Gator Glide ruined my Yamaha handling + shop ghosted me for 4 months
I am extremely disappointed and angry, and I feel obligated to warn every jet ski owner.
The shop is Watercraft Direct in Costa Mesa (126 Commercial Way, Unit B). They strongly recommended spraying a “Gator-type ultra-slick hull coating” on my 2023 Yamaha FX Cruiser SVHO. They repeatedly told me it was “good protection,” “everyone uses it,” and never mentioned any downside or risk. Because they are supposed to be professionals, I trusted them.
That was a huge mistake.
After the coating was applied, my Yamaha became dangerously unstable — especially during normal deceleration. On calm water, when I was riding straight at speed and lightly let off the throttle, the ski suddenly sideslipped violently. My entire family was thrown off into the lake. My wife suffered a fracture from the fall.
This is not a small change. Normal high-speed riding and even light deceleration (which should be stable on a Yamaha) are now frightening and unpredictable.
Later, multiple Yamaha technicians confirmed: This coating is never recommended for performance skis. It completely changes hull hydrodynamics, and it is almost impossible to remove
I have since contacted many other shops in Southern California. None of them can guarantee restoring the hull back to original factory condition. Most shops either refuse the job or say the risk of damaging the factory gelcoat is too high. Because of this, I am now forced to consider trading in the ski.
But the worst part?
After I discovered the issues, the owner specifically told me to leave the jet ski with him so he could personally test it in the water. He said that if there were any problems, he would remove the coating for me.
I trusted him and left the jetski there.
Then he completely disappeared for four months. I called, texted, and emailed multiple times — zero response. I went to the shop several times in person, even asked neighbors, but couldn’t find him anywhere. I was exhausted trying to reach him.
Only after I went there again and left a note on the door did a friend of the owner finally open the warehouse and return my ski. He kept saying he was “just helping” and seemed annoyed. There was no crane or proper equipment. His friend and I had to manually lift and drag the heavy jet ski from a small car onto the trailer ourselves.
The jetski was returned with the Gator Glide still on it. No water test was ever done. No removal was offered. Zero follow-up.
Because no shop can properly remove this coating and restore the hull to factory condition, I am now looking at trading in a 2023 FX Cruiser SVHO for a 2026 model that is mechanically almost identical — and I may end up losing $15,000 to $20,000 purely because of this bottom coating.
This is not just bad service. This is irresponsible, misleading, and potentially dangerous behavior.
If a shop strongly recommends a product that permanently affects hull safety and handling, then promises to test it and remove it if needed, but then ghosts the customer for months, that is a massive red flag.
I hope this post protects other riders from going through the same expensive and dangerous experience.