Interested in buying a Speedster 150

[zinda]

I am interested in purchasing my first boat, a speedster 150. I was wondering if I could take this boat out into the sea/ocean but not too far out on a calm day.

I am down in Jersey and also was wondering what permits/licenses I would need. What should I expect to pay for insurance typically?

Should I buy new or used?

Any good links to reviews about the boat or any personal experienceS?

 

[Sara]

Hi. My husband and I purchased a speedster last year. Although we stick to lakes - I know that you will have to get a operators card.
You can take the course online. Ive provided the link for you below.
As for insurance - up here in Canada, I just had it as an addition to my house insurance. We dont need to have insurance to have the boat on the water - but im a bit of an insurance geek - and want to protect myself from injuring anyone else accidentally considering im a novice.
Personally, I would purchase a new boat - and i think seadoo has a rebate on their boats right now. But being that I dont know much about rotax motors, and im just learning as i go - i recommend a new boat as i wanted to have a stress free experience. But if you are mechanically inclined - perhaps you might want to dive right into pulling things apart.
Anyhow - heres the link for you.

http://www.boaterexam.com/usa/newjersey/

 

[seadoosnipe]

Pretty good!...

Hi. My husband and I purchased a speedster last year. Although we stick to lakes - I know that you will have to get a operators card.
You can take the course online. Ive provided the link for you below.
As for insurance - up here in Canada, I just had it as an addition to my house insurance. We dont need to have insurance to have the boat on the water - but im a bit of an insurance geek - and want to protect myself from injuring anyone else accidentally considering im a novice.
Personally, I would purchase a new boat - and i think seadoo has a rebate on their boats right now. But being that I dont know much about rotax motors, and im just learning as i go - i recommend a new boat as i wanted to have a stress free experience. But if you are mechanically inclined - perhaps you might want to dive right into pulling things apart.
Anyhow - heres the link for you.

http://www.boaterexam.com/usa/newjersey/

That's pretty good advice Sara. I think you've pretty much covered both sides of the fence.

You can take the Speedster out in the open ocean. I'd recommend you have a bit of experience with it, taking light chop before you take on sea swells. The Speedster, like all the smaller boats, are like big jet skis. They will leap off a wave or swell and catch air. With experience comes the anticipation on how the boat is going to respond to the landing. A bad landing can knock the boat sideways and cause you to either take on a boat load of water or even cause you to swamp it.

In most cases, swamping it is something you don't see often, but it is possible. They are designed as closed compartments so if you wash a wave over, it'll drain out the back. The engine compartment is closed up and pretty much protected from the elements.

Like Sara said, if you aren't mechanically inclined, I would probably go with something a bit newer. If you get one of the older 90's models, you'll likely be learning how to work on a 2 stroke a lot quicker than you'd hope for. But, once you go over and get everything up to par, you'll have years of fun with it.:cheers: