New to Jet Boats and about to buy 2008 Speedster 215 HP

[FiremistSLK]

Hi everyone! Very happy to find this forum. I am a long time boat owner and have owned a Yamaha HO Cruiser jet ski for many years. Well, I sold it this spring and I really miss being on the water. As I am an older adult that loves to speed on the water, I decided to try a jet boat. After a bit of research, I decided on a Sea Doo Speedster 215 HP. I just found a 2008 with just 21 hours. I will be picking it up later next week. So what am I to expect? Is there anything I should do or look for before I hand over the check? It's a really good deal, but not too good to be true. I have seen many pictures and this boat has been garage kept and it shows. It's super clean. I will not have a chance to take it out on the water before I buy it even though the seller offered me a sea trial (this is my choice as I am traveling 600 miles to pick it up and the seller is meeting me half way). Any advice for a green jet boater like me would be appreciated. Thanks in advance..... John

 

[purple_people_eater]

ask about the super charger. they had thrust washer issues, if the have not been upgraded, thats your frist thing to do. next see when the sc was last rebuilt, they need rebuilding about every 100 hours.

 

[RFoster130]

There is no way under any circumstance would I buy a boat without a water test. It could have a bad motor and you would have no clue. Just because the hours are low doesnt mean anything. Would you buy a used car without driving it?

 

[FiremistSLK]

I agree with you about the water test, but what am I to do? I'll have to add 1,200 miles to my drive if I take him up on the water trial. Can the motor be started and run on the trailer? Will that tell me anything? I thought that the 2008 model year SC already has the titanium washers? That's one reason I searched for a 2008. Also, I checked out the seller with a people research program on Google and everything he told me about himself (address, years he lived there, job, Phone number, etc.) was true. I trust him. So please tell me if there is anything I can do to help ensure me the motor is OK without the water test. I am a jet boat novice, but once I made my living as a mechanic, so I can recognize an engine noise that might spell trouble. I'm not sure now. Maybe I should drive the additional miles and water test the boat with the owner after all....

 

[RFoster130]

It is just my personal preference. Lots of people buy boats without testing anything and they are fine. But we also get a lot of newbies here looking for help with the watercraft they just bought in supposedly "good" condition. When we ask if they water tested it they said no they didnt think they had to. Can you just find water somewhere along the area you will be meeting? That way you arent driving the extra 1200 miles. I would think the owner would be reasonable about it.

 

[thor7000]

I agree with Foster....try to water test it where you meet, gotta be a small lake or something nearby..?? I bought my 2007 speedster without a water test...but it was in the middle of winter, my boat ran great but it is scary not trying it out. The 2008's still have the ceramic washers so they will still need to be changed. What price are you getting the boat for if you don't mind me asking??

 

[RFoster130]

Where do you plan on meeting? I am sure someone here can help find you a place to test it.

 

[FiremistSLK]

You guys are great,,, thanks.... I'm paying 11,000 with the trailer, bimini top, no cover (boat has been garaged). I'll be meeting the boat in Savanah, GA. what about the idea of going to a Sea Doo dealer in Savannah and haveing them check it out?? I just thought of that.... hummmm...... So about the SC and cermic washers, some or all of the 2008's still have them then? Is there a motor or SC serial number that will indicate all motors after that number had the titanium washers? If not, will I have to replace them immediately anyway, even with just 21 hours on the boat? BTW, he has the service records and just got it back from the 20 hr service. decisions, decisions, decisions,,,,

 

[RFoster130]

There is surely someplace in Savannah you can meet to take it out for a bit. You could have a dealer look at it, but i would still prefer to take it on the water.

 

[thor7000]

I wouldn't waste the money on having a dealer check it out, nobody can really tell if there are any engine problems or not until you put a full load on the motor...and the only way to do that is by doing a water test!! Seems like an O.K. price, just make sure your comfortable with your decision because last think you want is to get it home and it doesn't work as you expect!! Also, all 2008's had the ceramic washers...wasn't until 2009 when they went to steel.

 

[FiremistSLK]

OK.... Water test it is! I just spoke to the seller and he said "NO PROBLEM" for the water test. He said there a few places on the water in Savannah we could even stop for lunch! Thor7000,,, I just left the Sea Doo Dealer in town here and went into the shop to speak to a mechanic. I asked about the SC situation for the 2008's. He told me it is accually the clutch that was cermic, not the thrust washers and then he confirmed that the SC needed to be rebuilt at 100 hrs, regardless of the material type used for the clutch. But he also was "Positve" that all of the 2008's had the titanium clutch. He told me he has rebuilt many SC, and all of the 2008 and later models had the upgrade. Can we get this confirmed directly from Sea Doo??? Too many very knowledgable people have a different answer for this question and that makes it difficult to know who is right.

 

[timhood]

Also, don't get too wrapped up about the ceramic washer issue. It's an easy replacement that you could even do yourself if you have basic mechanical ability. The metal washers aren't cheap, but I wouldn't let ~$100 in parts separate me from a deal if I was happy with the boat and the price. Even if you have to pay someone to do the labor on it, it's not too bad.

If you or the current owner can pull the SC off, you could verify if the current washers are ceramic or metal. The ceramic ones I've seen pictures of have looked green, but a sure-fire way to tell is to use a multimeter and do continuity test. Continuity = metal. I bought my '08 used and had the SC service thrown in, so I don't know for sure if mine were ceramic or not. I've understood that all of the jet skis for '08 were metal, but the switchover on the boats was later (mid year) because the boats didn't have the issue nearly as much as the skis since boat owners typically don't come out of the water and free-spin the impeller. (It's going from loaded to unloaded to loaded that creates the slippage and wears down the washers and eventually caused the ceramic ones to fail.

If you check the last 4 characters of your Hull ID Number, you'll get the month and year it was made. The first character is a letter representing the month, where A = January, etc. The second digit is the year. If your boat was made before May '08, it probably has the ceramics. May would be 50/50, and after May, as I understood should be metal. But the real way to know is to actually see.

The quick things you'd want to be able to check are:

The wear ring (around the impeller) - check for grooves that may have been caused by ingesting debris. Any significant grooves will reduce thrust and performance. The part is not expensive (~$30), and could be a DIY replacement.

The impeller - make sure it's in perfect shape.

RPMs - you should have no problems hitting 8100 RPMs in the water. If you don't get to 8100, you have slippage in the supercharger and it's time for a rebuild. With only 21 hours, the only way that would happen would be through abuse. Lots of boat owners have gone much longer than 100 hours between rebuilds (not that I would recommend that), as boats aren't nearly as hard on the SCs as the skis are.

Make sure all the basic stuff works: all the boat switches and lights, trailer lights and so on. Make sure the pole for the stern light is in the ski storage locker. I think your model has a bow filler cushion as well.

A great boat cover is made by Poppy Company http://poppycompany.com/. Weird name, but great product. I believe if you mention this forum they give you a small discount and free shipping. I think it was 10%. I can't say enough about how much nicer our cover is than almost any other I've seen. It has a nice vacu-lock system so it doesn't flap around at all when the boat is being towed. And it fits perfectly over the boat with no straps that go under for tying it down. You can even fill it with gas without removing any of it.

 

[FiremistSLK]

Tim, A very nice reply, and thank you very much for all the information. I am not too worried about the SC washer issue as I said in an earlier post that I used to work as a mechanic. I will bring my Mag Light to check the impeller and wear ring. I went to the Poppy Company web site, nice tip,,,, I will also ask for the owners manual and any service documents be included in the transfer. How many electronic keys came with the boat when new? One or two? I want to be sure to get them both if it was two. I can't think of much more to look at or ask for. My pick-up day is Thursday. As soon as I get back I'll share some pics and tell all of my experience with the seller and the transaction and the actual condition of the boat. Get this, the seller said that if I do not buy the boat for any reason (except the agreed price), he will refund my deposit and pay for my gas to Savannah, that's how confident he is that I will find the boat is just as he describes it, perfect.

 

[Devildog1775]

Six weeks ago I purchased a 2008 speedster with a 215hp, wake tower, bimini, cover. It had 6 hours on it, oil changed and winterized in 2008 then sat in storage until 2011. I got a two extended warranty which the dealer said was the smartest decision I made. I have 23 hours on it and the super charger clutch just went out. Before that it was an oil sender, and at 10 hours the engine light came on. At the same time my brother in law bought a 2009 speedster with a 215hp. He got a 5 year warranty, has over 40 hours and besides the 10 hour service has never been in the shop. He just retired as an airforce pilot and drives the boat like he stole it. I to am a mechanic by trade, but not to familiar with these motors. Today I picked up my boat at the dealer and talked with the mechanic about my boat. Is it possible that sitting for two plus years was bad for it? He said its possible, but every boat is different. WOT it on the lake, hope it works out for you.

 

[FiremistSLK]

WOW! Really scary stuff! Does anyone know of a company that sells a service warranty for the Sea Doo Speedsters? Has anyone purchased one? I would be so very interested...... thanks

 

[FiremistSLK]

Tim Hood, Can you give me some advice on how to conduct the test drive? I should let it warm up first the then probally go t WOT for several minutes. But what should I look for? Like max RPM at WOT,and at idle, right? what else? Anything you will be helpful. Thanks.

 

[RFoster130]

Just take it out for a bit. Let it get to full temp and then just run it round. Go from stopped to WOT. Makes sure all buttons and every function works. Sounds like you are dealing with a good seller. If everything checks out I wouldnt hesitate to buy it. Most supercharger isues are on the PWC. The boats are pretty reliable.

 

[timhood]

You have the right idea. In an optimum scenario, when you hit the throttle, you'll get good thrust right off the bat. Max RPMs is electronically limited to 8100, so you should be able to hit and sustain that. Lower numbers like low-to-mid 6's suggest supercharger clutch slippage (meaning rebuild time). If your starts feel like the equivalent of an auto's burnout, that is, you're getting lots of RPMs but not really going anywhere then the RPMs reduce some and you start building speed more, you have an issue with cavitation due to scores in the wear ring (which you will have visibly noticed by then in your pre-water inspection) or your ride plate is not fully sealed. The latter issue is apparently something that wasn't done at the factory with complete consistency.

I think in general these are decent boats and a used, low-hour boat that was cared for is an excellent value. It sounds like that's what you have potentially waiting for you. If the supercharger doesn't have the ceramic washers, there's no other significant problem that is any more common than with other boats. Some will have horror stories, others no problems at all. Forums bring out problems more than you would think because this is where we go to try to get answers.

Oh, yeah, put me down in the "no problems at all" category. My money pit has been all the extras. Here are a couple of other random tips:

If you don't care for the stereo volume/output, try upgrading the speakers first. While the factory head unit may not be the best, it has a decent power rating and even pre-amp outputs. Upgrading the speakers is a reasonably low-cost option that works for people who aren't necessarily looking to have the killer stereo. ~$100 or so gets a nice pair of Polk Audio MM651 marine 6.5" speakers, for example. 4 of those would satisfy 75%+ of listeners. If that's not enough, you can upgrade the stereo and still use the upgraded speakers.

If your boat doesn't come with the coolers, don't buy them from Sea-Doo. They are atrociously expensive and are literally Igloo 16 quart coolers for 4x the price you can buy them at Walmart.com or possibly some other online locations. I bought them thinking somehow they were custom for Sea-Doo only to find the were just generic Igloos that didn't even have a Sea-Doo sticker on them for that price! I returned those quickly! http://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-Cooler-Blue-and-White-16-Quart/14550416

 

[FiremistSLK]

Thanks Tim... Well here we go! I'll be on my way to pick it up tomorrow, so the next tiime I enter a thread the boat will be in my driveway!

 

[FiremistSLK]

Well, GOT IT! But not so easy..... Murphy's Law was there! The seller is a very good guy. He had a load of nice extras for the boat that he never mentioned during our phone calls. Like a huge rear view mirroe with a custom mount and a spare tire for the trailer. After the exchange of information about the boat, we put it in the water for the sea trial and ........ you guessed it, pushed the start button and??? NOTHING!!! Long story short, took it to the local Sea Doo dealer. he was NOT a boat dealer, but said he would look at it for us. He jumped the starter solenoid and boat started, so he figured the solenoid was defective and changed it out. This did NOT fix the problem! but now all accessories do not work! This dealer suggested I take the boat to Charleston, SC Sea Doo BOAT dealer. So I gave the seller 1/2 the $$$ for the boat, with the understanding that if the Charleston dealer tells me notto buy the boat, he would have to go pick it up there. and refund my my half payment. It was agreed, and so off to Charleston with the boat.... Charleston dealer looked at the boat ans said I got a VERY good deal. He asked me if the dealer that tried to fix it disconnected the battery before working on it and I told him NO. He laughed and said the idiot blew every fuse in the boat!!! After a diaognostic with OBD port and the computer, they determined the issue was a defective neutral switch. I also had this dealer perform a 100% inspection of every system, motor, supercharger, and water test for $80. They gave the boat an "excellent" rating. Total bill was $308.00..... I now have a very nice 2008 Speedster 215 hp with just 21 hours for a very nice price. Ran a tank of gas through it this weekend and LOVE this boat. BTW, Max RPM I can get it to is 7880, with the little wheel speedo reading 55 mph. I filled it with high test 93 octane. Is this needed? Or can I burn just regular? Next weekend I'll have the GPS on it to see the real top speed. One last thing, does anyone have trim tabs on there Speedsters? If so, where can I get them?? Thanks everyone for insisting that I perform the sea trial no matter what. Saved me $308! John

 

[RFoster130]

Congrats!!! Glad it worked out for you. That is a great deal.

 

[timhood]

Technically, the motor will run on lower octane, but premium fuel is recommended. One time when I was running low, I borrowed 5 gallons of regular from a friend. Mixed with what I had, I figure I had mid-grade (at best) or possibly between regular and mid-grade. I didn't really notice any difference. I've never actually tried a full tank of regular, though. I figure this thing burns through gas enough that the little bit of a difference in money isn't worth the bother of trying to find out.

So you got quite a few experiences all at once. You experienced a minor mechanical issue, a repair shop that didn't know what they were doing, a pretty honest and trusting seller, and a repair shop that did a good job. Too bad that dealer isn't near where you live.

I hope you get many more hours of enjoyment out of your boat.