Utopia General Questions

[jshaley]

Greetings,

Had a sea trial of a 2001 Utopia with the 210 Carb Mercury engine. I was impressed with it starting on the first crank (I surprise the dealer, dropping in), how little smoke there was for a 2 stroke and the general condition of the boat. An older gentleman had it at his cottage and I think it mostly sat around waiting for the grand kids to visit (it does show water stains and I am worried about disuse=neglect).

I am getting a lot of knowledge from this web site but have a few questions - general in nature:

With the 210 v6 Mercruiser how much of that 40 gallon gas tank will be left at the end of an average day to cruising & tubing. I know this is very subjective, but would say 4 hours of tubing put a big dent in the fuel bill?

This Utopia is listed at just over 2000 lbs. I think that is w/o fuel weight. Does the SeaDoo trailer supplied with the boat have brakes? This one has no trailer and the dealer is suggesting one w/o brakes. I will check NY States requirements but was curious what the stock trailer had. Newer boats on his floor went both ways - lighter boats w/o and heavier boats with. He is offering a $1k credit towards a trailer.

I was amazed at the amount of storage on this boat, but never thought to look for a ski locker. Where do you stash your skis when not in use?

I would like the boat serviced before picking it up, I have to read the manual to see what sort of preventive maintenance can be done - gear oil, air filter, etc. Any tips beyond the manual (I know to look at replacing the intake grate if it is hinged - thanks to this forum).

It is from a dealer. His asking is not to far from what Boat US thinks the boat is worth, and his parts prices seem not to out of whack (will replace front cushion & bimini canvas for $500 of provide a credit). He also is promising to stand by the engine for 30 days - in his words "anything that touches oil" - so if I suck up the tow rope it is on me, but if a lose compression it is on him. Any thoughts on this? Other than get it in writing? Any details to sneak in there?

No depth sounder. I've installed these after market. With a sail boat I could get away hanging it off the stern. Does that work for a sport boat or should shooting through the hull ok. Is the hull solid enough to support this? Where does the factory put it.

Sea trials were successful but I told him I wanted to witness a compression test and manually inspect the impeller from both ends. That request is a direct result from this forum - I would not have had a clue about that before hanging around here. Thanks.

My 7 & 10 year old came along for the sea trial. The grins on their faces significantly increased wind drag. Do people tie their kids down or put rocks on their laps to keep them from flying out of the boat? Velcro bathing suits? I can see why the sales dude said "sure (he he he) bring them along"

John

 

[tarheelracer]

In response to gas, boats suck it up. I've got an 07 Utopia with twin 155's and I use 15 to 20 gallons during a full day on the water. It would be ridiculously expensive if I didn't have friends pitching in.

 

[rookie101]

John welcome to the forum.

To try and answer a few of your questions, my Utopia with the 200 fuel injected Optimax uses a full tank of fuel about every 10 hours with just normal cruising, and about every six hours with a lot of towing (wake-board and tube). With the boat your looking at having the carbureted 210 it will most likely be about 20% harder on fuel than mine, but take that with a grain of salt.

The older Utopias as far as I know did not have an in floor ski locker. I'm not a hundred percent on that with the 205, but none of the 185s had one. They call the storage bin under the rear seats a ski locker, but I've never tried putting one in it.

Try and get the dealer to do a major service on it for free as part of the deal. That would be both the gear oil and the stator oil, the water/fuel separator and new plugs. Make sure the oil tank is full as well. I only run the Quicksilver premium plus T3-W3 oil.

As for a depth finder, search "Hawkeye" and you will find lots of threads about installing one.

Lastly for a trailer, if you have to buy a new one, I would just o with one that had brakes for the extra piece of mind.

Aaron:cheers:

 

[jshaley]

Gallons Per Hour

Hmm, so I was a bit put off. Burning through the 40 gallon tank in one ten hour day was intimidating. But who tubes for 10 hours straight (insert mental images of seeking sponsors for a Lake Ontario tubing circumnavigation)?

One of the other boats I was looking at is a new Bayliner 175 with a 135HP 4 cylinder i/o. I was thinking "heck, if you add in the fuel costs it might pay to get the newer boat..."

But Boattest.com is showing the Bayliner burning 3.9GPH at 24MPH and 3k rpm. The 2001 Utopia is rated at 5.4GPH at same speed. That's fuel injected so I'd have to bump it up a bit.

No questions here, just sharing a bit of research. The idea of taking the boat out on a weeknight for an hour of tubing and that costing $18 rather than $12 is not scary. The $2 GPH variance is not going to close the gap between the two payments (but new boat vs. used boat might).

John

 

[Dr Honda]

OK… first… the fuel spec you posted up is stupid. (not you… the spec) Nobody buys a sport jet boat and runs it around at 3k RPM’s!! Actually… at 3000 RPM’s… you may fall off of a plane. My little 14.5 foot boat is just pushing water at that speed. To get it up on a step… I have to go to 6000… than once up… I can pull it back to 4500. (at the lowest) but most of the time, I’m spinning 6000 while just driving around… and very honestly… it’s up around 7000 because I’m “playing” like it’s a big PWC. I can easily burn every drop of my 27 gallon tank in an afternoon. (that’s with 720 engine. 85hp) A more realistic number is to find the WOT fuel usage. My boat is 85hp and dry is under 1000 Lbs. It’s WOT fuel is 7.8 g/hr.

Here is a very good example… I went out with a few friends on the last week, and we were camped on the beach. The boat went out 3 times for 20 to 40 minutes at a time. 2 of the trips were just spinning, jumping, and splashing… the third was pulling a tube around. When I got home… I looked at the tank, and we burnt at least 15 gallons. So… bigger boa t= more fuel. But hey… it’s all in the name of fun.

Last thing… yes, the I/O will get better fuel economy… but there is nothing like the handling of a jet boat to scare the crap out of your passengers. (I almost threw the wife out the first time I spun my boat at 40 mph:hurray

Good luck with your choice.

 

[jshaley]

rpm

Thanks for the info.

I was actually comparing speeds for tubing. I would not pull the wee ones at much past low twenties (it has been a while, I think that is still fast for tubing). So to get to around 24mph the Bayliner is burning 4.2GPH and turning 3000rpms. The SeaDoo is burning 5.4 and turning 4000rpms.

At Wide open Throttle the two boats are: speed/GPH/RPM

2009 Bayliner 175: 43.8 / 10.1 / 5000
2001 Seadoo Utopia: 45 / 18.1 / 5800

As for the shear joy of the ride, the SeaDoo is just a beast. A thrill to drive and ride. The kids were ecstatic and when I got back on dry land I found myself throwing the car around a bit trying to keep the rush going. Now, my last boat was a <5mph / 0 GPH / 0 rpm sailboat so I am easily impressed. I think the Bayliner would be fun to but no where near as much as the jet.

I've attached the two test reports.

John

 

[cjb]

Utopia..

That would defenetly be my next boat. 19ft twin 4 stroke engines no S/C. The only thing I dont like about that boat is the two person passenger seat. Other than that is perfect for me.

 

[Sikiguya]

All aspects are subjective!

The fuel consumption is very subjective. It's no different than the mpg on your car. If you read the EPA rating or the manufacturer's rating, it is usually wrong. The best thing you can do is to actually get your actual miles and divide that by the gallon used(that you refill into the car). Boat usage would be the same way. The EPA uses a very weird set of rules and usage that is not anywhere near real world. I run my boat...as needed as as warranted, i.e. no wake zone, etc. When my fuel tank gets low, I fill it up. If you are too concerned about the fuel consumption, I would probably suggest another hobby. If not, get your jet boat and have some fun!:cheers:

As to the age old prop vs jet boat, as Forrest Gump said,"That's all I have to say about that.":rofl: