There are 3 main jet ski manufacturers – Sea-Doo, Yamaha, and Kawasaki.
Only Yamaha waverunners shoot the rooster tail of water in the air.
There are 3 reasons why a Yamaha jet ski shoots water into the air.
- Visibility.
- Trademark thing.
- To annoy or cool off the person you’re pulling.
The Jet Ski Water Spout Is Mainly For Visibility
Visibility is the main reason Yamaha jet skis shoot water out the rear.
Jet skis are tiny and nimble. It’s easy to lose sight of one, especially when the water is busy.
One solution Yamaha came up with is to use the jet pump to shoot a stream of water in the air. Since there is a lot of power coming out of a jet ski, this water spout can go very high thus making you more visible further away.
This water spout is how it gets its rooster tail look.
The Second Reason Is A Trademark Thing
It’s like how Harley Davidson Motorcycles have their unique engine sound. Or how a Mercedes Benz makes that unique sound when you close the door.
Yamaha’s thing is shooting water in the air.
Do You Need The Water Spout On Your Jet Ski?
While shooting water in the air behind your jet ski does make it more visible, it’s only slightly.
After awhile, the slight visibility it gives you is not worth the annoyance.
If you’re pulling someone on a tube or wakeboarding the water spout will often hit them in the face making it harder to see. This could be a good thing if you want to cool off, but it does get annoying quick.
It’s not only the people you pull but if the wind gets you just right or you hit a bump just right you get wet from the spout. It may seem funny to worry about getting wet on a jet ski but not every moment you want to be wet or get water in your face.
The water spout also limits what you can carry in the rear like a cooler or gas cans.
That rooster tail of water can also anger others in your riding group for getting them wet or blocking their visibility.
Most of the people who race jet skis will remove this water spout. It’s the thrust of the jet ski that pushes that water in the air, and as a racer, you want full thrust for moving you forward.
If you want to remove your water spout from your Yamaha jet ski here is a great video showing you how.
Sea-Doo Brakes
The closest thing to this water spout not from Yamaha would be Sea-Doo’s iBR system.
iBR is the Sea-Doo braking and reverse system. If you’re going at speed and hit the brakes a wall of water shoots up behind you, kind of like a brake light. I find a wall of water to be more visible than a stream of water shooting up into the air.
But the Sea-Doo wall of water only happens when you hit the brakes and going at speed. Where the Yamaha always has a constant stream going. And to be fair, Yamaha now has a brake system today that does similar things.