A boat and a JetSki?

[gerryb]

I think I want someone to talk me out of this and tell me that it's really a bad idea.

We've never owned a jetski but are now thinking about buying an '02 Kawasaki Ultra which is attractively priced (around $4K) and with only 35 hours. Something tells me I'm past the age where the fun factor would overcome the costs, maintenance and other headaches. And we really enjoy our 280 alot. Wondering what others on the board with Jet Skis (or who have owned jetskis in the past) would recommend?

 

[Scholarship]

Gerryb...I gave it some thought last fall. We pull our boys behind the 280 on a tube which gets pretty expensive given fuel prices. I thought a used jetski would be good for pulling the boys, be cheaper on gas, and provide a distraction for the boys when we just want to relax at anchor. That said, I decided that caring for one more mechanical device at the lake was more than I wanted to take on this year. Maybe when the boys are a little older. Also, you can buy a lot of gas for $4,000.

There's a guy in the slip behind me that has two jetskis and a 22 foot ski boat all nicely bundeled on their own lifts. The boat is out quite a bit but the jetskis get very little action. I've told the owner that I may be interested in buying one of the jetskis and its lift if he ever wants to sell. So far he's not motivated enough to sell but it would be a convenient purchase for me if he ever changes his mind. I believe that I'll end up buying one sooner or later so let me know how it goes.

 

[Bottom Line]

I think I want someone to talk me out of this and tell me that it's really a bad idea.

We bought a Sea Doo this year (2002 GTI). It is awesome....we have a blast on it. My kids ( 16 & 12) love to ride it. We all took awater safety class....in Missouri, kids must have to operate watercraft. Over the 4th of July weekend...my oldest even wanted to get up at 8:00am to go out and ride the Sea Doo while the water was extremely smooth....normally she does not roll out of bed until 10am.

We also have pulled a tube behind it...works great....oney thing to watch if you pull a tube....you will probably pull the tube faster with the PWC, than you will with your boat.

 

[comsnark]

Over the last five years, I have gone beserk. I have two jetskis, the 280SS and no kids.

One jetski is old and slow. . .and sees use only when guests are down. I would sell it if I could find a buyer (it's that old). The other jetski saw good use last year, but is seeing light use this year. It has been out maybe every third weekend. Last year it was out every weekend.

With kids around. . .I think a jetski would see a fair bit of use. It also teaches kids basic boating savvy at an early age. I have towed a single jetski out to our local anchoring area for day use: Works well!

Costs: First. . you have to realize that jetskis come in pairs. If you actually use it. . it won't be long until you are using two.

Fuel burn is about 5 gallons per hour. Maintenance in my area is about $180 per year per ski. ($90 spring tuneup, $90 fall winterization). Liability insurance is a killer: My area $500K runs about $275.

Logistics is a key factor: I have a house with a dock. Jetski is dumped into the water when needed via a crane. Tying it up to a piling is no big deal on Saturday night, and theft is a non-issue.

If you are in a marina: where is the jetski? Are you going to trailer it? If so. . then where is the jetski once it is in the water? If you go out on the boat for five hours without the ski. . .are you putting the jetski in your slip? What happens when you return to your slip? Is this now a 10 minute ordeal while you juggle "parking"?

I wouldn't bother with a ski if I had to trailer it every week. I trailered one ski for one season to the local ramp. Ramp line. Can't use ramp after dark. $5 every time. Total pain. I bought a crane at the start of the second season.

The other part of logistics is the maintenance time side. My jetski mechanic is mobile: He makes house calls (very important, since my jetskis are different makes). Last fall, I had my SeaRay hauled at 9am sharp, and brought to my house. Boat mechanic showed up at 10am to do winterization. Jetski mechanic showed up at 3pm to do jetski winterization. This spring: boat mechanic at house at 9am, jetski mechanic at house at 3pm; with boat launch 9am the following morning. This timing worked because I setup everything 3 weeks in advance. Very convienient.

 

[tphinney]

Jetski's are fun i had an SeaDoo XP from 1995 to 2005 and the maintanence was really a none issue. they reall issue was as I got older it would hurt me more.

such as :
broken fingers
hernia
bum knee
serveral High speed ejections


these things are not toys for kids as most state now have regulations preventing anyone under 12 from opperating a Ski. in some states it might even be older.

Also many skis can not be towed with out pinching off the hose from the impeller. Some will actually sink if you try to tow them.

it's your decision, but at 40 my ski days are done. it just take too long to recover from injuries.

 

[skolbe]

I just sold a Kawasaki Ultra 150 - I didn't use it enough to deal with the hassle of it. This ski is extremely fast. It was reliable as well. It is something where if you sell the ski in a few years and keep it nice you will get your money back.

 

[Larry&Leisa]

The admiral and I at 50somethingorother have had a blast on them. Sure we don't do the crazy stuff on them but I will admit to have jumped a few waves. It's sort of like a motorcycle on the water to me. The go fast, water spray in your face kind of fun. We have also used it to tow water toys with the grandkids and get to places quickly on the lake and explore areas we might not in the boat. As far as maintenance its really been a non issue as we bought these new 3 seasons ago. Comshark brings u psome good issues about the logistics. We only have to go a block to drop them in and then we put in a jetdock to park them at the lakehouse for the weekend. It sounds to me like you can try it out for not much $$ .. then you can sell em at the start of next season and probably not lose anything.

 

[Presentation]

Yes – get the jet ski.

Wait….they only seat three and you get wet. So don’t get the jet ski, get the jet boat like the little 180 challenger.

Now that I think about it, they are so much fun, others will want to join you. Don’t get the 180, get the 230 challenger.

However, being jet driven, then can give you a very bumpy ride, so get a boat with a outdrive and a small cuddy so the kids will have room to take a nap.

Of course you may want to spend some nights onboard so may as well get a 260 Sundancer.

You will want two engines for safety incase one engine fails and docking plus may as well pick up some more room. Two engines will not fit in the 260 so.......

What you really need is a second 280 Sundancer!
:smt043

 

[STIHLBOLTS]

I am on my 2nd ski and wife has her 1st on her own. Both Yamaha's 1200 and 800.

We enjoy riding the skis in rivers and lakes. Part of the fun for us is that I have a group of friends that we ride with just like we meet up with SR folks. Ski's have their down side when not properly taken care of or used by a knowledgeable rider, either younger or older.

tp your much too young to be giving up ski's just yet, we have 3 folks that are over 60 who ride with us. :lol:

 

[comsnark]

Also many skis can not be towed with out pinching off the hose from the impeller. Some will actually sink if you try to tow them.

YIKES!!

I didn't know that. I better do some reading. . because I am bound to tow again. 15' of line while near dock. 50' line when on open water on plane. Not quite far enough back, as the rooster tail from the twin drives was drenching the ski. (had the same problem with tubers: needed to be 75' behind the boat)

 

[skolbe]

Yes - you can hydrolock the motors if you don't do this. I found towing the jetski to be a pain. I would just take the boat out and have someone meet us out there with the ski.

 

[Larry&Leisa]

http://greenhulk.net/forums/showthread.php?t=23934

shows a cutoff valve you can use to pinch off the hose....

 

[casey344]

Jetski

I have both and enjoy them equally. Very different feel and ride with only the water in common. I rarely use mine along with the boat, it's usually one or the other. I trailer both boat and jetskis.

I'd compare it to having a motorcycle and a car. Different machines altogether.

I'd definately stick with a 3-seater unless you've already spent a bunch of time on a 2-seater and liked it. My 3-seater can't jump and do tricks like a 2-seater but it's so much more comfortable and I don't get wet when I don't want to.

Maintenance as mentioned is certainly a drawback. That machine with 35 hours sounds like it's hardly been used, I'd definately have it checked out. With that amount of hours I'm sure the carburator(s) will need some attention. A full carb rebuild kit is roughly $40 per carb + a couple hours labor.

A survey saved my a$$ last year from buying a lemon that "ran great the year before". I fix my own stuff but if you're handy or can afford not to be it's a non-issue. They all break and they all need to be maintained. Especially in the hands of the younger crowd ... they know two speeds, no throttle and full throttle. :thumbsup:

Good luck! They're alot of fun.

 

[comsnark]

Well. . .I certainly learned a few things about towing ski's today. I won't be towing again. Towning at hull speed is depressing.

I also learned that while I could download my 1997 Seadoo manual. . the 1993 Kawasaki manual will cost me $15. (Hardcopies are two hours away at the moment).

I agree that Jetskis and Powerboats are way different. The only way they play together is (1) The powerboat creates waves for the jetskis to jump or (2) you bring everything out to the anchor spot, and alternate between lounging and JetSking. (The later really doesn't work if you are a trailer person or a marina person)

- - - - - - -

Not to turn this into a jetski forum: But I really think the ground rules for buying jetskis are different than buying boats. The biggest difference is the money. $4K for a jetski is waaaay different than $80K for a boat. Less inherent risk. Absolute worst case is you are out $4k. If you need a new moter. . .that might be 1/2 the value of the ski . . . . .

I bought two used. The most important factor in both cases was a judgement on what the previous owner was about. Don't buy from a teenager, or someone who has teenagers in the family. Don't buy from someone whose house is a cesspool. You buy from people that are older and meticulous.

I have had good luck this way.

_________________

BTW: If buying used in 2007, I think at this point you want to restrict yourself to four-stroke engines. Older skis may be two stroke.

__________________

Beware: Insurance ain't cheap on jetskis.

 

[RedGST]

I've had / ridden waverunners for 8+ years.

The Kawi Ultra is a nice machine - but be forewarned - they were made to really be a one person performance machine.

If you're looking to tow others / ride double - I really wouldnt recommend that machine.

Now if you're looking for a little fun for yourself... thats a beautiful machine (PS - I bet you could still talk them down in price)

And x2 to the towing w/o pinching the water inlet line.

This will flood the engine.

If it DOES happen, make sure to immediately start the ski up and run it for 30 min to 1hr to get the water out of the engine. (If it is too flooded to start, pull the spark plugs, and crank the engine - you'll have a nice water show - dry off the plugs and get'er started up) Fogging it afterwards is a plus.

Leaving water in a waverunner's engine is basically a rapid cancer to the engine...

 

[marqbloq]

GerryB, here you go. In June my wife wanted a new Sea Doo PWC for her birthday. I went shopping and after negotiations I thought to myself, gee these are expensive (and I did not want to buy used for lots of reasons). I also thought, if we get one we'll need another so she can ride with one of the kids and I can ride with one of the kids. Well how much fun is that and what if we have friends with us? So I started looking at used ski boats and for the price of one Sea Doo Wake with trailer I purchased a beautiful 1997 Alpina edition Ski Brendella with 228 hours on it, 350 MAG Ski Tournament Velvet Drive power train, custom dual axle Ryan trailer, custom boat cover, custom 13th Floor wake board tower, hot/cold water shower, three speed heater and had just been totally serviced end to end. It is a beautiful boat, get complements all the time and my wife has thanked me over and over for going this direction instead of the PWC. We entertain our friends, wake board, tube, ski and run adventures all the time and at a cost far less than running our gas hungry 320DA. The best of all worlds!

 

[ehaze]

I wouldn't bother with it!

We HAD a jet ski at my lake house for a few years and it was nothing but trouble. Guests were the only people that ever rode it and that was an issue within itself. They would come to visit and say they had ridden jet skis in the past... next thing you knew they are bumping into the dock or almost running into other boats.


Our neighbors let a guest ride one of their jet skis a few summers back. The guy didn’t know that you have to give the jet ski a little gas to turn it and ended up hitting their dock doing about 20mph. Needles to say, he ended up in the hospital (nothing serious), had to get the jet ski fixed, and had to have the dock repaired.

 

[tobnpr]

Here's my $.02 FWIW...

Most of us have a finite amount of leisure time. So, how much do you have?
Is it going to be a choice between using the PWC's or the boat each weekend? Do you have to trailer them to the ramp?
I live on the water and have my boat and two PWCs floating in the backyard. At high tide, I can hop on and cut through the mangroves; five minutes and I'm out in the gulf ridin'. No fuss, no muss- a quick hour or less and I'm back. And it doesn't come down to a choice between the boat and the PWC's.
After we bought our PWC's, some boating friends thought they were great fun and went out and spent nearly $25K on a couple of brandy-new Kawasakis. They don't live on the water- and never use them! Told me a couple of weeks ago he hasn't ridden them in nearly a year and is going to sell them; prefers to use the boat when time allows.

In any case, I think you're going the right way with a used ski. The new ones are ridiculous $$, and you won't feel as guilty with a $4K ski sitting unused as a $12K one...

 

[Gunn]

it's your decision, but at 40 my ski days are done. it just take too long to recover from injuries.

Did you type that correctly? You are saying all that when you are...40...??? Yikes, I'm 36 and feel better than I did at 26. Still hop on the 'ole skateboard occasionally and mountain bike all the time. I hope I don't fall apart at 40 like it sounds. Now you got me scared. :smt089

 

[Sua Sponte]

Resurrecting this old thread to show off my sled.

In 2012 we bought a Kawi 300X, which at the time, was the biggest baddest sled out there at 300 HP. Put ~200 hours on it over the next decade. In 2022 it blew a piston. I am on the website Greenhulk and learned that 200 hours is a normal expected life for that sled if you ride it hard.

Went to the Kawi dealer and tried to buy a new one....10 more HP; the 310X. Was told that die to COVID delays, getting product (especially that model) was difficult ad would be at least a 18-month wait.

Did some homework. Found a racing shop on Long Island that specializes in building racing sleds. Drove it out there and they had it a year to build a forged internals motor that runs on 94+ octane. Got it back last year and it a beast. Demonic acceleration out of the hole and a top end of 90 MPH (I do not go that fast on it).

It now makes around ~425 HP.

I just had it wrapped and love the results.

This is my 12-year old sled with a new racing motor and a new look.