• This site contains eBay affiliate links for which Sea-Doo Forum may be compensated.

Going to look at a 2000 Islandia - what should I look for?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Brian J

Brian J

New Member
Like the title says I'm going to look at one of these tonight, the owner seems like a straight guy. Selling it because he's moving off the lake. What should I be on the look out for?

I've read up on the oil pump issue but there doesn't appear to be anyway for me to check that. Also how about the price? From what I've seen these usually sell for around 12k. Any input is appreciated, thanks.

Here is the ad
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/boa/3808549799.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Only thing to do is take it for a ride.

If it starts and runs like its supposed to, then buy it.
Make sure all the electronics work and all the cables, locks, seats look and feel smooth.

Merc's in Seadoo's are not their best idea.
When they work and maintained they are fine. Have mechanical issues and your talking 5k+.

Thats why 2 stroke Rotax Seadoo are cheaper and easier for tree shade mechanic to work on w/o special tools.

DrHonda is the resident Merc guru and did and couple overhaul on his Islandia.
Rod broke through case and he ended up welding everything up. He owns a shop though
:rolleyes:

Ill post up the recent good merc threads if I can find it for you




edit:

DrHonda thread on his build
http://www.boatlocal.com/forums/showthread.php/1419-Dr-Honda-s-Islandia-Project-(picture-heavy)

Other buying Merc Seadoo thread
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthre...ese-3-boats-this-weekend-looking-for-opinions
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What he said is the truth. The Merc SeaDoo's were the B@atard step child to most of the seadoo shops out there. They didn't have the tools, or the want to work on them. Also... when they were cut in 2005... BRP had ZERO support. With that said... I don't know if that was a choice on BRP... When the relationship was cut... Mercury may have cut off parts support.


OK... with that out of the way... when maintained... they are VERY reliable. There is a tru cult following to Mercury Marine... and you almost have to forget it's a seadoo. (as far as power is concerned) If you need info, or parts... any Merc boat shop can get parts, and get you running again. But... unfortunately... some of the parts are very expensive.


But............

On the other side of that coin... A bigger seadoo isn't cheap to fix either. When you have a twin engine boat... and you have a failure... just assume that both sides need fixed. So... buying a 13 year old challenger 1800 will cost you $2600 for a pair of engines from SBT. (including shipping) Where a rebuilt 240EFI is about $3200. (so, it's not that far off) And God forbid you roast the MPEM in that 1800. First of all... you can't get one. If you do find one... it's $1600. But chances are... you will have to find a used one, or wire in 2 "Ski" MPEM's. (The MPEM is fragile) Where as... the Merc ECU is expensive... but I can go to a Merc dealer and order on right now. OR... get one off ebay for less than $500.

At one time... I was Anti-Merc. But now... I realize, you just have to get creative, and you can fix whatever is needed.



So.... what to look for:


1) Big holes are not good. (lol) Ok... I know... sounds like a joke... but seriously... it's a heavy boat... and rock damage is real. Get your head into the engine compartment, and look for patches. Get under it (since it's on a trailer) and look for large gouges. Ask the owner flat out... "Has there been any hull damage/repair?"


2) How does it run? These Merc EFI engines should start easy, and quick. After I did my rebuild (and got a loose fuel hose tightened down) My engine would start with a touch of the key. (hot or cold) I haven't gotten mine out from hibernation yet... but I'm betting it will start with less than 5 seconds of cranking. (once I charge the bat)

3) The smoke should be minimal. Heavy smoke at idle is a sign of a bad TPS or port side temp sender. The TPS is CRAZY expensive. ($500)

4) Make sure the pumps work. there are 3 pumps in that boat. There is the pond pump, the bilge pump, and the fresh water pump. None are overly expensive... but they seem to be bad when people buy the boat. Also... take the cap off the fresh water tank, and give it a sniff. It shouldn't smell nasty.


5) The new wear ring, and impeller are a good sign that the people maintained the boat. But... check the pump for corrosion. Also... get under it, and look at the intake grate. The stock one is weak, and known to break. If it's bent, or missing tines... that will need fixed.

6) general part movement. Check the steering, throttle, shiftier to make sure they are free. Also, check the seats, changing room lid, draws, and deck lid for function. Basically... open and close... or operate any thing that can move.

7) If you are really serious about it... and don't want any surprises... check the compression. It should be 125 psi or better for a healthy engine. If it has some time on it... it should still run down around 120. And... if they guys is willing... you can take it to a Merc dealer, and have them plug the scanner in, and they can tell you the history, and time.

8) THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: take it on a water ride, long enough to know if there is any issues. (Over heating, hard starting, loss of power, etc) You need to be out there at least 15~20 min. And... turn it off, and restart a few times.



With all that said... I dont expect it to be a new boat... and the price is good. So, weigh any issues you find to the price. But... under $10K... I would overlook some small stuff.

If you have any questions.... just yell.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for the quick replies guys, that's exactly the info I was looking for. I will report back how it went.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just got back from looking at the boat, I did not buy it, good thing it was only 5 miles from my house. Those pictures in the ad are old. The boat has a nasty water stain and is in dire need of a full buffing. Most of the questions I asked I got an answer of "I don't know". The guy was not familiar with the boat, he had only owned it a year, for example he thought the trailer surge brakes were electric. The pond pump was missing, the sink pump did not work, there were a couple open wires in the engine bay, the docking lights did not work, the jet pump had pebbles and sand in it, and the gel coat on the keel was gone from beached a million times. It had been sitting under a tree and was covered in tree sap and bird poop even though he swore up and down he had just spent 3 hours cleaning it. I was getting a bad vibe from the guy all around. I can see why he was asking 10k and not the 12k I thought it was worth.

I may call him in a day or two and offer him about 8 if he still has it.

Thanks again for all the help, on to the next deal I guess.
 
I just noticed he deleted the ad, he did say he had a ton of calls on it, I guess he sold it right after I left. Somebody has a lot of cleaning ahead of them.
 
Brian J said:
I just noticed he deleted the ad, he did say he had a ton of calls on it, I guess he sold it right after I left. Somebody has a lot of cleaning ahead of them.
Click to expand...

One major headache adverted.
Find a Rotax powered Challenger with dual 787.
 
Unfortunately... I find that to be the case a lot of the time. People will post whatever pics they have. Normally... it's when they bought it.


I don't know.... I guess I like a project. I would have just used the "Ugly" and missing/broken parts to my advantage, and got the price down.
 
Dr Honda said:
I don't know.... I guess I like a project. I would have just used the "Ugly" and missing/broken parts to my advantage, and got the price down.
Click to expand...

Usually I do but this guy had told me in advance he was not going to budge on price since he had so many calls (I was out there 8 hours after he posted the ad). Like I said I would have bit at 8k but not 10. As far as the hull needing work, since I took all my boats out of storage two weeks ago I've wet sanded, polished and waxed all 4 of them (18.5' fiberglass fish and ski, Seadoo Speedster (see project thread on here), x2 Yamaha GPs) so I really didn't like the idea of doing ANOTHER full hull clean, sand, buff and wax on a 22' boat.
 
Brian J said:
Yeah probably, I would love to own/drive a twin 787 boat but that sounds like a head ache too, HA! 2 engines, 2 pumps, 4 carbs......
Click to expand...

Its not any worse than one bigger engine.
There are pros and cons to anything.

One thing is maintenance!. Nobody rarely does it.
Its hard to find as you saw a clean one. People post deceiving photos so you can see how it was.
:facepalm:

The goal is to get one that is running. So go ask question, make sure it runs and has compression.
The upholstery, electrical, cables, gel cote, boats bells and whistle should all be working if paying premium for 15+ year old boat.
 
Brian J said:
Just got back from looking at the boat, I did not buy it, good thing it was only 5 miles from my house. Those pictures in the ad are old. The boat has a nasty water stain and is in dire need of a full buffing. Most of the questions I asked I got an answer of "I don't know". The guy was not familiar with the boat, he had only owned it a year, for example he thought the trailer surge brakes were electric. The pond pump was missing, the sink pump did not work, there were a couple open wires in the engine bay, the docking lights did not work, the jet pump had pebbles and sand in it, and the gel coat on the keel was gone from beached a million times. It had been sitting under a tree and was covered in tree sap and bird poop even though he swore up and down he had just spent 3 hours cleaning it. I was getting a bad vibe from the guy all around. I can see why he was asking 10k and not the 12k I thought it was worth.

I may call him in a day or two and offer him about 8 if he still has it.

Thanks again for all the help, on to the next deal I guess.
Click to expand...

This is so funny. I replied to that guy as well since I was going to be in the cities this past weekend. At that price, I had friends in the market. He pulled the ad so fast that he never even replied.

Thanks for the report. It sounded like a power washer boat for sure!

What's your thoughts on that Islandia in Sioux Falls? I think his issue is he has put a $4000 power head in it and recovered the seats, but claims to have 15 hours of beating on it last summer. I don't think that helped his ad out at all.

Good luck in your search.
 
Dr Honda said:
Have a link so we can see it?
Click to expand...

My friends had a hard time getting interested in this one. Tony, this is the one I was talking about that needs a fresh water pump and a fuel baffle.

http://siouxfalls.craigslist.org/boa/3777018879.html

An on-water test would tell if he knew what he was doing with the engine swap. Not sure how many little electrical gremlins could pop up after some time.

He said it needed tires and a battery and water was a ways away for testing. I said I would bring a battery as a sheer gamble and have 4 Goodyear marathons at the local Sams club Tire area for the trip back to Fargo just in case. But that boat was not hitting the Interstate without a water trial.

The seats looked really nice. Since the seats were done, speakers replaced and there was a steering wheel wrap, I am 90% sure that boat has had some hard time in the sun as all three are the first to die or fade with extended sun exposure.

From what I can figure, boat, hydro-turf, pump, battery, tires and a brake job may put this animal in the $11,000 range and priced right. It's all in how much a person trusts his work.

After googling his phone number, I find that he may be a car flipper and has bought/sold a number of salvage titled cars. If he is a member here and sees this post, please speak up as my interest has not faded yet.

Good luck to anyone that goes to see this boat.
 
New engine... and interior. The price is right.


FYI... it has 13" tires. Off the top of my head... they are 175/80-13. It's a heavy boat... so "C" rated tires are needed.
 
biffdotorg said:
What's your thoughts on that Islandia in Sioux Falls? I think his issue is he has put a $4000 power head in it and recovered the seats, but claims to have 15 hours of beating on it last summer. I don't think that helped his ad out at all.

Good luck in your search.
Click to expand...

Looks good to me, judging by how fast the other one sold 10k is a good price. I'd be curious is the new engine has a fix for the plastic oil pump that plagues these. Yeah it's odd that he says he beat on the boat, although in my opinion you can't really beat on a boat from using it, it's not like a car where there's drivetrain and tires to wear out from gassing it to hard.
 
He confirmed that size as 175/80/13, that's when I started shopping the tires.

I put Goodyear Marathons on my X-20 trailer last year. I paid a little more, but all the fishing and boating forums were recommending those tires. Sam's had a great price at around $80 each and they would install them for cheap.

I won't bother saving $10/tire for crap rubber, even though many are made by the same company. All those recommendations could not be wrong.

I was sifting through the additional pictures he sent me of the boat, and I was sure I had a photo of the engine. I didn't. As Tony pointed out, you can tell the version of the 240 Merc by the shape of the air cleaner. The 2002's I believe had a split of the versions. We lucked out that our boat had the newer version. I have avoided chasing down the 2000 and 2001 islandias without considering just switching to pre-mix. (except one with a new powerhead like this one)
 
I don't have any issues with the oil drive... and the new gear is stronger. BUT... if I had a 2001 with an original engine... the gear is on borrowed time.
 
hey if i wanted to check my history out and time on my boat 2000 challenger 2000 240 i could get that cjecked at merc dealer as well?(sorry for off topic)

:About what dr honda said:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
koby6587 said:
hey if i wanted to check my history out and time on my boat 2000 challenger 2000 240 i could get that cjecked at merc dealer as well?(sorry for off topic)

:About what dr honda said:
Click to expand...

Yes.

And on the 240... it should be able to give you time's in the different RPM ranges.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

burtshaver2021
Looking at 2017 Spark/what to look for?
Replies
12
Views
484
Spider4real
S
burtshaver2021
Purchase 2002 GTX/what to look for
Replies
12
Views
276
burtshaver2021
burtshaver2021
N
Want to buy a ski to restore, Which model/engine to look for?
Replies
6
Views
220
burtshaver2021
burtshaver2021
N
2004 Seadoo Islandia 2 issues looking for advice.
Replies
3
Views
301
TimOare
T
dmixed
  • Locked
What to look for regarding bad crank crankshaft crankcase, etc...
Replies
4
Views
691
etemplet
etemplet
Back
Top