Seadoo from Amsterdam | shall I buy it?

[magnatron]

Hi guys,

I'm a petrolhead that loves vehicles, motorcycles and boats, but this seadoo bombardier 1988 caught my eye.

The guy wants €900 for it, with a trailer included, and says: needs a carb rebuild? Put away 5 years ago. But doesn't run now.

What are you guys advice?

Kind regards from Holland!

 

[whitewheels]

Donno, looks neglected but not trashed, but can be a can of worms engine and drivetrain wise. I',m thinking rust, seased impeller,seased pistons. It's pretty vintage so thats worth something.
Recon you'll spend at least €450 on it.
Do you work on your machine yorselfe? Thats gona help you spending less.
Trailer you mention isn't the one it's sitting on now I hope?

 

[mikidymac]

First off that is not an 1988, that is a 1990 SPi.
The engine in it is not the single carb 580 that the ski came with and looks like someone has swapped in a 650 dual carb engine from a newer model.

Also the wiring has been hacked up so that thing hasn't run it quite a while and needs way more than just the carbs rebuilt.

Definitely a huge can of worms.

 

[magnatron]

First off that is not an 1988, that is a 1990 SPi.
The engine in it is not the single carb 580 that the ski came with and looks like someone has swapped in a 650 dual carb engine from a newer model.

Also the wiring has been hacked up so that thing hasn't run it quite a while and needs way more than just the carbs rebuilt.

Definitely a huge can of worms.

Thanks so much man, really appreciate your reply.
Interesting, it's not original anymore. Very good to know!

Gonna have a look tomorrow at it.

[emoji106][emoji106]

 

[magnatron]

Donno, looks neglected but not trashed, but can be a can of worms engine and drivetrain wise. I',m thinking rust, seased impeller,seased pistons. It's pretty vintage so thats worth something.
Recon you'll spend at least €450 on it.
Do you work on your machine yorselfe? Thats gona help you spending less.
Trailer you mention isn't the one it's sitting on now I hope?

Yeah I do everything myself.

I have a compression tester, can I check compression? Can you move the crank somehow?

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

pass.

 

[Ckrawiec]

Couple of thoughts:
1) if the Hull ID plate is still riveted into the hull somewhere, the last 2 digits will confirm the year of the build. IF it is missing, caution.....WHY is it missing???? Theft? Subterfuge? ???? Does the ski come with the right paperwork? - I don't know what it would take in Holland to legally put it on the water, but keep that in mind as well. I've also heard that Seedoo might have also put a ID plate in the hull UNDER the engine.
2) MIKI knows his stuff, so what he already said is DEFINATELY food for thought...caveat emptor
3) these purchasing decisions of course, always rest on the buyer and his abilities to wrench....and an old SEEDOO will try your patience AND your wallet at EVERY turn of a bolt or screw.....
4) IF you have the patience, intestinal fortitude and the resources to tackle a project of this nature (AND IT WILL BE A PROJECT and IT WILL TEST your financial resources).....go for it......BUT know before hand that you may ultimately fail....the only harm in trying though is your willingness to part with your time and $$$$$.
5) The engine bay and the electrical components are an absolute mess....BUT you can generally find all the right manuals and wiring diagrams for most any OLD ski (they are FREE)....but first you need to figure out what you actually ARE dealing with...old hull, non original engine, etc.......
6) If the ski was FREE or damn near free....I'd take it just to play with it.....otherwise.....let it rest in pieces, where is AS IS...
BTW: There is no such thing as a FREE ski......Personally speaking, I think men in general have a genetic defect to think we can FIX anything ( I am guilty as sin of that), but in the end.....the knowledge gained along the way (even in failure) has been immeasurable.

If you do it....good luck, the forum is here to help and pointers to all the necessary parts and resources are just clicks away.....we also love a challenge and most of us knuckleheads truly enjoy resurrecting old machines.

PS: A good pressure wash will make that thing LOOK 100% better right off the bat.....it is always best to start with a clean machine (exterior anyway)....it'll boost your morale at least.

PSS: 900 Euros is roughly $1,100.00 US dollars....NFW I'd pay $1,100.00 for that machine....I bought a maintained and running 1996 GTX - 6 years ago for $1,000.00. You are gonna need at least another 500E (most likely a lot more than that to resurrect that ski). PASS, PASS, PASS unless the seller comes to reason. Looks like a project just to get it out of its resting place too.

 

[Ckrawiec]

First off that is not an 1988, that is a 1990 SPi.
The engine in it is not the single carb 580 that the ski came with and looks like someone has swapped in a 650 dual carb engine from a newer model.

Also the wiring has been hacked up so that thing hasn't run it quite a while and needs way more than just the carbs rebuilt.

Definitely a huge can of worms.

MIKI,

Question?? The sticker (looks original) on the hull clearly says 1988 - 5803. You say it is a 1990....-just curious as to WHY? What is the distinction/give away?

No doubt this ski has been tinkered with though....that's obvious just by looking in it

 

[DanSquires]

I dont know about ski values or availability in Amsterdam, but here in the states I wouldn't waste the money on the gasoline to set it on fire.

 

[mikidymac]

MIKI,

Question?? The sticker (looks original) on the hull clearly says 1988 - 5803. You say it is a 1990....-just curious as to WHY? What is the distinction/give away?

No doubt this ski has been tinkered with though....that's obvious just by looking in it

The "Sticker" in question is the hull certification sticker that was approved in 1988 and applies to all of those early hulls from 1989-1992 so seadoo just kept reprinting them. That "1988" has absolutely nothing to do with the ski model year. Technically there was no 1988, the first year of that hull was 1989.

The giveaway are the graphics on the ski.....

1989


1990


1991 SPi, BINGO!


As said above that is at best, a $250 U.S. dollar ski.

 

[magnatron]

Guys, thank you so much for all the prompt replies!
What a great info!!

[emoji122][emoji122][emoji122]

The guy did not react anymore... And he raised his price again. So..... Not paying too much attention now.. maybe he comes back to me for €200 haha

 

[Ckrawiec]

The "Sticker" in question is the hull certification sticker that was approved in 1988 and applies to all of those early hulls from 1989-1992 so seadoo just kept reprinting them. That "1988" has absolutely nothing to do with the ski model year. Technically there was no 1988, the first year of that hull was 1989.

The giveaway are the graphics on the ski.....

1989
View attachment 52645

1990
View attachment 52646

1991 SPi, BINGO!
View attachment 52647

As said above that is at best, a $250 U.S. dollar ski.

Thanks man....you are a fountain of knowledge (HOW do you know all that stuff - I know, I know, age and experience and just plain old interest).....sumbitch....GRAPHICS!

 

[mikidymac]

Thanks man....you are a fountain of knowledge (HOW do you know all that stuff - I know, I know, age and experience and just plain old interest).....sumbitch....GRAPHICS!

Yes, and being a bit of a seadoo nut helps too.

 

[Chester]

The "Sticker" in question is the hull certification sticker that was approved in 1988 and applies to all of those early hulls from 1989-1992 so seadoo just kept reprinting them. That "1988" has absolutely nothing to do with the ski model year. Technically there was no 1988, the first year of that hull was 1989.

The giveaway are the graphics on the ski.....

1989
View attachment 52645

1990
View attachment 52646

1991 SPi, BINGO!
View attachment 52647

As said above that is at best, a $250 U.S. dollar ski.

Actually, that picture is an 88. They are rare and the only year that had a clamshell seat assembly, hinged at the rear. The 89 had a removeable seat like they all do now.
http://www.seadoosource.com/seadoomodelreference.html
Chester

 

[mikidymac]

Actually, that picture is an 88. They are rare and the only year that had a clamshell seat assembly, hinged at the rear. The 89 had a removeable seat like they all do now.
http://www.seadoosource.com/seadoomodelreference.html
Chester

Thanks Chester. I know about the rare clamshell seat but everything I saw only went back to 1989.
To be honest I don’t go back that far for first hand knowledge as I was only 12, lol.

 

[Ckrawiec]

Just to throw a little gas on the fire.....I don't think (based on the info given so far) the OP photo is a 1988 ski. According to Chester a 1988 ski would have a rear hinged seat....but if you look closely, you can see a seat release latch at the back of the ski seat AND the OP downward photo clearly shows the seat OFF the machine (i.e NOT hinged at the rear). SO, boys and girls....what do we in fact have here ????????

 

[Ckrawiec]

The clamshell seat assembly pre-dates 1988....see attached photo of a 1987 ski (fully restored).

Based on some additional research (COVID bored)...the OP ski photos are most likely an '88 / '89 vintage......once the clamshell rear hinged seat was changed to a removable seat.

PS: Found a YouTube video of the original 1968 Seedoo "Aqua Scooters" running on the St. Lawrence River....they day-tripped the ski's from Montreal to NYC (running through Lake Chaplain and down the Hudson)....crazy Canucks!

 

[mikidymac]

The clamshell seat assembly pre-dates 1988....see attached photo of a 1987 ski (fully restored).

Based on some additional research (COVID bored)...the OP ski photos are most likely an '88 / '89 vintage......once the clamshell rear hinged seat was changed to a removable seat.

PS: Found a YouTube video of the original 1968 Seedoo "Aqua Scooters" running on the St. Lawrence River....they day-tripped the ski's from Montreal to NYC (running through Lake Chaplain and down the Hudson)....crazy Canucks!

It's a 1991 SPi unless someone went to all the trouble of getting the OEM decals and purple hood.

I think Chester was only referring to the fact that I said 1989 was the first year.

 

[Ckrawiec]

It's a 1991 SPi unless someone went to all the trouble of getting the OEM decals and purple hood.

I think Chester was only referring to the fact that I said 1989 was the first year.

Yep, 1991 would be right, although I couldn't find a picture of a ski with those blue square graphics down the nose....and I looked.

Were there different graphic packages for different geographical markets perhaps???? IDK?

 

[mikidymac]

No, if you look closely you can see someone has added the blue themselves, that is not factory.
Especially at the rear corner you can see they put the blue over the original yellow and purple. It should also have a yellow seat, not blue.

 

[magnatron]

Hi guys, haha what an active thread, awesome. I did not buy it! I choose for a 2nd hand engine for my motorboat.

Anyway, offtopic;

2 cilinder
4 stroke
High trust
Electronic start

!!! Maybe in the future I'll be back to buy a seadoo!

 

[Ckrawiec]

Probably a wise decision....that ski looked like a $$$$$ pit! It would have been fun to tinker on it, but not at the price it was asking for.....nfw! More than likely...it'll die in place and will eventually cost someone something to dispose of it....oh the indignity of it all!