A pwc or speedster???

[ssmith74]

Hi all, I'm new here and would like some input as to whether I would be better off with a 3-seater pwc or a something like a speedster. I don't currently own a seadoo yet but I will by summer, my old 1968 Hamilton jetboat has been retired due to a lack of motivation and the cost of restoring it. I mostly tube on the water with some occasional wakeboarding, I have to keep to a smaller vessel because I only have a CRV to tow with. I do like the ability to have friends with me when I'm out on the water but I'm thinking necessity verses luxury. Any input would be great, also I only have a budget of about $3000-5000 to play with. What models do you guys recommend??

Thanks

 

[seadoosnipe]

Border line?...

Hi all, I'm new here and would like some input as to whether I would be better off with a 3-seater pwc or a something like a speedster. I don't currently own a seadoo yet but I will by summer, my old 1968 Hamilton jetboat has been retired due to a lack of motivation and the cost of restoring it. I mostly tube on the water with some occasional wakeboarding, I have to keep to a smaller vessel because I only have a CRV to tow with. I do like the ability to have friends with me when I'm out on the water but I'm thinking necessity verses luxury. Any input would be great, also I only have a budget of about $3000-5000 to play with. What models do you guys recommend??

Thanks

This is well written because your so much right on top of the border line, it's almost creepy.

It's like, "oh yeah, he wants a PWC"... Then in the next sentence, you state your looking to have some friends over to hang out with.

I believe the best thing for you to do is decide what you want, since they both serve two entirely different purposes. With the Ski, you can have one or two friends (if you go with the 3 seater) over for a ride. If you decide to go with the boat, you can still only have 2-4 friends over, depending on what size boat you get.

For the price range, here in the southern U.S...., that money would buy either a ski or boat from about 1999 and older. I don't know about British Columbia though. I have a feeling everything is a bit more expensive up there............:cheers:

 

[96seadooxpBC]

"For the price range, here in the southern U.S...., that money would buy either a ski or boat from about 1999 and older. I don't know about British Columbia though. I have a feeling everything is a bit more expensive up there............"

you have NO idea, people charge an arm an a leg for these things up here.. i saw a 98 challenger going for 10,200.. enough said.

you are in the dilemma i had when first deciding to buy seadoo.. boat or pwc.
i eventually went with the ski because prices for the boats up here are pretty unreasonable, i still would really like to take my friends out too.. but what can you do, i made my decision and dont regret it a bit, theres nothing like going nuts on a good xp/gtx etc.

all you need to decide is if you wanna get wet, wild and roudy with 1 or 2 friends ( personal ) or have a fairly dry but still intense ride with the option of 4.. ( boat ).

 

[seadoosnipe]

yeah, I figured...

"For the price range, here in the southern U.S...., that money would buy either a ski or boat from about 1999 and older. I don't know about British Columbia though. I have a feeling everything is a bit more expensive up there............"

you have NO idea, people charge an arm an a leg for these things up here.. i saw a 98 challenger going for 10,200.. enough said.

you are in the dilemma i had when first deciding to buy seadoo.. boat or pwc.
i eventually went with the ski because prices for the boats up here are pretty unreasonable, i still would really like to take my friends out too.. but what can you do, i made my decision and dont regret it a bit, theres nothing like going nuts on a good xp/gtx etc.

all you need to decide is if you wanna get wet, wild and roudy with 1 or 2 friends ( personal ) or have a fairly dry but still intense ride with the option of 4.. ( boat ).

Good reply. I kinda figured that. I made a stop over in Halifax back in the 80's and I remember going out to buy a pack of smokes. Back then, that pack of smokes in the U.S was about .75 cents. Up there, it was like $3.25! I freaked!. .... So, yes, I do know about the prices being so high. But, no real idea of how high Seadoo's were going for.

I paid $2000 for my 97 GTX with 106 hours on it. It was in showroom condition. All original and looked like it had never seen the water.

I hope you can find something other than a 1989 SP for under $5K........:cheers:

 

[ssmedt]

wow that stinks about the prices up there; i got my 2001 Challenger for $4600. But having both a challenger and a GTX I enjoy and spend a lot more time on my boat then I do the ski, but that is my opinion

 

[Dr Honda]

I've been playing with PWC since the late 70's when all we had were Kawi JS400's, home made single seat boats, and the rare SeaDoo single.

Anyway... right now I own a 96 Sportster, and a Yamaha SuperJet. (can't give up on my stand-up's)

The last few PWC I've owned were large 2-stroke sit-down's. I also like to call a few buddies up, and go to the lake. A few things to think about. Since it will be your watercraft...

1) how willing are you to let your buddies take it out without you? if you don't share, they won't keep coming out

2) Are your buddies "good guys?" If they brake it, will they help with labor or give cash to fix it?

3) Are your buddies willing to throw in some cash for fuel without being asked? I had a Yamaha GP1200 and we could burn 50 gallons of fuel in a day at the lake. That, and 2-stroke oil gets expensive.


My group of friends is varied. I have a few that will hand me cash, and not even think about it. I also have a few that will offer to bring the food, and snacks for a day at the lake. Then... I have a few that you almost have to get into a fist fight to get a few $$$ off of them. When that group comes out... I would bring my XL700 and the superjet. Why you may ask?? The stand up is hard to ride, and even the guys who want to play with it... they don't hold the throttle open for more than a few seconds at a time. If that is getting run all day (other than me riding it) it will burn less than 5 gallons of fuel. The Yamaha XL700 is a fun 3 person sit-down... but it burns almost no fuel. Most of the time... even if it's out then entire day, it will only use 15 to 20 gallons of fuel. (and in the 4 years I owned it, it was almost zero maintenance)

PWC are fun... but they get expensive if your buddies don't give $$$ freely.

Right now, I have my little boat because I have a 3 year old kid. When she was born... the first summer, we didn't go to the water at all. The year after, we would go... but the wife would just sit on the beach. (no fun) So the following spring, I got my sportster. Last summer was a blast!!! the wife cold come out, and so could the kid. You can stay dry if you want... or you can run it hard, and get eveyone soaked. You can swim off of it... you can park in the middle of the lake and have your lunch... or you can pull a toy behind it. Even if you have 5 or 6 friends come out... you can still set up "Camp" on the beach, and take turns.

The best thing about the boat is... it will get much less abuse than a PWC from your friends.

OK... with all that said... I don't think I would get a big or standard type of boat boat. the little 14.5' SeaDoo's are just over sized PWC. you can spin them, jump waves, and sub them. All stuff I wouldn't do in a normal open bow boat. (although I do like the Islandia) Also... the little SeaDoo boats are easy for one person to launc if you want to go by yourself.

I like my boat... and I'll keep it around for a few more years... but next summer, I will probably look for a cheap sit-down again for personal use. (when the kid will be old enough to hold on)

Just a little insight from someone who has done both sides. :cheers: