What will you replace your Sea Doo with in the future?

[Username Invalid]

I currently have a 2006 Speedster 200 Wake. We primarily use it for cruising around the lake. I want to wakeboard and surf off it every chance I can get, but a newborn has put a damper on my water sports ideas and going fast.

I love. I love. I love how fast this boat is. It moves. I’ve had jet skis try to race me on the lake and they’ve always looked puzzled s boat has left them in the dust. Wife doesn’t appreciate that too much, but I get a huge kick out of it.

I also like that it’s a nice looking boat, but it’s starting to look a little dated and it’s missing some of the bells and whistles of the newer boats, so I’ve been toying with the idea of upgrading, but I don’t know which way to turn. It’s also a little small, so I’d like a 24’ boat. I’ve thought about getting a 2012 230 Wake, but I’m not entirely sold. It appears the top speed is 51-53mph and it is still kind of older. I’ve looked at some Mastercraft boats and my god, they are nice, but expensive. I like the idea of getting a perfect wake to wakeboard or surf behind, but they don’t appear to move very fast. I also don’t like the idea of exposed props in the water as the kid(s) get older, so I’m leaning towards another jet boat. So, Yamaha comes to mind, but I don’t know anything about them. One thing that scares me about upgrading with bells and whistles is all of the computer conponents and LCD screens and such. I can’t imagine these parts are going to be cheap when they stop working and they will stop working. Hell, my weedless grate thingies were inoperative when I bought the boat and i’ve Removed the grates alltogether. My perfect pass doesn’t seem operative either and neither are highly technical parts. It just scares me that an LCD monitor that controls EVERYTHING is sitting there waiting to break, but these are the times we live in. All in all, I’m looking for more space, more creature comforts, speed and a jet boat.

I’m trying to get an idea as to what to look for. What say you? What will you be upgrading to and why? What’s important to you on the water?

 

[briancayko]

I think that BRP still powers Glastron, scarab & Chapparal so those may be worth looking @ since you are already familiar with them in a Sea-Doo. I have a 2010 challenger & like you really like our boat. I’m not looking now but I suppose some year down the road the Sea-Doo will be increasingly difficult to maintain parts wise & I wonder when is the right time to sell before the market value is obsolete as a result of there being no dealers around to service them & parts are rare since they are not being manufactured anymore. I look forward to hearing from the experience on this forum.

 

[gb387]

We hope to get something next summer... 23-24ft

We have been looking at Yamaha because of the prices, seem to get the most bang for your buck. We have went and looked at them, they are very nice boats and seem well built and look good! The owners are happy with them.

We have also looked at the BRP powered Chaparrals VERY NICE boats but you will pay for them. Since they are fairly new on the market there were some issues with them in the first couple years of manufacturing but they seem to have since been corrected making for a winning boat if your willing to pay the price.

I think the newest BRP powered boats do have advantages over the Yamahas but it depends on what you want to spend. Either brand of boat I would rather not have a touch screen as they seem to be a frequent complaint but its getting harder and harder to get a less optioned boat once you get into the 23+ sized boats.

Im a huge fan of BRP products and never owned any other boat/watercraft, very trouble free I have learned alot about them and know their quirks found them very easy to maintain. Ideally we would get a Chaparral but the main reason I would change to Yamaha is price and availability and they still produce a quality product.

 

[Username Invalid]

I did not realize that Chaparal ran 4-Tecs. I spent a lot of time on their website today as well as Scarab. I must say that I am impressed with Chaparral. They have a couple videos on their Vortex boats that show turn radius vs Yamaha. Because Chaparral uses BRP motors, the jet drives are the same as Sea Doo too. For me, being familiar with the boat’s power train is a huge bonus, since I’ve taken the jet pumps apart on my boat a few times as well as doing miscellaneous motor stuff. I am probably going to take a look at the Chaparral Vortex VRX one of these days really soon. Just have to get the wife on board with spending $80k.

 

[JPass]

We plan on selling our current boat in 2 years so we can get a 2009-ish Sea Ray Sundancer 270. We'd like some cover for when the rains roll in and also something we can overnite on. Not having to trailer anymore will be nice too.

 

[briancayko]

I think I remember seeing this discussed somewhere else in this forum but the Scarab line is pretty much identical to Sea-Doo. I just happen to be in a town here in Montana 3 hours away from us that started carrying Scarabs so I stopped in this morning & looked @ a new 215 scarab wake with twin 200hp sc 4tecs. It is pretty much the same boat as my 2010 challenger. (Except I don’t have the wake features). A few of the storage & seating configurations are only slightly modified, a bit less room in the engine compartment (no room for second battery) but otherwise the pumps & engines, layout, controls etc are all the same. Honestly I would think if you showed our boats to them they would probably work on them or @ least they should. Oh & they said they are selling a ton of them! Since they are such great boats! No kidding right?

 

[RFoster130]

I started with the 16 foot 98 speedster then went to the 2004 200 and now own the 2012 Challenger 230. It was a huge jump from the 200 to the 230. Even though its just over 3 feet longer, the interior of the boat feels like twice the size. its huge in comparison.With the large amount of storage and seating, its been a great family boat. Its tough to find this many features in the same price range on a prop boat. Also, Ive gotten so use to the jet boat, i honestly think ill just buy another when this one gets too old. The Chaparral Vortex 243 is pretty badass. Just hard to justify the price, but in comparison to the prop boats, its not bad at all. FYI Top seed of the 230 with 510HP is 50-53.

 

[rcookr1]

I would love to see about installing the new 1603 ACE engine in and keeping the boat longer. Does anyone know if the pump is the same or the mounting points for the engine?

 

[rcookr1]

Did anyone swap to 1603 in a ski?

 

[bpop1302]

When I'm finished with my 06 Utopia 205 SE, I'll look at a Scarab 215. Until then, my twin 155s are holding strong!

 

[jeffrt]

I had an 06 Yamaha SX210 before my 06 Sportster. Will likely go to a Yamaha 190 when the prices on used ones comes down enough to make the jump. The 21 was a bit big for what we needed, and the Sportster is just too small. Constantly hear "I miss the old boat" from the family.

 

[briancayko]

The closest dealer for any of these boats to me is 3+ hours away but if I had to choose. Between Scarab or Yamaha I’m pretty sure I would go Scarab due to familiarity & the ease of maintenance & durability of the rotax

 

[TK-6790]

This thread makes me sad........ I hope my Islandia lasts forever. ;-)

 

[gb387]

Coming from a 2010 210 Challenger owner.... I can say anyone with a Sea Doo boat isn't going to have trouble finding parts for quite sometime. The 'power packs' won't be an issue as there are more than anyone can imagine out there and more being produced everyday. As for boat parts, some might be difficult to find maybe body parts or fiberglass parts but it's hard to say. I have found a good portion of the parts are easily found online as they are common throughout the marine industry. It may take a little digging but they are out there and will be for sometime to come.

 

[10forty2]

I'm likely going to replace mine soon with a larger center console outboard. The idea of the jet boat was fun and I've enjoyed it the couple times I've had it on the lake, but for the most part, I'm more of a fishing/riding kind of guy. And I'd like to be able to fish in salt water as well. I'll probably list the Sea Doo for sale and see what's out there as far as CCs. Anyone want ot make an offer?? 2005 Speedster 200 with wake tower and awesome sound system! Superchargers just rebuilt by PWC Muscle in May 2018. What's it worth?