IPD Racing has had an excellent summer testing new products for the 2021 Yamaha 4-stroke SuperJet (along with continuing to test and improve our Gen3 2-stroke SuperJet setup), and we’ve found that there was still a lot of room for improvement that allows the rider to make the most of what these watercraft have to offer. One of the first modifications that we recommend for both the 2008-2020 SuperJet and especially on the 4-stroke SuperJet is a set of front sponsons and we were super excited to try out the newest one to hit the market.
We were able to get a hold of the new ProWatercraft Fattie front sponsons. ProWatercraft designed these sponsons to offer maximum stability when you lean into the turn. The Fattie front sponsons were reported to provide better turning through the waves and choppy race water, which is probably where the new SuperJet suffers the most. ProWatercraft designed these sponsons to be universal for most Ski and Sport PWC but found them to be a very good fit on both the Yamaha 2-stroke and 4-stroke SuperJets and we wanted to try them out.
The new 2021 SuperJet design has a deep-V shape, which at times can feel very unpredictable. We have done a lot of riding and testing on the 2021 SuperJet with the Blowsion sponsons up to this point, and we were looking forward to seeing how the new PWR fatties compare. The first thing we noticed with the ProWatercraft sponsons was that the boat stayed hooked up much better in the heavy race chop and had more drive out of the corner.
The next thing we noticed was how smoothly it entered the corners. It felt more predictable and without any of the twitchiness that we had experienced before. When exiting the corner, the ski seemed to come to the center easier than before; likely due to the added buoyancy of the sponsons lifting the ski onto the center of the V-shaped hull. For the racer or buoy chaser, one of the best benefits was the increased drive and control when crossing someone’s wake. All in all, it makes the boat easier to ride in race conditions or just recreational riding.
The 2008-2020 SuperJet definitely handles rough conditions more predictably and with more confidence, but we typically add the first generation PWR sponsons to enhance and improve the setup. Our test ski handled so well that we hesitated to rip off the original sponsons and install the fatties, but boy were we happy we did! The new fatty sponson offers even more stability, more predictability entering and exiting the turns, better rough-water drive, and a smoother transition in and out without sacrificing the awesome playfulness of the 2-stroke SuperJet!
In fact, the sponsons make the ski drive so hard in rough water, that we had to move our nozzle that we had pitched down a bit on our Limited setup, back to the stock location to get the attitude of the boat back to where we like, which will be great for Stock class setups. All and all, they were a massive improvement on our Limited setup test ski!
As for the installation, it was very easy and they can be bolted on in multiple places and fit like a glove. The sponsons do not come pre-drilled, but you will have countersink cones in the design to help you with the installation. For hardware, you can choose to either bolt-on or use the stainless screws from the outside. The sponsons come with instructions and silicone adhesive. You can get these sponsons HERE and many other performance parts right from IPDRacing.com. Feel free to call us to discuss other best-performing options on this and all other standup jet skis.
