Learn me: Buying used jet boats and skis

I live near a major river. I live near lots of lakes with public launches. I want to use them and spend time with the kids. I don't know anything about these things whatsoever except that I have used outboards of various sizes, docked them and trailered them but they were never mine.

I like the idea of a bow-rider style jetboat because rivers can be shallow and you can't always take a prop out if levels aren't good. And I can take the whole family out - swim from it, etc. I'm looking for something that could pull a skiier, do a little fishing, cruise around.... basically a general purpose watercraft that seats 4-6 in case I want to invite friends.

jetskis appeals to me as well, mainly, because my kids always beg me to rent them on vacation and I do like to rip around on one myself. I'd need 2 singles and a double here. It doesn't seem as useful or flexible as a boat but maybe more fun/easier to manage for shorter trips to the local water.

BUT - I have no idea what I'm looking at when I'm looking. Who makes good stuff? What do I need to know to not get berkeleyed on a piece of junk? Ideally I'd like to pick up something serviceable, inexpensive and use it before the season ends to gauge whether I really want to go all in... (like if I'm the only one getting up early to go boating I don't need a boat) and then move from there so I'm not looking for a perfect specimen. I'm looking for the E28 of jet boats/skis.

We can dispense with the "hole in the water" jokes right away as well

Do a sea trial of ANYTHING you buy. May run great on a hose, and absolutely doe on the water under load.

Start small if your just trying it out. I started with a little 12' aluminum boat with a little outboard.

Bow Riders are fun

Jet boats - Bombardier (Seadoo)

They are a blast

Beware - there's a reason why it's called Boat - Break Out Another Thousand

In reply to NGTD:

He said not to do that.

In reply to Woody:

Truth is the truth

NGTD wrote: Jet boats - Bombardier (Seadoo) They are a blast Beware - there's a reason why it's called Boat - Break Out Another Thousand

After road racing cars for years a powerboat looks like a great way to save money on the weekend. Atleast in that every weekend won't start with a call to the Hoosier dealer and I probably won't need two engines and spare transmission/diffs to get thru a summer. Maybe.

while crusing the Craigslist ads in the boat section you will see ads for rebuilders, New, and Salvage dealers.you'll see boats in the salvage that you can't belive are there, then you see what stuff costs, I would be all about it but it costs about the same a racin'.again if you can do upkeep your Golden. get a pontoon boat and 1 jet ski(two seater). try that for a summer you may want to go bigger (boat) or get out!.

I bought a jet ski last year. We were going to buy a used one, see how much we really used/liked it and then after a year or so decide whether or not to buy a new one. Ended up just buying a new one. The cheapest used ones were too used up and I didn't want a project. Newer/nicer ones were being offered at close enough to the cost of a new one, that I just bought a new one.

Most people with boats do not use them as much as they thought they would from what I've seen. Those little Seadoo jet boats (and others like them) I see on the local craigslist fairly regularly. They are just over grown jet skiis. Yamaha makes pretty good sized jet boats, but the ones I've seen are newer and not cheap.

I recently bought a used 3-seat 4-stroke Seadoo instead of going all-in on a real boat. It was so great that I had to buy another so more of us could go out at once :-). Tons of fun for the whole family. Lots of power, more reliable than older 2-strokes, and very stable yet still fun to ride. Kinda like a motorcycle on the water.

Not as versatile as a real boat but probably cheaper and easier to store. The ones I bought were minor projects and I am confident I can sell them for much more than I paid after resolving the "issues."

mad_machine wrote: Bow Riders are fun

poor captain is gonna poor captain but at least the boat stayed up.

Admittedly, I do sort of always have that possibility on my mind while running my bowrider. Gotta pay attention (and not overload the boat.)

As far as jet boats, I'm no help. All the guys that run the rivers around here use aluminum boats with mud motors (that ain't gonna pull a skier) or outboards on spring loaded jack plates. The jack plates are great for debris and log strikes but probably don't do much for depth requirements.

I have nothing useful to add other than one of my favorite quotes:

Money can't buy happiness, but it will get you a jet ski.

At least the middle passenger in that bow rider had floatation devices.

FYI, the older two-stroke jet-skis make a Maserati Bi-Turbo look reliable

The bigger the boat, the bigger the headache. Start smallish, be sure you use it as much as you think you will, then upgrade. Once you've decided you are a "boat person", buying new is a viable option. Older boats require maintenance. (all of them) If you can swing a modest monthly payment, buying something with a warranty is nice piece of mind. Otherwise, you are likely to be wrenching on the boat, just as you would an older car.

If going used--- do you have a buddy that is a "boat guy?" Just as a friend would bring you along to look at a car--- bringing along an " boat expert" never hurts.

ebonyandivory wrote: At least the middle passenger in that bow rider had floatation devices.

It was .. hypnotic.

Personally, I'd be looking at Yamaha and not much else. They have the engines, jets, and corrosion resistance down pat. They make boats and skis.

Mercury's Sport Jet has never impressed me and when they break they are unbelievable expensive to fix.

If you are mostly playing in shallow rivers, want something to go exploring with, something that will survive some hard knocks. Get a aluminum hulled boat with a jet outboard.

I have a 1995 Polaris PWC. I bought it for $250 about 8 years ago and have put about that much into it since. It is a 2-stroke, so it's loud and it smokes and can overheat if you hit a big no-wake zone. But every spring, I pull it from the storage shed, clean it up, hook up the battery and it fires up. I only get on the water 2-3 times a summer, but for the money I spent I am not complaining at all. Each time I take it out, I have a blast. I have let several friends and family members share the joy of jet skiing, it is the best stress relief there is.

The downside is that I cannot really enjoy it with the family. Even with a second ski, a 5 year old isn't a great idea on a ski. So I am also looking at a jet boat. To me, the PWC engine is pretty simple and easy to work on, so I would not be scared of something that needs some TLC, just not a complete rebuild. I have learned that Polaris PWC are about the least desirable used skis on the market, so they are dirt cheap and plentiful. (Not sure why because mine has been no trouble and there is tons of support out there, but everyone who deals in used PWCs tells me that they cant move a Polaris.) I see a lot of jet boats that need engine work and that's why they are getting rid of them. If I see one cheap enough, I may take the dive. I am waiting until fall/winter when people get desperate however.

My other option is a 14.5-foot Bayliner Capri. It is a really small open bow made in the 80's and has the advantage of being small enough to tow with my current fleet but still fit 4. Every so often, I see one that has been lovingly maintained and is in great shape. I just have to have some cash on hand to jump on one.

Joe Gearin wrote: FYI, the older two-stroke jet-skis that have been abused make a Maserati Bi-Turbo look reliable

FTFY.

The salt water around Florida is going to be doubly hard on them. Fresh water rigs will last substantially longer and be in better shape. The 2 stroke fresh water engine I used in the Jet Boat is 24 years old and runs very well.

This would be tempting.

https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/boa/d/2001-yamaha-xrhp/6198880214.html

It's going to burn gas like a big block, but it should be fast as stink too. Close to 60.

dculberson wrote:

ebonyandivory wrote: At least the middle passenger in that bow rider had floatation devices.

It was .. hypnotic.

Cant believe how chill they were in a boat full of water? I would have been very interested in evacuating the inside of the boat, maybe toss a bit of "ballast" overboard to tread water while the bilge pump did its job?

I owned an 18ft "family" jetboat during the 90's and 00's. Not a bow rider but seated 4-5. Like OP said - they can access more of a river or lake than a prop. They also consume even more fuel than an already thirsty prop does. The thing I realized is that 18ft is no longer a big boat. The wakeboard movement has upped the ante so that many of the other boats are now 20-25ft and our 18ft was getting tossed around like a cork out on the river.

if you want jet boat you pretty much have to look at seadoo. I used to have a couple mid-90s that were a great deal of fun. probably the most reliable of the high-power 2-strokes would be the 800 RFI models. they had fuel injection in the transfer ports, so they would start and idle great, and were very efficient compared to the carb'd models. not sure if they ever put the rfi into the boats though, but if they did, the most "family sized" of the 2-stroke boats was the challenger 1800. 18' and seats 6-8. most all the non-supercharged early 4-tec models were very reliable and made good power, between 130 and 155 hp, and the supercharged models had between 185 and 240ish hp, and some came with two of them.

the problem with the 2-strokes, at least with the skis, was that you basically have to assume that the motor is roached unless proven otherwise. you'll want to water test and compression test anything you plan to buy otherwise expect to have to put a motor in it. also the fuel lines that were used back then deteriorated from the fuel additives and will clog fuel filters causing lean run and roached motors, so also expect to have to replace all of those and get the carbs cleaned up if you go that route. www.seadooforums.com is the GRM of seadoos.

A SeaDoo isn't a jet boat. This is a jet boat. Preferably with a blown BBC.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-Chris-Craft-XK18-Original-Jet-Boat-Only-200-Made-/292200812879?hash=item440886914f:g:5xoAAOSwEgZZgADa&vxp=mtr

Yamaha.

We have a 2015 AR210. Last week I towed it from Lexington, KY to Port Everglades, FL. Drove the boat to Bimini, filled the tank and then cruised to Grand Bahama for a week of snorkeling. I can't say enough good things about the 4 stroke Yamaha Jetboats, don't buy a Seadoo.

OK, so... Yamaha, fresh water, and the 19' XR/AR family seems to be the right spot. I see a bunch of them with a galvanized trailer for under $10k with a dizzying array of differences so now I have to figure out what all that terminology means.

I'm not terribly concerned with power - it seems like 135 is the "normal" one which should be more than fine for most rivers and lakes around here. Supercharged versions go as high as 350 which would be great for Lake Erie, the St LAwrence/1000 Islands and larger finger lakes in NY. What does that do to the reliability? Are they built robustly at those power levels? It doesn't seem to effect the cost much. The $7900 boat Toyman posted above is a 310HP 19'er in seemingly nice shape. I assume they are lying about it being a fresh water boat though as it's located 100' from the atlantic ocean.