WAJetboating
Member
Wow, this just hurts so much.
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Painful sight on Aruba in the Caribbean...
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Dr Honda
Well-Known Member
Yep... I KIND-OF agree. What makes a jetboat great... is the jetdrive. But if you have a super clean boat... it's hard to justify the price tag of a new engine.
FYI... I've been thinking about the same thing myself. I love my Islandia, but since I closed my shop, a replacement or rebuild may not happen. SO... I've thought about a nice modern 4-stroke outboard.
I really wish that Merc would release a 4stroke engine to re-power the sportjet drive.
FYI... I've been thinking about the same thing myself. I love my Islandia, but since I closed my shop, a replacement or rebuild may not happen. SO... I've thought about a nice modern 4-stroke outboard.
I really wish that Merc would release a 4stroke engine to re-power the sportjet drive.
WAJetboating
Member
This was NOT a "super clean boat". If you look closely you can see that the green upholstery is almost completely gone from the starboard rear passenger seat area, exposing the tan color foam underneath. That was the case all over the boat. However, I bet the cost of bringing in a NEW boat to one of the ABC islands is scary expensive so as long as it's relatively watertight they probably want to keep it running!
Not enough market for doing that, I suspect. I'd love to know how many Mercury SportJet SeaDoos were produced. I think the contract ran from 2000-2006, so that's seven model years. Let's be really generous and say they produced 5000 units per year, that would be ~35K units in the field. The newest of them is now over ten years old... how many are still functional?
All of that said, I bet some of their 4stroke outboard engines would fit in the engine bay. The original SportJet engines were nothing more than 2stroke outboards mounted to an adapter plate so the bottom of the engine could mate to the jetdrive instead of an outboard lower end. So I suspect all that's REALLY needed is a new adapter plate. AFAIK nothing functional passes through the adapter plate (no cooling water, no control lines) so it's literally just a hunk of metal in the proper shape. I wonder if a machine shop would find it interesting to make such a plate if there were a market for a few thousand of them.
Dr Honda
Well-Known Member
The biggest part would be the splines on the drive shaft. The sportjet crank has a different spline count than the outboard version. So... an adaptor and input shaft would need to be made. Not impossible, but add that to the price of a "No Core" replacement 4-stroke power head... and it becomes cost prohibited again.
I'm not saying it's right to hang an outboard on a jet boat... but I can see the reason.
I'm not saying it's right to hang an outboard on a jet boat... but I can see the reason.
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WAJetboating
Member
Granted, but shafts aren't that difficult. It's just a question of whether there's enough demand to justify designing the parts. That's why I wondered how many of these SportJet powered SeaDoos are out there. They're not like sailboats that people keep seaworthy for decades... I suspect a large percentage of the SportJet boats are already "retired" so the potential market is small and shrinking. Darned shame, I still regret selling ours (and my wife has never forgiven me) but we didn't need two powerboats.
Dr Honda
Well-Known Member
I agree that (probably) the majority of the Merc/Seadoo boats have already been parted out, or are just parked because of crazy prices to fix a blown engine. (Heck the TPS is over $500 now) But, It's more than just the Seadoo boats. There's a bunch of companies.... over the years... that have used the sportjet. Heck... you can still buy a new 200 Optimax sportjet complete, and theres a few aluminum riverboat companies building with it. So, personally... I would think there is a market for it. (modern version with factory parts)
Think of this... yes... Seadoo got out of this market and Rotax found a new home in the Scarab boats. But what if Mercury had developed a 200 to 300hp Verado sportjet?? I'm guessing they would have been able to find an OE company that would have bought them. (like Scarab) That would have made the "Day to Day" sales possible. Then... if they kept the same mounting point... people like us could decide if it's worth a re-power.
Like I said... I love my Islandia, and I'm not sure what could replace it. If I could buy a replacement 4-stroke system of same power (240 to 300) and it was under $10k... new... I would seriously consider buying it. On that point... I would buy it NOW !!!! That way I could recoup a bunch of that $$$ by selling a good running 240 engine and drive.
Think of this... yes... Seadoo got out of this market and Rotax found a new home in the Scarab boats. But what if Mercury had developed a 200 to 300hp Verado sportjet?? I'm guessing they would have been able to find an OE company that would have bought them. (like Scarab) That would have made the "Day to Day" sales possible. Then... if they kept the same mounting point... people like us could decide if it's worth a re-power.
Like I said... I love my Islandia, and I'm not sure what could replace it. If I could buy a replacement 4-stroke system of same power (240 to 300) and it was under $10k... new... I would seriously consider buying it. On that point... I would buy it NOW !!!! That way I could recoup a bunch of that $$$ by selling a good running 240 engine and drive.
WAJetboating
Member
I did not know that. I thought the SportJet was semi-custom for SeaDoo. Let me know what comes of your inquiry to SeaDoo... I might be in the market for a C2K if there's a path to keep it running long term!
Dr Honda
Well-Known Member
Absolutely!!! I know they are normally good about getting back to customers... but who knows on this one.
As far as the sportjet, and the other companies that used them... off the top of my head, there is Sugarsand, Woodridge, Riverpro, wellcraft, and Bayliner.
WAJetboating
Member
Yep, I had forgotten about Sugar Sand. Bayliner too, didn't they make the Jazz? The others I didn't know about. Maybe the aftermarket is bigger/better than I thought. I certainly hope so!
I would also like to convert to a 4-stroke, but I can't afford it. The Verados in that power range are all straight 6 cyl., too tall for the engine bay. I priced a full dress 250 Yami about 3 years ago-- $14k. Too rich for me. If the spline shaft would fit any other crank, that would be the engine to go with. At that point, an adapter plate is fairly easy.
I always wondered about Mercury in the "family". Seadoo parent owned Evinrude- why not have them develop a jet drive, instead of bringing a stranger(Merc) into the fray?
biffdotorg
Active Member
Besides SugarSand and the Bayliner Jazz
Ranger even had a sportjet powered bass boat!
SeaRay Sea Raider F16
Lots of custom river boats
The Baja Blast
Mercury even offered their own line of boats like the Cyclone for a while (euroline)
Streaker Raptor
Regal Rush
Boston Whaler!
It was almost like snowmobiles in the 70's. Everyone wanted to build them.
Ranger even had a sportjet powered bass boat!
SeaRay Sea Raider F16
Lots of custom river boats
The Baja Blast
Mercury even offered their own line of boats like the Cyclone for a while (euroline)
Streaker Raptor
Regal Rush
Boston Whaler!
It was almost like snowmobiles in the 70's. Everyone wanted to build them.
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