Testing the waters...

[Bent]

'scuse the catchy first post title,
Can anyone tell me howmany of the earlier Sea-Doo boats had a VTS?

I'd like to start with a 110 hp Challenger and see if it does what I want (pull some kids on tubes and skis, and on the odd occasion an adult).

I have three kids, wife not too interested in water sports.
There is usually one- two kids in the boat as well as me, and one-two kids on a tube (teenagers at the oldest).

Thanks in advance.

 

[kustomkarl]

Welcome to the seadoo forum Bent. I owned a 1997 challenger with a 110hp single engine. It had a VTS that was a manual one, cable operated. It worked perfect all the time. I have seen tons of the pwc's have the electrical one that break down all the time. There are lots of members here that will chime in on the VTS use, I'm sure...

Karl

 

[vilord]

I may be wrong, but I think that the challenger 14.5' is the only one in the series with trim controls. Since it is a boat, though, you can always add on adjustable trim tabs.

 

[kustomkarl]

I was just digging in the archives for the "after market trim adjuster" with no luck....I have seen them in the forum before...I'll keep looking, and repost when I find it.

Karl

 

[Bent]

Thanks guys
the more I read, the more it looks like a single engine challenger would be my best bet for a first jet boat. I'm an old sledder (snowmobiler for you folks down in Florida) at heart, and am quite comfortable with 2-smoke engines. I presently have a 30 year old f/g 15' tri-hull open-bow runabout with a 70 hp merc outboard that doesn't perform to my expectations when pulling kids on tubes, but the locals here say the waters I boat in now have submerged rocks that have eaten lots of bottom ends on outboards's and I/O's - they look at me with disbelief when I tell them I haven't hit anything yet.

prop strikes and skeg strikes are too expensive for me,
I like the idea of the shallow draft that a Sea-Doo boat at planing speed offers.

 

[vilord]

Only thing you need to be careful of with the jet boats is if any of those rocks are small (2 inches and under), they can be sucked up by the jet. If one gets sucked in, it can destroy the impeller and/or do more damage.

If you are comfortable repairing such things, I think it is about $30 for a reworked impeller and another $30 for a wear ring, plus a few hours to put it in.

Obviously this is cheaper than repairing/replacing a prop or skeg, but if the prop gets bent on an outboard, you can still limp home, if you suck up a large rock, you might be paddling.


At the same time, I love my '97 challenger 14 (first trip this past weekend) it is a blast! Only can get 4 people on it (your 15' tri-hull might be able to hold more), and its a rough ride in rough waters, but I'm still very happy.

-Jesse

 

[DiveMode]

Twin engines are really cool too!! And they sound great as well.... Good hole shot power when you're pulling boarders, skiiers and tubers!! Just my 2 cents worth!!

 

[kustomkarl]

That's the exact reason I own a seadoo. It only drafts 12" at speed safely. My 26' Chris Craft drafts 36", so I only use it for off shore scuba diving.

Karl