About to buy 98 Speedster 1600

[utah997]

This would be my first boat. And used now they seem like a decent bang for the buck.

29 hours (verified with dealer shop) the only issue I can find is that it's missing the back rests for the rear seats. I've searched a little and this seems to be a hard part to find. I'll just have some made locally.

But.. my question to the forum is, what is the overall opinion on these? Are there common failure points that I should be looking for? This would be for use in fresh water lakes here in Utah. Maybe 4-5 times a year. I just wanted something smaller, fast.. and not to have $50k tied up sitting in the garage.

All opinions welcome.

Thanks!

 

[racerxxx]

What engineers are in it? 720's or 787's. Who verified the hours? I have that boat and was told by the dealer that the hours were not available on that MPEM. But he could have just been tired of me bearing his ear.

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[utah997]

What engineers are in it? 720's or 787's. Who verified the hours? I have that boat and was told by the dealer that the hours were not available on that MPEM. But he could have just been tired of me bearing his ear.

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720's or 787's. Sounds like something I should know. Were there two diff engine sizes that year?

 

[racerxxx]

Wait, I could be wrong. It might just be 787's. In 99 they offered both. I just can't remember. The Speedster SK had the 720's in 99. I actually misread your title, LOL.

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[ocod]

Someone just like yourself went through same thing

http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?78557-Buying-a-99-Sportster-1800

Its a twin 717 boat.
I had same boat and very good starter simple boat.
Get you to point a-->b

 

[Isaac-1]

Hi, I am the guy that just bought the Sportster 1800 last Sunday, and had a new to me engine put in it this week, just got it home about an hour ago. I was considering pretty much all the 90's 2 stroke Sea Doo boats for a couple of weeks before buying, and everyday I would search through the online classifieds, ebay, etc. Initially I was looking at a single engine 96 Challenger, but ended up deciding I wanted a twin engine as I have been stuck in the middle of nowhere on the river before in a boat where the motor would not start and had to spend the night being eaten by mosquitos. Next I considered a Speedster as they seem to be the most common twin engine model from the era, but decided against it due to its limited carrying capacity, generally max of 4 people if they are small, or 750 pounds total, by comparison the 18 ft Sportster I bought can hold 7 people and a max of about 1250 pounds. This just seemed a lot more practical for any thought of my wife and I taking guests out on the boat.

In my area from my shopping experience during the last few weeks (it is prime summer time, worst time to buy), I have found boat advertised as running start around $3,600 asking, many of these have cosmetic issues, perhaps a few beyond cosmetic things) This goes on up to insane asking prices, there is a NICE looking 99 Chalenger 1800 50 miles from here with a $9,000 asking price, there was also one listed about 200 miles from here for close to half of that.

As of last weekend there were 3 running late 90's Speedsters within a 2-4 hour driving distance of here, a yellow 99 missing back seat and dirty, but ran for $3,600 firm, another yellow 96 model with freshly rebuildt carbs, for $3,600 also, and a nice looking red one that was fixed up for $4,200. A quick look while I wrote this shows 2 more in the last 2-3 days, highest asking price $4,800.

 

[utah997]

Picked her up today.

Everything looks good. Just some cosmetic issues. Need to find the two backrests somewhere (this is proving difficult) and then have all the seats etc redone. Maybe a new steering wheel.

Does Seadoo still sell the hull graphics?

And.. I'm sure this has been discussed on the board somewhere. Is there a recommended wax/polish to clear up the oxidation?

Thanks!