American Turbine SD203 Owner's Manual - Page 4
Browse online or download pdf Owner's Manual for Boating Equipment American Turbine SD203. American Turbine SD203 10 pages. Super duty jet 203mm axial flow
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5. American Turbine, Inc. shall not be liable for any incidental, consequential or other damages whatsoever, including but not
limited to: loss of use, loss of time, inconvenience, cost of returning the defective product to American Turbine, Inc., travel,
lodging, or damage to personal property.
6. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations may
not apply to you.
7. This warranty is the only express warranty applicable to American Turbine, Inc. products, and is in lieu of any other express
or implied warranties, including warranties of merchantability and fitness
for a particular purpose. All implied warranties are limited in duration to minimum period required by State law. American Turbine,
Inc. neither assumes or authorizes any other person to assume for it any other liability or warranty in connection with its
products,
8. Some states do not allow limitations on the duration of implied warranties, so the above limitations may not apply to you.
9. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which may vary state to state.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR BOAT
Most boat owners like to perform at least a certain amount of their boat maintenance themselves to ensure continuing good
performance and reliability.
To avoid unnecessary trips to the service center, it might be useful to have a checklist, which can be run through
systematically, in the hope of pinpointing the problem quickly. The boat can be divided into three categories - jet unit, engine,
and hull.
If something is "wrong" with the boat it is usually poor acceleration and load carrying, coupled with excessive fuel
consumption or engine RPM's. It could be unusual noise coming from the mechanicals, or possibly just poor top speed. All of
these things may be present to some degree, but the usual complaint is that the boat is just plain "gutless".
TACHOMETER
The most important single instrument on the boat when considering performance drop-off is the engine tachometer.
The great thing about jet boats is that the engine RPM's should remain the same throughout the life of the boat, regardless of
age, loading, water conditions, towing, whatever.
There is no situation where the RPM's should be different from when the boat was new, and as an owner, you will
know what these are. At any time, you should be able to open the throttle fully and get exactly the same maximum reading you
have been used to. Or perhaps you are finding it needs more RPM's to cruise your normal load? RPM's are a most important
indicator of proper operation of the boat.
It is important at this stage to feel confident that your tachometer is reading accurately.
Now we come to our check list, and determination of which major area is the problem. The simplest way is a check
on the RPM's first. They could be normal, high, or low, and this will pin point the place to look:
A. Normal maximum RPM = hull problem.
If the boat is performing poorly and the maximum RPM's are normal and what you are used to, you can look to the
hull and some of the external parts. These include:
1. Overload: Too much weight aboard.
2. Balance: Either too much weight aft, which will cause the nose to be too high and make planing difficult, or if the weight is
too far forward, it will cause the nose to plow, difficult steering, wetness, and poor top speed.
3. Reverse bucket: Is the bucket dragging in the reverse stream? Make sure the control is fully up.
4. Excessive hull drag: Is there some external hull obstruction such as rough surface, broken keel strips, or other reason impeding
the smooth flow of water over the hull bottom? A visual check on the trailer should reveal if there is. Metal hulls can
have a "hook" bashed into them forward of the transom which can cause the bow to plow. The planing surface forward of the
transom six to nine feet should be true and flat.
B. High rpm = jet unit problem.
Higher than normal RPM's, lack of thrust, slipping clutch feel, engine racing and no go?
1. Blockage: The most common problem is weeds and stones blocking the intake grate. Also be aware of ski rope, fishing line
and plastic bags winding around the pump shaft. Small sticks and stones can become lodged in the impeller affecting the
performance
dramatically, objects trapped in the impeller can cause the rotating assembly to be out of balance, causing severe
vibration. Make sure the water passage through the jet is clear.
2. Impeller wear: The heart of the jet is the impeller, and its condition. If you run in shallow gravel beds or across sandbars the
leading edges will become dull and inefficient. Pumping sand will increase the wear-ring to impeller clearance. Causing cavitations
and loss of performance.
3. Bowl / stator vanes: It's not too much of a problem, but the leading edge of the fixed stator vanes can become blunt and
damaged.
4. Air leaks: If excessive air leaks into the intake ahead of the impeller, the jet unit will "slip". Possible sources of air leaks are
through a faulty gland seal, which is usually accompanied by a static water leak into the boat when standing idle.
So if the gland is worn out and leaking into the boat with the engine off, it can also suck air when accelerating on to plane, and
if this happens, then the thrust is reduced dramatically. Air can also be introduced into the system via the inspection cover, so
you will want to make sure the cover is tight.
C. Low RPM = engine problem
There is generally no way the jet unit can overload the engine and bring the RPM's down. If the RPM's are down
from usual, it is almost certain to be an engine problem. A compression check will usually reveal leaking piston rings or valves,