2007 Sea Doo Speedster

[RiverRock12]

Anyone ever tried to replace the jet drives in a Sea Doo Speedster 200 hull with a prop and an LS motor? Just curious if anyone has every tried a project like this? I have a hull and trailer for free that has been stripped of twin rotax motors, controls, jets, controls, gauges, controls and everything mechanically related to the boat. Thinking about replacing with a prop? Suggestions, ideas or concerns?

 

[IDoSeaDoo]

Sounds like an awesome project. You thinking of going with a stern drive or what? Interfacing the motor with the water will be the biggest challenge. You can probably find some crusty old mercruiser and use the sterndrive components out of it. This will make the boat rather rear-heavy, as those old V8's and stern drives weigh a lot more than seadoo engines. Also, starting from another platform, you will have other necessities, like steering, throttle control, etc. Those 200's have a huge, deep hull, so I think you can easily stuff an LS in there. Also, the tank already comes with a fuel pump built in, so you won't have to make a new one (trust me, that's REALLY hard to do). I say it's do-able. You will have to get good at fiberglass and gel-coat work

 

[RiverRock12]

The fiberglass and gel coat part is not a problem. In fact thats the only part I am confident in. I was just curious what you guys thought about how it would work when finished? Seems to me a prop under that hull, even if it is a little ass heavy might actually be really nice. The hull is free,.....soo.... Good advice about the fuel tank. Is that a belly tank in that Speedster? Total guess but I think that hull looks like 20° or more??

 

[RiverRock12]

And I'd be open to ALL suggestions.... Sterns I've isnwhat I was thinking. Don't know much about this hull yet so just in the learning stages.

 

[IDoSeaDoo]

It's not a belly tank. I believe it's a 40gal that sits under the rear seats and spans the rectangular area from both sides of the bottom. It has a sort of triangular cross-section that conforms like a key to the specific geometry built into the bottom of the boat. The belly of the boat is left empty for transporting skis, wake boards, or illegal cargo, should you want to use the boat for illicit gains. Whatever engine is used there, you'd need to get a water-jacketed exhaust. Lots of boats use standard ford and chevy engines, so I believe there is already headers you can buy that would bolt up to the LS. As for steerig, I would probably get a hydraulic system instead of running the cables. They're better anyway and will be easier to run/route. Perhaps you could find a good donor that has been sunk or wrecked to pull parts from and get ideas from. Copart and wreckedtoys.com are two insurance salvage sites, but are rather expensive IMO. I bet there are other, better, less known avenues for acquiring salvage vessels. If you find them, let me know. I love a good project