TwoTo is a small jet boat. Stu adopted her as an infant in 1997 during the early years of Jet Skies and jet powered boats. She is essentially a 6 person jet ski, capable of all the tricks and excitement of a jet except I’ve never seen anyone do a flip high in the air in a Tango and I’m scared to try.
Joan immediately purchased a proper hat for traveling on the water at high speed. The “look” fits the boat well and keeps the sun out of Joan’s eyes and the wind out of her hair. Lovely addition to a nice boat. We use her for exploring and trips to our new favorite restaurant, the Twisted Prop. TwoTo objects to our dining choice because, even while the place has a nice dock, our jet feels bad because she has no prop to twist.
During her early years, I took her across Lake Okeechobee, nearly getting lost when a fog and heavy rain destroyed visibility and fuel ran low. Fortunately, I was able to follow a much larger boat into Rowland Martin where she spent the night at a dock and I rented a room.
Now she is living a more sedate life, on the Chain of Lakes near Winter Haven, FL. Known for glass smooth water, few boat wakes, and nice places to visit and eat, she happily shuttles around the area.
Many more adventures continued to strengthen the feeling that while she is small, she is a very capable boat with excellent and comfortable handling.
So when I was about to leave for South Africa to adopt my new Voyage, my kids “agreed” to temporary custody for about 20 years. First Shirley took over custody, teaching Justin and Nicole to love the water. Then it was Joshua’s turn giving both he and Jacob the thrill of a jet and prompting Joshua to adopt one of his own in 2022. Miguel did a heroic job of maintaining the now aging boat while he enjoyed fishing between breakdowns.
In 2020 and 2021, I resumed custody, putting several weeks into upgrading older parts with lots of help and advice from Miguel.
She now starts easily and runs quite well. Jet boats use “normal” outboard engines geared to a unique jet pump that achieves high speed and excellent maneuverability. As jet engines age, the wear ring that encloses the turbine pump wears as it is supposed to, reducing the maximum speed from over 60 miles per hour to the present 35 MPH. It is an easily replaceable part that I haven’t touched because 35 MPH is too much for me.
