Advice on buying a Islandia please

[pbolden]

Hello Everyone,

I am a newbie at boating. I really like the Sea Doo line of boats and I'm thinking of buying a used '02 -'04 Islandia. As I am new to boating, any suggestions as to what to look out for would be greatly appreciated.

Here are a few questions that I have:

1) What should the compression levels be for the engine?

2) How many hours is the engine rated for?

3) I have seen that several Sea Doos for sale make a point of mentioning that it's never been in salt water. Should I avoid salt-water boats altogether?

4) Any tips on inspecting the gelcoat or the boat in general?

Also:

1) Will this boat perform well on the Great Lakes, mainly Erie? (For those of you not familiar with the Great Lakes, the term is a misnomer. These are actually considered seas with average waves 2' - 4' to 25' in extreme conditions and over 10,000 miles of total coastline).

2) I am looking to buy between now and February. Is this a good period to buy a used boat or should I wait closer to Spring?

If there is anything else that anyone can think to add it is most humbly appreciated. As I mentioned I am a newbie and would like to avoid making as many mistakes as possible.

With great appreciation,
Paul

 

[Dr Honda]

OK... since you started over with your numbers... this may get strange... but I will answer them in order.

#1 & #2...

I can't give you a real answer because I don't work on the Mercury boats, and the 02-04 will have the mercury drive. Why, you may ask? Because seadoo bought the rights to that drive system (actually bought out Johnson) and then they abandoned it. There are almost no parts out there... and if you can't do your own work... it may be hard to get work done. The Merc dealers don't want to play with them because they use Seadoo electronics, and the Seadoo dealers don't want to work on them because they don't have the know how, or the parts. I know there is a shop that bought out all the drive parts, and he wants $1700 for a jet pump.

Because of the issues above... I've seen SUPER clean Islandia's sell for $8k ~ $9k with a bad motor... and the owner can't get anyone to repair it. A new powerhead runs around $3200.

I personally would stay far away from the Merc powered boats.

3) There is nothing wrong with buying a boat used in salt water, as long as it has been maintained. I use to live in SoCal, and I had boats and skis in the ocean all the time... but when I got home, I used "salt away" and gave them a good cleaning. You wouldn't even know they were ever in salt. BUT... most people don't do that. they use the boat, and park it at the end of the day. In turn... all the metal parts start to corrode. If you have the choice between a fresh and salt water boat... I would lean toward the fresh water boat.... but don't automatically rule out the salt. A neglected fresh water boat can be just as bad.

4) Gel... that's just a visual. if it's clean... it's going to be OK, but get your head in the hull and look for patches in the fiberglass. I won't buy a boat with a repaired hull.

Second section...

1) you can use what ever you want out on the lakes... just use common sense. Don't launch on a day that has 10' swells... it's not going to be fun in any boat.

2) Now is a good time to buy. People are dumping boats because they need $$$ for X-mas, or they just don't want to store the boat all winter. If you wait until the end of Feb people will start thinking of spring... and the prices go up, and the selection goes down. The boat I have now was a project last spring. It took me over a month to get the boat. in the proses I had 3 sold out from under me. One I got VERY mad at because I closed my shop to go look at it, and he called my cell about 2 minuets of my arrival saying it was gone.

If you wait until spring, or early summer... you won't find what you want... and if you do... you will pay more for it.

Finaly... the last thing I can tell you is to find your local Seadoo dealer, and find out what he charges for an inspection. If you don't know what you are looking at, mechanically... then take the boat you like to a dealer, and let them give it a look over.

Good luck with your buy. Keep use informed.

I personally love the Islandia... I just don't have anywhere to park one.

 

[pbolden]

Hi Tony,

Thanks you for the very valuable information. I am now looking for a 2006 Islandia which is the first year that the Rotax engines were installed.

Thanks again, you may have saved me a major headache down the road.

Best Regards,
Paul

 

[Craigmri]

Paul,

The Islandia is a cool boat. I've never been out in one but have viewed them many times during my boat hunts.

You state your new to boating. First thing I want you to be aware of is that the pleasure boating industry over all is nothing like the passanger car market. What do I mean by this?? The car industry is light years ahead of the pleasure boating industry in terms of quality, refinement and reliability. We have pretty much mastered the automobile and people are desensitized to that point. Now, when people new to boating want to make a purchase they have fairly high expectations on how boats should be made and perform because it just a boat right? How bad can it be? Well, be prepared because the quality, craftsmanship, reliability and refinement of virtually any pleasure boat will be NOTHING like todays automobile.

OK back to your prospective boat. Its a 2006. I will assume it comes with no warranty(please correct me if I'm wrong). You will be amazed at the warranty claims I've had on both my 2007 Utopia 205 and my current Challenger 180. Is this just Seadoo...I think not.

My recommendation to you if your going to purchase a used boat without warranty is have the boat properly surveyed. It may cost a few bucks but at least you'll know where every gelcoat crack, loose connection and leak is.

As for your questions above....2 to 4' conditions? unless your in a 40' plus boat your wont want to be on those waters. I was aboard a 55' Sea Ray this summer in those conditions and it was extremely unpleasant. I live near the Gulf of Mexico and unless the forecast is for under 2'(prefereably under 1' seas) I dont go out. I mostly boat in the lakes and rivers anyways.

Now is the best time to buy. I've been watching the boat industry carefully over the last two years. I believe this spring will be a decent recovery for the Industry. Why? Well, very few new boats have been produced over the last couple of years. The boat dealers have all but liquidated their old inventory and are now getting low-ish on new boat stock. The business model going forward will differ from the past in that a given boat dealer will not have 10 of a given model in stock with a variety of options....They may carry one and will gladly take an order to build your boat. All these factors will produce higher sales prices going forward. This will also help the used boat market in the future too. With winter upon us there will be fantastic buys but the closer we get to spring boating season, the harder it will become to get that bargain. Of course if the economy has a second collapse or if fuel prices go back to $4/gallon then all bets are off.

Craig

 

[Sikiguya]

You are probably going to narrow your search to 2006 or 2007. 2008 was the first year that they only offer the supercharged engine. You will have more maintenance with the supercharged engine. Although you may like the performance, right guys?!:reddevil:

I would agree with Craig..look right now! Also be prepared to purchase if the right boat comes along! Good luck. Read some of the earlier post. It really help me out without have to re-ask some of the questions in my head.

By the way, if my vehicle would have towed it, I would have much more preferred the Islandia instead!!!

 

[pbolden]

Thanks Craig and Sikiguya.


WOW! Am I understanding this correctly? I went back over some of the previous posts which suggest that I might not be able to keep the Islandia on the water at a marina over the season without some special type of float/lift. Is this true. If so, this knocks me out of the club?

Thanks,
Paul

 

[jswope]

Hi Paul, and welcome to the forum and to boating. I can't speak much about the Islandia but I can say a little about Lake Erie conditions for boating.

I've lived near Lake Erie all my life and have spent time on it, off and on, for the last 30 years, the last 5 finally with a seasonal boat in the water, basicly our summer cottage. While I've never heard of 25'er on Erie 10'-15's are common in really bad weather and the 1 - 4' range is pretty common on any given day. I boat in the islands area on the western basin. In busy areas even on the best days it's commonly 2'ers simply because of so much boat wake. I also have a Seadoo GTX and we've found that 2'ers is about max for a fun ride. I know the Islandia is bigger than our ski, but that's my jet experience. As far as boat size in general, most people I know think about the max. you should tackle with an 18-20' is 4'ers, not to venture into 6'ers in anything less than a 27'-30'. A couple years ago we came back from Kelley's Island in 6-8'er in our 268 and don't ever want to do that again. Wouldn't have done it then if it hadn't been necessary.

Since you say you're new to boating, my first advise would be to take a safe boating class. There are many offerings from Coast Guard to Power Squadron and others I'm sure I've missed. Since you're in Ohio, I would suggest looking up a DNR Div. of Watercraft course. It's a very good course that covers all the CG boating reg.s and also covers all the reg.s particular to Ohio. They offer a lot more class times than the others in a lot more locations. Some are offered a couple hours a night over the span of a couple weeks or you can take the entire class in one day (usually on Saturdays) and get it all over with at one time. My wife, son and I took one of these Saturday classes. In addition to knowing the reg.s and the rules of the road on the water, a lot of insurance companies will give you a discount for having taken a class.

My second advise would be to get a set of charts for the area you intend to boat and learn to read them. GPS is great too, but paper charts never loss power or give false readings because of solar flares. And a $20.00 set of charts is a lot cheaper than a tow, hull repair or the embarassment from hitting a pile of rocks or sand bar that you didn't know was there.

I agree with others that this is the best time of year to be looking. Actually about 2 months ago would have been the best because, up here in the north, if the seller hasn't winterized that boat yet, I wouldn't look at it. That would tell me he doesn't take proper care of it. For a northern boat my first question would be, "has it been winterized?" And they've probably already paid for the winter storage, unless they're keeping it at home. The biggest problem buying a boat this time of year is you can't sea trial it. If you find one you really like and the price is right, try to lock the deal in with a down payment with full payment pending a sea trial in the spring. And depending on the price, a survey is always good. Just be sure to get a surveyor who's familiar with jets, most are more familiar with traditional style boats.

And go to boat shows. Hang out around the jet boat displays and even if you're not interested in a new one, talk to the dealers, they're usually ready to talk shop. And try to talk to other people just looking around. At boat shows you can always tell the boat owners from the spectators because the spectators will usually be rude or just ignor you. The fellow boat owners are always ready to talk about their boats, what they like, what they don't like, what they wish they had.

Have fun shopping, I love boat shopping, even when I'm not buying. Beats a day at Kohls looking at shirts any day.

 

[pbolden]

Hi Jswope,

Thanks for the great info! See you on PIB/SBI.

Regards,
Paul

 

[jababbitt]

fun factor

I can't comment much on the technical aspects. I'm a mechanical moron.

I will echo concerns expressed about the 'quirks' of having these boats maintained (the engine guy doesn't like the Seadoo electronics, the Seadoo guy doesn't like the Merc engine....). I was VERY lucky that I have an excellent local dealer who knows this boat and treats me well. I have had only minor issues which were easily fixed once the right shop took a look.

As for usability....... my sound-byte is that this is the SUV of boats. It may not do one thing perfectly (you can find a better sport boat, a better cruiser, a faster boat, a towing boat, etc), but I defy anyone to show me a boat that does as many things well. It is ridiculously versatile.

I have an '05 which I purchased used. Once I put an after-market tower (MonsterTower) on it, we had a boat that we tube with, wakeboard, ski, carry people for day trips (with a head/changing room), 'booze-crooze' comfortable at sunset. etc....
all in a boat that I can easily launch/pull/store myself. And it looks good.

Fun, comfortable, and versatile.

Good luck and have fun...............JB

 

[wingnut1961]

Hi Paul,
I have an '03 Islandia and have found it works fairly well in light to moderate chop. Anything bigger than that and you are going for a wild ride. The hull walks around a bit if you are at an angle to following waves. Good solid boat, though. The Mercury engine isn't that much of a mystery. It's basically their outboard (optimax) powerhead on a jetpump. Trained Mercury mechanics should be able to hook up to the diagnostic port and troubleshoot like any other engine. I hooked up a Mercury Smartcraft multifunction gage to mine and it works great (reads engine hours, fuel consumption rate, water temp, rpm, and battery voltage from the engine controller). The problem with the M2 drive I see is the cost of refurbishing the jet pump. Wear rings are pricey, so look for one that hasn't been sucking sand and if it's been in salt water, make sure they have performed jet pump maintenance regularly otherwise, there's trouble ahead. Good luck with your search.