker handlebar to nozzle turning ratio.

The bracket allows that the longer throw cable can be installed (moving the cable mount point further down the handle pole) and is an excellent design fitting perfectly onto the pole and positioning the cable mount point most appropriately for the slightly more extreme movements of the top cable ends when turning (especially when further out from ski centerline as can be the case with an aftermarket steering system). The bracket is machined from aluminum so is very sturdy, reasonable lightweight, and good with water.

A really great upgrade.
 
Location
Bay Area
i have a WAX intake grate , OVP steering and Blowsion Destroyers for the 21+ superjet and i am happy with it now!! it handles great! still got to do impeller and tune.
 
$599 and out of stock, wonder if the older ones are the same?

 

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
$599 and out of stock, wonder if the older ones are the same?

The PWC Fatties are a good bit cheaper but Black..
 
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