5 Tips on How to Ride a Jet Ski in the Rain [Explained]

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Let’s face it, riding in the rain can be very painful and even dangerous. To stay safe and somewhat comfortable, here are our five best tips on how to ride your jet ski in the rain:

  1. Wear wet or dry suits
  2. Use protective gear
  3. Cover your cargo
  4. Reduce your speed
  5. Shorten your trip or take a break

If you want to find out more about the topic, you’ve come to the right place.

We at JetDrift have compiled all you need to know under one roof!

Can You Go Jet Skiing in the Rain?

Jet skis can be ridden in the rain since they are designed for running in a wet environment. These machines even tolerate being flipped over in the water, so rain doesn’t damage them at all. On the other hand, rain can be unpleasant or even painful for the rider and may cause poor visibility.

To be more precise, the biggest disadvantages of riding in the rain are as follows:

  • Getting soaked
  • Cooling down
  • Raindrops can cause pain
  • Cargo may get soaked as well
  • Risk of poor visibility
  • Chance of getting struck by lightning

Many riders agree that jet skiing in the rain is neither pleasant nor comfortable.

Rain can not only make you and your cargo completely wet, but the hits of raindrops also feel like a lot pinpricks on your bare skin. This can be especially unpleasant on your face and hands!

The general rule is that the higher your speed the more pain you can expect.

On top of that, rain always means poor visibility and a chance of  getting struck by lightning, which makes it dangerous to stay on the water.

Therefore, it’s highly recommended that you avoid riding a jet ski in the rain in order to stay safe.

But let’s face it, rain can hit unexpectedly when you’re already on open waters. If this happens, you may find our tips useful:

How to Ride a Jet Ski in the Rain

1. Wear a Wet or Dry Suit

If you get caught in the rain on your jet ski tour, best practice is to stop and put on your wet or dry suit. Try to reduce the amount of exposed skin as much as possible for protection.

Sure, the life jacket covers a large part of your upper body, but it still leaves your arms and neck uncovered. That’s why a good idea to keep a wet or dry suit in your ski as you never know when you will need it!

If these special clothes are not available or take up too much space in your storage compartment, a standard rain jacket can also do a good job. Just make sure to wear it over the life jacket.

You can also keep your legs protected with neoprene pants or simple water pants.

These clothes not only offer protection for your skin but also help you stay warm.

2. Protective Gear

Protective gear is always recommended on a jet ski, especially when it comes to rain riding.

Best practice is to put on a hat and a jet ski mask that covers your entire face paired with high-quality jet ski goggles. Unfortunately, standard sunglasses don’t do a good job in the rain.

If you don’t wear prescription glasses, you can’t go wrong with a rigid boating mask either.

You should also wear full-fingerd gloves since your hands are completely exposed to the rain.

You can’t forget about your feet, so wear jet ski shoes or even ankle boots for a higher level of protection.

3. Keep Your Cargo Dry

Rain can soak not only you but your gear as well. That’s why you should store your valuables in the enclosed storage compartments on your ski.

Keep in mind that these storage bins are not waterproof on all jet skis, so storing your gear in a dry bag can add an extra layer of protection. As a rule of thumb, phones and other electronics should be stored in a rigid dry box to avoid being damaged.

If you’re going on a long tour, you probably want to carry some gear on the rear platform. This is where advanced connection systems like Sea-Doo’s LinQ or Yamaha’s Rec Deck come into play.

These systems involve connection cleats nestled into the rear deck to which you can attach various OEM storage units, including rigid storage boxes, dry bags, and coolers. Each of them can be used as a watertight storage unit for your cargo.

If your ski lacks these connection systems or you don’t want to invest in costly OEM accessories, you can still strap regular dry bags and storage boxes onto the rear platform.

4. Reduce Your Speed

If you get caught in the rain on your jet ski, best practice is to immediately reduce your speed.

Poor visibility can lead to serious accidents, so hold the horses back and reduce your speed according to visibility conditions.

You will also notice that at a lower speed the rain won’t hurt as much and you will also feel warmer.

5. Shorten Your Trip or Take a Break

Riding in the rain is far from ideal, but sometimes on long tours, it’s unavoidable. If you get caught in the rain, try to shorten your trip, or at least take a break if if you can at the nearest possible location.

Waiting for the rain to stop is much more comfortable sitting in a dockside restaurant than in the saddle!

To avoid these issues, it’s also wise to check the local weather forecast before and during your ride.

Conclusion

General wisdom says that you should avoid riding your jet ski in the rain. Even though jet skis are waterproof and can be operated in wet weather, rain can cause many headaches for you.

Riding completely soaked in poor visibility conditions is neither safe nor comfortable.

If you have to ride in the rain for any reason, make sure that you reduce your speed and wear protective clothing and gear.

These tricks can help mitigate the negative effects of the rain!

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