2009 180 Challenger SE

[oceanrescue6]

I recently bought a brand new 2009 180 challenger SE supercharged with 215hp. There were zero hours on the boat. I took it out for the first time at a lake in south carolina and noticed that the RPMs were running pretty high compared to the speed at which I was at. At 30mph the RPMs were around 6500-7000. I thought that was pretty high. I have never owned a jet boat before so I didn't know if this was normal for the break in period. I checked the intake grate and there were no blockages. Any suggestions?
Thanks!!
Colleen

 

[bitkim]

I think you may want to take it back to the dealer and check it before something breaks i have the same motor on my speedster (speedster is a lighter boat tough) and at those rpm i am beyond 45 mph easily

 

[James.Moon]

My 2009 180 Challeger SE with supercharger is 255HP. The 215 HP one is 180 but without the SE designation. That speed does sound low compared to mine albeit mine is 255HP. What will it do at wide open throttle? On smooth lake at WOT my speedo approaches 60 MPH. Others tell me the speedo must be reading high. I will check it out with GPS next summer.
These babies do rev high - I don't like to hold mine a WOT for very long.

 

[James.Moon]

I just checked with BoatTest.com.
They tested a 2008 180 Challenger SE 215HP. At 6500 =30.7 MPH - at 7000 = 35.4MPH - at 7800=37.4
It seems your boat is performing pretty close to expectations. Hope this helps - you can register to BoatTest.com free. Lots of info there on many many boats.
Enjoy your boat - I love mine.

 

[oceanrescue6]

I brought my boat in to the shop and apparently when the boat was manufactured sea Doo forgot to trim off the excess silicone around the jet pump. So the techs at the shop stripped everything and re-did it. We shall see how it works as I just got it back this weekend. Thanks for the help!
Colleen

 

[rgrinch]

Sounds about normal for Sea Doo! I have the same boat in the 2008 version and it has been one problem after the next. Don't get me wrong, I love the style of the boat and I think it's a lot of fun to cruise around in. But from my experience I must say that I think they are made very cheaply. Mine had defective fiberglass around the driveshaft which caused the ski locker/storage compartment to be full of water all the time. The super charger failed at only 60 hours and had to be rebuilt. They recommend rebuilding them at 100 hours even if they are still working. You'll be lucky to get to 100 hours before the first rebuild. The cam chain failed on mine at only 74 hours which basically destroyed the engine immediately. They are in the process of replacing it with a remanufactured engine right now. I'm not sure how much longer I'll keep it before I sell it and move on to something more reliable. I hope you have better luck with yours. Happy boating!