MONDAY, MARCH 18, 2024
One of the greatest joys of summer is breaking out your Jet Ski, WaveRunner or SeaDoo and getting started with an entire season of summer fun on the waves. From visiting your favorite spots on the water to passing on your this joy to the next generation, there’s a lot to love about owning a personal watercraft (PWC).
Owning a Jet Ski, WaveRunner, SeaDoo or other PWC isn’t all fun and games, however. There’s also a lot of responsibility involved. These small crafts need a lot of love and care to continue performing to the best of their abilities, and if you start to neglect them, you’ll certainly notice the difference.
Are you a new PWC owner? Or maybe you’ve owned a PWC for a while, but you’ve never taken care of it yourself before. Whatever position you’re in, we believe everyone should know how to maintain their PWC to stay fast and functional all season long.
Check out our full guide or jump to a specific section below:
The first and most important part of knowing how to maintain a Jet Ski, Sea-Doo or WaveRunner is learning how to clean it. This might initially seem counterintuitive, especially since you just spent the past hour or so cruising around the waves. Didn’t this already “wash” your PWC? But the truth is that saltwater does a poor job of cleaning, and even if it didn’t, there are many nooks and crannies that it takes a personal touch to reach. If you want your PWC to last for years to come, you’ll need to clean it yourself. Even if you’ve been riding in freshwater, you’ll still want to complete this essential process on a regular basis.
Here are our steps for how to clean a Jet Ski or other PWC after saltwater or freshwater immersion.
Remove as many accessories as possible, opening the hood, storage areas and glove boxes and removing any removable seats or seat covers. This allows you access to as much of the craft as possible, so you can better clean the saltwater out of every crevice.
Remove any bungs and open any bung plugs. This lets any water in the craft or any compartments drain out as efficiently as possible. Any sand, dirt or debris that’s made its way into the PWC also can drain out more easily with these plugs open. Every few rides, it’s even a good idea to remove these plugs completely for maximum drainage.
Chock the wheels on the trailer carefully. Place a crate under the jockey wheel to elevate the front of the ski in a way that will maximize drainage.
Use a hose to spray down the entire craft, inside and outside, from one end to the other. In doing so, be careful that no water enters the air intake, coils, electrical areas or fuel breather.
Take extra care to clean beneath the fuel tank, coupler and motor, since the siphon bilge can easily become blocked. Give some attention to the supercharger belt and pulley as well.
Once you’re finished cleaning the body itself, don’t forget about cleaning around and underneath accessories like the tubs and seats. This helps clean away salt and sand that will otherwise easily collect in these areas.
Spend some extra time cleaning out the area around the pump in the back and the intake area, as salt can easily collect here and lead to corrosion. If you find that you’re having difficulty accessing this area, try lifting the reverse bucket.
Not sure where these parts are located? Consult your PWC manual! Each craft is slightly different, and it’s worth taking the time to get familiar with your particular watercraft.
Once you’ve finished cleaning, rinse everything down with clean water and dry it all off with a microfiber cloth. If there’s any water remaining inside the craft, use a pump to remove it.
Posted 10:52 AM