Hot boat but cold feet??

[fireboss]

Hello everyone, new to this forum stuff so please take it easy on me. After operating several sea doo jet ski machines both recreationaly and for emergency operations at my work, I have my heart set on buying a new or newer sea doo sportster 150 for the family.

I can't decide on the appropriate year but feel that the newer 4-tec is the way to go after reading some of the comments on this site over the past few months. My problem is I asked an aquaintenace who has a speedster his opinion and here is what I got. His direct comments;


The BOAT IS A Sports tech with Tower 2005 4 stroke with I think 150 horse 16 foot first year boat I love that it is small ,seats four ,very easy to
maneuvering can do everything a Large boat can do ski tube, tour and more
dough nuts turns on a dime What I don,t like a little too light in the water
,when you have 4 adults in the boat you notice the drag and gas OUCH and you do get wet.
Problems Yes I had a very rare electrical problem that took 4 trips
to fix and the cable was shorting out and burning fuses poor design on the
cable. I Lost two weeks of my three weeks at the lake with no compensation that was the first year we had the boat.

The next year a bearing burnt out Bombardier's covered the Parts but not
the Labour $2100 and another lost week at the lake Westward marine are nice people but don't work to fast or capable of Fighting for the customer or ?
I would Not buy another SEA DOO Boat
Hope that helps I would look at at a used Ski Nautical or other boat SeaRay

Can I trouble some of you Sea Doo guys for your comments on the above and if you feel that he is overstating his disatisfaction with this boat.
As I said I was set to buy now I have cold feet, thanks Fireboss

 

[imnothot02]

Hello everyone, new to this forum stuff so please take it easy on me. After operating several sea doo jet ski machines both recreationaly and for emergency operations at my work, I have my heart set on buying a new or newer sea doo sportster 150 for the family.

I can't decide on the appropriate year but feel that the newer 4-tec is the way to go after reading some of the comments on this site over the past few months. My problem is I asked an aquaintenace who has a speedster his opinion and here is what I got. His direct comments;


The BOAT IS A Sports tech with Tower 2005 4 stroke with I think 150 horse 16 foot first year boat I love that it is small ,seats four ,very easy to
maneuvering can do everything a Large boat can do ski tube, tour and more
dough nuts turns on a dime What I don,t like a little too light in the water
,when you have 4 adults in the boat you notice the drag and gas OUCH and you do get wet.
Problems Yes I had a very rare electrical problem that took 4 trips
to fix and the cable was shorting out and burning fuses poor design on the
cable. I Lost two weeks of my three weeks at the lake with no compensation that was the first year we had the boat.

The next year a bearing burnt out Bombardier's covered the Parts but not
the Labour $2100 and another lost week at the lake Westward marine are nice people but don't work to fast or capable of Fighting for the customer or ?
I would Not buy another SEA DOO Boat
Hope that helps I would look at at a used Ski Nautical or other boat SeaRay

Can I trouble some of you Sea Doo guys for your comments on the above and if you feel that he is overstating his disatisfaction with this boat.
As I said I was set to buy now I have cold feet, thanks Fireboss

Thats a dealer for ya, find a local guy to do work for you, my buy charges me $30 a hour, which is realy low... PLUS he knows his stuff, rarley gets things inncorrect, unlike the dealer, where sad to say, they miss diagnose alot so that you have to come back... my .02

 

[fireboss]

hot boat cold feet

Okay I here ya, but for these newer boats and the 4-tec engines you do have to have the correct diagonstic equipment right? Does sea doo keep proprietary rights to its diagnostic programs or are they available to any good boat mechanic?
fb

 

[sporsterjoel]

I have a 2004 sportster 4tec 155hp witch is the same boat as the speedster 150. I love this boat so much fun and very reliable, but remember it doesnt maker what make or model you buy anything that is mechanical has the potencial to break down. If you plan on buying a used one take it to a dealer and have it hooked up to B.U.D.D.S i think thats what its called. It can tell you how hard the boat was drivin, it shows you rpm ranges for example 5000-7000rpm and what % of the time the boat was run in that rpm range for the total hrs on the boat, hope that makes sense. my boat has 70 hrs on it and only hit 7000 rpm .6% of the time for the 70 hrs. the one thing i dont like is the low front end cause if you stop in ruff water waves come in the boat lol there is a big drain by the drives seat though so it all drains out. and i think its cheep on gas its not its not even $100 to fill (canadian) and you can wakeboard and ski all day and still have gas left over. But run it at full throtle all the time then yes it eats gas but so does my civic, that could be why it broke on him and was expesive on gas.....also depending on your kids age this might not be a good boat, if its not flat on the lake this is a really bouncie boat and i can see little kids not liking it witch is why the guy i bought it off of was selling it.

 

[fireboss]

Hey sportsterjoel,

thanks for the response, you say its fun and reliable well that scores one for this boat. Just need to find a good person to work on it for the diagnostic stuff as I can turn a wrench but not very a tuned to this new motor stuff. Your right the sea doo 2006GTX jet ski we run for rescue is a hog on fuel but we are always running it flat out. I can't see the new 4tec motor technology being worse than some of the new big outboards?

I still think I will keeping moving in the purchase direction of a sportster unless I hear otherwise from some of this sites knowledgable jet dudes. Thanks FB

 

[imnothot02]

Hey sportsterjoel,

thanks for the response, you say its fun and reliable well that scores one for this boat. Just need to find a good person to work on it for the diagnostic stuff as I can turn a wrench but not very a tuned to this new motor stuff. Your right the sea doo 2006GTX jet ski we run for rescue is a hog on fuel but we are always running it flat out. I can't see the new 4tec motor technology being worse than some of the new big outboards?

I still think I will keeping moving in the purchase direction of a sportster unless I hear otherwise from some of this sites knowledgable jet dudes. Thanks FB

You can never be to carefull when buying anything used, however on a boat espesally havea a grad or two set asside just in case, as the saying goes, boat owners best days are the day you buy and the day you sell...

 

[Nate Surveyor]

I suggest you

Go to the lake, and ask around. Find a happy owner, find a sad one. You can learn from both.

Your experience will differ from both persons. Boats are built pretty hi-tech these days. This keeps the power up, and the weight down. Hi pwr, low weight, makes a fun machine. But, the HIGHER this ratio, the more trouble prone it is, and expensive to fix. Unless some company magically hit the perfect button!

I'd tend toward to stay away from top of the line, cutting edge on that ratio, buy a design that has a good reputation, and enjoy.

Buy a "Toyota" of boats. I haven't figured out what model is the Toyota of Sea Doos. But Every brand of boats/PWC has a "Toyota" model.

If you figure it out, post it here!

N

 

[imnothot02]

NEVER BUY NEW, unless you are so well off that you proaly wouldnt be on here asking questions:ack:

 

[sporsterjoel]

How are your seadoo's at work as far as reliability because it has the same motor as the sportster as welll as all new seadoo boats and pwc's. they have the same 4-Tec engines 155hp or 215hp(supercharged) and now 255hp(supercharged) If these motors can take a beating in a jetski then im sure it's more then up for the task in the sportster. I put about 10hrs every weekend on my sportster and had nothin but fun time, minus sitting in the suicide seat in ruff water.

 

[scary]

used you will have to work on them but u can work though most your self. I was really suprised how easy they are to work on after i paid someone 500 to install a new motor which i could had done myself. I was worried about tuning the carbs but there isnt much to them think all he did was clean them and ajust idle.

reading here you can find most anything i do believe.

 

[FULL-THROTTLE]

98 Challenger 1800

Just a note from my experience,

I am my own mechanic, I never take anything to a DEALERSHIP or mechanic, I have fixed everything from a timing belt on my nissan exterra to a complete motor change on my 70 monte carlo, I had a 84 Checkmate 4.3 v6 I bought from the original owner, it was absolutely beautiful inside and out, but when I opened up the exhaust risers and thermostat housing they were 75% clogged because the dealership that serviced it did not do preventative maintenance. I now have a 98 seadoo challenger with twin 110 hp 2-strokes, it is a complete blast to drive, tube, ski etc, one of the engines broke so I had to replace it, luckily it was warrantied. The interesting part is, I pulled the engine myself and am in the process of installing the new one, the quality of workmanship from the dealership that replaced this engine last year is unacceptable, no thread lock, the shims under the motor mounts were not full seated under the mounts, the oil lines were leaking from poor zip ties they used.
Moral of the story for me is never use a dealer, find a local mechanic that has a reputation of quality work.
I would buy a used boat 3-4 yrs old that still has the original engines, that way you know any issues from new are already dealt with.

I recommend seadoo whole heartily, they are good boats with quality drivelines, and of course they are a blast to drive.

Good Luck

P.S. I am not a seadoo rep, I am a military helicopter mechanic