How did Gamerse get into his 1996 Seadoo Sportster?
Preface
I am an e-bayer, have been for over 10 years now. However, I kept hearing things about craigslist. I have to many projects, and to many toys. I made the decision to sell or trade whatever I could live without, for what I wanted. So I placed an add in craigslist with all the toys with a low value of $13,000 together, all or some for full or parital trade of an equal value seadoo boat.
What was "X"
I wanted the 1996 speedster in yellow. It was the lightest twin engine produced. Simple low cost engines, not great, but not horrible GPH, and the fun factor is on par with new boats. 170HP is more than enough for any entertaining I wanted to do, and with top speeds 45+ it was perfect for where I wanted to go.
The research
I did all kinds of research of course. I think I read a few articles on here. Weeks went by, and on week three a person only 45 minutes away responded. He had a 1996 sportster, no battery, needed interrior, ran ok, except it had a random shutdown. We spoke, and he wanted one of my motorcycles. We exchanged information and set-up a meet at my house.
He delivers
The trailer blew a tire on the way, luckily the spare was good, and it didn't kill the plastic fender. (a reason to ensure you have one if you are picking your "new to you" boat up) No spare=new bargaining chip.
The inspection
The boat pulls up, its a bit dirty, been under a plain walmart tarp. Been sitting since 08 due to the electrical problem. Seats a trashed on top, this is common for boats stored outside for long periods, no big deal, but a bargaining chip. We discussed the seats, and agreed that $200.00 would make me happy.
Time to start the engine, no battery, another chip, another $30 made me happy. I threw a jumper pack on the boat, one slow crank and nothing. I immediately stopped, and pulled the plugs, hit the button and was showered in oil. Another bargaining chip, but I held this one for the end. I hit the starter again, more oil, no start. It was apparent the engine was not going to run that day, another huge chip.
The whole time, my buddy that was helping me clean my cabin cruiser, was eyeballing everything, with no clue what he was looking at. He continuously made hushed comments about what a bad deal it was. This was not planned, but put pressure on the situation, which turned out to be a good thing. His help payed off, as he spotted the freeze crack in the #2 jug. The biggest chip, a blatant, undisclosed, problem unknown to the owner, chip.
The negotiation
Now all the cards are on the table. I have a 13,800 mile 2001 custom viper blue suzuki 650 sport bike with that he has rode and is drooling over. He has a sportster that is a project at best. I start off with the facts, there is more wrong than you or I knew when we first talked. He asks "what do you want to do". I reply I'm going to need more money to make this trade. I like the boat, but I have to fix the boat. The response was "what is it going to take". His wife was there, she loved the boat, but was ready to hand over the check book to make sure her husband stayed out of the garage, and she was 3 months pregnant. With this, in mind, I decided to cut the guy a break. I responded, "the jug is going to cost at least $100, then there is another $100 for the top end kit, then $20.00 for gaskets. Then I have to fix the oil problem, which may be a new crank". So as a gift to them (because the bike would sell in his city, faster than the boat if they ever needed the money, and the wife couldn't ride it for another 7 months) I settled for the boat and $450.00 cash.
The repair
Had to stop the oil first. I figured it is a seal, it has been sitting, maybe it swelled or the oil pushed its way in due to pressure. So, if I clamp of the supply, eventually the cylinders will stop spraying it out. That worked, but the starter is dragging. Well, I have good spark, so its probably not spinning the engine fast enough to start it.
I cringe, gamble, and spend $60.00 on a new starter from ebay. (love, ebay) The starter comes in, the starter goes in. I hit the carbs with a shot of ether, pull the choke, cross my fingers, and ping ping ping, its alive. After killing all the bugs in the neighborhood, I slowly turn on the water, with fingers still crossed. Engine is not ingesting water! Awesome!
I let all the smoke out of the engine, and slowly open the rotatory valve oil line. First time smoke, I let it idle some more, second time, success! My theory was a combination of heat and internal crank case pressure would reset the seal, and it did.
Idle idle idle, random ignition failure. I didn't care though, I had enough money to do upholstery and a new top end. Life was good. I made several test drives the next day, random mpem resets. The mpem and I are best of friends now because of that.
There is a thread titled "normal voltage" or something like that, where we wandered around until I finally had an epiphany and figured out my electrical problem. That is how I learned the first thing to do is not replace the key and DESS post. That is what the marina the previous owner used did. Turned out it had the wrong spark plugs, yea, spark plugs... Don't believe me? Put a set of B8ES plugs in your ride and watch chaos ensue.
[The parts]
So far, I have spent:
1.$60.00 Starter
2.$7.95 BR8ES spark plugs
3.$3.98 Engine degreaser
4.$1.98Clorox clean-up
5.$1.75 Bleach
6.$4.95 Mighty putty (had to bandaid that leaky jug somehow) lol
7.$36.00 Rectifier
8.$Free, time.....
Grand Total: $116.61
Money left for improvements
$333.39
This money is theoretical due to some unexpected bills. The budjet will remain that number though, just to see If I can make it out on top.
Was it worth it?
Yes 10 times over! This has been the most fun I've had with my friends and family in a long time. I couldn't ride 3-4 people on my bike, and definitely could not pull them down the river with it. I have had a blast! The boat came with half a tank, I used one quarter of that, and one full tank. So, I'm estimating I have already put 4+ hours on the boat. I would have had alot more this season, but the electrical problem kicked my ass until the middle of July. Now I'm short on gas money lol...
p.s. My buddy I mentioned that didn't like the deal, took a ride with me after I fixed it and changed his mind to "I really like the little boat, you did real good" I'm thinking about having him around at all my "bad deals" lol.....
