Can't easily walk away from the islandia

[pbolden]

Hello Everyone,

I'm having a hard time walking away from the Islandia.

As some of you may remember that my issue was that I needed to be able to wet slip this boat at a marina on the great lakes during the season. Several of you explained why you thought that this was not the best idea. I appreciated the advice which is why I am back.

I backed off the islandia and researched other deck boats including hurricane, tahoe, stingray, and some others. And while any of these would do fine, it's the islandia that has everything that I want save for the one docking issue.

Last month I went to the Cleveland boat show and spoke with some guys from a seadoo dealership about this concern. They had an islandia se that they were trying to sell so I emailed the sales guy excerpts from this forum and here is some of his reply to me:

Hey Paul,

I have read through this, and some of this makes no since...

It states that growth in the cooling line that runs to the pump to the motors...

well the boat is intercooled... (doesn't even use lake water to cool the engines)...

Some of these statements just don't fit this boat...

Maybe on the older 2 stroke boats that could be...

Also-- If you are keeping it in the water I would recommend having the bottom painted... Just as any other boat that is left in the water should be...

As for the pump... The thrust and amount of water running through the pump... as long as it is ran at least once every 3 weeks, Its not something I would worry about.... The water will blow anything starting to grow on the pump right out...

I know that this guy has a boat to sell...I'm really not confused about that. I'm not trying to fit a square peg through a round hole. If the boat can't be seasonally docked I get it. It's just that if I have to buy something else that I'm a little less interested in, I want to be sure.

Question: Is it possible that when seadoo changed from the mercury to the 4tec engines in 06 that this mitigated some of the marine growth issues that are in question here?

Sorry for the long post.

Thanks again guys,
Paul

 

[Craigmri]

Paul,

The 4-tec is a closed loop cooling system. The salesmen got that right but where he's wrong is that the exhaust manifold is cooled with raw lake/sea water This is the line you need to concern yourself with.

As for marine growth, I'm unfamiliar with the great lakes and what stuff grows on the boat but I would still be concerned with aggresive plant life and whatever else growing on the inside of the pump including the impeller.

Dont take my advice or the salesmens advice. Check the marinas on a weekend and see if you can find a jet boat owner who wet slips and get their advice.

I believe you said it wasnt possible but the best way to go is a high and dry rack store marina. You call them an hour before you want in and when you arrive to the marina your boat is waiting for you dockside. Its the best solution.

Craig

 

[Sikiguya]

That or invest in a lift with a cover. Protect your investment. Not worth buying something and having it sit like that. :ack:

 

[Craigmri]

Jim,

I totally agree.....When I used to keep my Utopia at a secured storage facility there was an Islandia stored there too under a blue tarp. It was trashed. I remember after a severe storm how the entire boat was a swimming pool as the tarp help all the water. After a few weeks it was a green swimming pool. That boat was NASTY! I've seen several Islandias online that appear wasted. I am shocked how someone can go out and spend $30k plus on a boat and let is turn to a pile of garbage in a matter of a few years.

Craig

 

[pbolden]

Thanks guys for your input. I emailed the sales guy about the exhaust manifold concern three days ago and haven't heard back. I'll take my 35G elsewhere...Go Figure!

Thanks, You guys are pros.
Paul

 

[Dr Honda]

Thanks guys for your input. I emailed the sales guy about the exhaust manifold concern three days ago and haven't heard back. I'll take my 35G elsewhere...Go Figure!

Thanks, You guys are pros.
Paul

Hi,

I'm going to throw in my 2 cents.

First... you shouldn't be talking to the sales guy at all about your concerns. He wants your money, and he will tell you want you want to hear so he can sell a boat.

My thoughts are.... If you truly love the Islanda (I know I do) then get it, and just know your maintenance needs to be stepped up. I would add an extra (or 2) automatic bilge pumps, on their own battery. The carbon seal on the driveshaft(s) is a wet seal... and by design, it leaks. How fast depends on how old it is. My Sportster has a brand new OEM carbon ring, with a HD boot, and stainless ring. After a day at the lake... about 4 or 5 gallons of water will come out of the drain plugs. With the boat moving around... that's not enough to reach the bottom of the pump. But if it sat over night... I would imagine that there would be a lot of water in it.

In my eyes... the "Growth" of cooling lines is a minor thing... but it will need to be checked once in a while. My worry would be that if you were leaving it in the water for a week without use... you may come back and find it sunk.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Well said....

Hi,

I'm going to throw in my 2 cents.

First... you shouldn't be talking to the sales guy at all about your concerns. He wants your money, and he will tell you want you want to hear so he can sell a boat.

My thoughts are.... If you truly love the Islanda (I know I do) then get it, and just know your maintenance needs to be stepped up. I would add an extra (or 2) automatic bilge pumps, on their own battery. The carbon seal on the driveshaft(s) is a wet seal... and by design, it leaks. How fast depends on how old it is. My Sportster has a brand new OEM carbon ring, with a HD boot, and stainless ring. After a day at the lake... about 4 or 5 gallons of water will come out of the drain plugs. With the boat moving around... that's not enough to reach the bottom of the pump. But if it sat over night... I would imagine that there would be a lot of water in it.

In my eyes... the "Growth" of cooling lines is a minor thing... but it will need to be checked once in a while. My worry would be that if you were leaving it in the water for a week without use... you may come back and find it sunk.

:agree: This was very well put. Although, my concerns over the growth in the cooling water system to your open loop is a bit higher. I guess it's because I work with systems that are cooled by water from the Gulf of Mexico. In our strainers, the cooling systems lines, inside diameter closes in. Where a pipe running 3" inside diameter drops down to 1" in several years. So, the flow is reduced by how much volume can actually travel through that line. For us, it's not a big problem because it was anticipated in the design. I don't think you would have as big of a problem, since you'll not be in the water as much or with cooling shut down to that extreme. But, not being aware of it is your worse enemy. With this knowledge, it'll cause you to want to remove a cooling line to your exhaust from your pump maybe once a season just to see if there is any build up.

And I would def follow Dr. Honda's advice on the carbon seal system....:cheers:

 

[dlowings]

I just bought a boat from that area, and the thing that I was looking for was Zebra Mussels. They start out super small and then end up about the size of a fingernail if given time to grow.. They are not even from the US but were transported here on larger shipping boats. There is warning across the US, on any Army Corps of Eng lake, saying to not launch your boat until you fully inspect it for these things. I guess they have a fast growth rate and cause a lot of lake issues. I’ve been looking for a lift for my boat, and if you hunt around they can be found on craigslist for not to bad of a price..

 

[beckinscott]

Hey, probably not the most experienced resource, but....for what it's worth, I've got a 2006 Islandia...not on the Great Lakes, but definitely wet slipped for the season on a local lake in KY...I store it in a garage between Novemberish to Aprilish...other than that, it's entirely wet slipped...I don't have any problems whatsoever...now, for this season, I've probably jinxed myself...it's a GREAT boat for my family and has never let me down with the exception of a bilge pump that I had to check on everyday for a week; but replaced it and it's been running like a champ ever since...I guess keeping it in the water would probably be dependent on the growth in that particular body of water, but I've never had any problem...

 

[KSSky]

If you think your boats leak try living with a 22' aluminumn deck boat that sits in the water all summer for 14yrs !! I finally got the situation under control with an electronic water sensor and bilge pump running from a dedicated battery-trickle charger connected to shore power.

My question is...is there a place in the seadoo's (I'm looking at a 210) for another battery ?

I'm assuming I'll have to fab up asecondary pump holder.

Thak

 

[BooneDawg]

Paul,
hello, I have a Islandia 2003 with the 250 Mercury Optimax. The boat is in MINT condition, if you still have interest in an Islandia let me know, I'm kicking around selling it. I have twin boys and with baseball and football don't have the time to use it.
I bought it three years ago from Cleveland Powersports, I am the second owner, previously the Elk and Elk Attorneys owned the boat.
Let me know.
Dan

I'm in Akron the boat is stored at my fathers in Wellington

 

[Dr Honda]

Paul,
hello, I have a Islandia 2003 with the 250 Mercury Optimax. The boat is in MINT condition, if you still have interest in an Islandia let me know, I'm kicking around selling it. I have twin boys and with baseball and football don't have the time to use it.
I bought it three years ago from Cleveland Powersports, I am the second owner, previously the Elk and Elk Attorneys owned the boat.
Let me know.
Dan

I'm in Akron the boat is stored at my fathers in Wellington

Post up some pics, and a price in the "For Sale" section. I'm just over in PA, and would like to know more about. But make a new post so you don't hijack this one. :cheers: