The Good, the bad (and the ugly?)

[timhood]

Hi. I'm not an owner yet, but hoping to be soon. I'm looking for some guidance on my purchase. I like the Speedster 200, Challenger 180 SE or 210 SE or Islandia. I'm leaning more toward power, while my life likes the features of the Islandia. The plan would be to get a nice used model or potentially a new older model, (like an '08). Budget is up to $25K, but I wouldn't mind getting a 5, 6, 7 or even 8 year-old used model for a great price.

What models should I avoid? Are there any particular years of models to stay away from, or maybe certain engines? I'd want the engine to be 4-stroke.

So far, we've found a range of options from an older Islandia ('03, I think) up to a new '08 Speedster 200. I'd like to have 5-7 people in it while pulling 1-3 on a towable. I'll happily take any advice on the good (specific models to try to find), the bad (things I probably should avoid) and the ugly (run, down walk, away as fast as possible). Any approximate prices I should expect to pay would be helpful, too.

Thanks,

Tim

 

[Dr Honda]

If you want a 4-stroke... then you won't want the '03 Islandia. It has a V-6 Merc 2-stroke.


On that note... my personal opinion, and advice to you is to stay away from the Mercury jet drives. They were used for a few year by SeaDoo, but then they abandoned them for the new 4-stroke Rotax. The real problem is that SeaDoo no longer supports them, and some Merc dealers won't work on them either. Also, parts are very expensive. The Merc drives are very reliable... but when you have problems, the repair prices can quickly exceed the value of the boat.

If you can work on your own boat, it isn't as bad... but if you have to take it to a dealer for service... stick with your original comment about wanting a 4-stroke.


Just any FYI... they started putting the 4-strokes in the boats around '04... but they still used the Merc up to the '06 model year. I can't tell you when each model changed over... but I know the 05 Islandia is a Merc, and the 06 is a twin Rotax.

 

[unclejay]

Yamaha

In that price range, you should look at a Yamaha jet boat. They are extremely well put together, bulletproof engines, and many very nice features - most important being the ability to clean debris out of the impellers from above, while on the water. This makes a huge difference.

Their only drawback is, down on power compared to Sea Doo. Yamaha is very conservative with engines, no superchargers in boats, less horsepower. But very few complaints from owners.

I came back to a small Sea Doo for the power, but was very happy with myy Yamaha SX210. Ignore list prices, shop around and try eBay. A late model Yamaha would be in that price range easily.

 

[daverade]

you would want to get on a yamaha forum to find out more about one of those powerless hoopties....FOR THIS IS A SEA-DOO FORUM.....we be representin' dem SEA-DOO's homie!!!!!:ack:for yamies

 

[timhood]

In that price range, you should look at a Yamaha jet boat. They are extremely well put together, bulletproof engines, and many very nice features - most important being the ability to clean debris out of the impellers from above, while on the water. This makes a huge difference.

Their only drawback is, down on power compared to Sea Doo. Yamaha is very conservative with engines, no superchargers in boats, less horsepower. But very few complaints from owners.

Interesting you should mention that, unclejay. I had a friend suggest Yammies. I looked over the model line but didn't research them for a couple of reasons: 1) it seems like they are sticking with larger boats, and though I'd like a larger boat, cost and fitting into the garage would become an issue. 2) I haven't seen them for sale used locally.

Also, like you mentioned, they do seem to have less power. In fact, Yamaha doesn't seem to even quote power on some models on their web site. (?!) To keep this more SeaDoo related, how much power should be enough for me?

 

[JoeZ]

A Speedster 200 without superchargers is about as much fun and as reliable as you can get. Just ask KustomKarl

 

[daverade]

and it looks super sick too....