buying a Challenger :)

[Maciej]

Hey all, after all my questions and lurking we've decided to buy a 1996 Challenger, 110 hp single. Now I know people will say we overpaid but the boat is in excellent condition. The only marks on the very smooth hull was one that looked like a 2 inch black smudge (like from a tire or black rubber). Seats and everything were in awesome condition, stored indoors, winterized under a full cover. After looking at similar boats priced at $1-2k less (CDN$) that looked well used or utterly ratty (and sometimes gouged hulls) we decided to pay $7k. I know, high, but worth it for the boat we wanted in mint condition.
We are picking it up on Saturday and I will test the compression (one of our conditions) and we were offered to "try before we buy" so we will run it for a day before paying the balance.
As mentioned before, this will be our first boat and therefore obviously, our first jet boat. Really looking forward to it.
The boat is winterized and we were informed that it will smoke a bit at first until it burns that out of the system (up to 30 minutes). Sound right? The boat sounded fine for the couple of seconds he started it for us. How should we be running it or what should we be doing during this phase?
I intend on buying a membership to get the manuals but are operating manuals included in those?
I also need to find out what oil he was using since it seems you shouldn't mix. I will have to search the forums for oil threads to make sure I don't mess anything up in this respect.

Thanks for the help guys :rofl:

Maciej

 

[timmyboy76]

Congrats man...hope you and your family have a ball...
He should know about the oil, also it being your first boat, is he goin with you on this run, if so, I'd sit back, let'm take controls for awhile, once smoke clears,... once your dig'n it, and you think everything is good, jump behind YOUR wheel....:cheers:

 

[steve10391]

The 110 is a good engine. Wise decision on your part to pull a compression check. I would make sure it runs up to at least 6700 - 6800 RPM. That will tell you the engine is ok and the RAVE valves are functioning properly. Next thing to check is top speed. That will tell you if there are any pump problems. Sorry but I dont know what the speed should be but I am sure there is someone on here that has a good running boat that could give you that info. The smoke from the fogging oil should clear out in a few minutes. Good Luck and happy boating.

 

[bfrost]

all the operating manuals are available in pdf on the seadoo website for free.

http://www.sea-doo.com/en-CA/Owner.Center/Operators.Guide.htm

 

[seadoosnipe]

Price?.....

You will have some that tell you that you paid to much, then some that say you got a bargain. I learned a long time ago, that if someone purchases something because they liked it and throught it was a good deal, then it was a great deal. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

The smoke will clear. If it doesn't be concerned that you may have some leaky rotary chamber seals. Don't confuse the smoke with the steam from the exhaust.

Check the compression. For that year model, you need at least 130 and better, but more importantly, you need to make sure that both cylinders are within 5 pounds of each other.

The engine compartment should be clean and clear of all oil or fuels. If the engine isn't bright and shiny, I'd want to know why or if there was any problems with the motor. Only because, you are paying top dollar, so accept nothing less than perfect.

When he lets you take it out, run it hard. Drive it like it was a jet ski. Look for wakes to jump, look for choppy water. These things are like giant jet skis and can take hard driving. I know, I got the 97 model.....and wouldn't trade it for anything, not even a supercharged 4-TEC.

One last thing. Take a spark plug wrench with you (there should be one in the tool pouch up front, in the compartment where the fires extinguisher is). When you go out, run it WOT (wide open throttle) for about 10 minutes, at least. Then, pull the lanyard off the post. This will kill all power to the engine, leaving your plugs to read how they are running, from the WOT perspective. Look to see that there is no "blackish" color or residual.

If there is but only slight, that's fine, you can adjust that out.

Good luck!..........your about to venture on a journey that will make you fall in love all over again...........these boats are awesome.

Oh BTW, if your in the boat by yourself, calm seas and about a half tank of fuel, you should hit close to 50 mph. Closer to 46, but I did get almost 50 out of mine. :cheers: