Thoughts about a 2005 Sport Boat UTOPIA 205 SE?

[htchbckdrv]

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to the forum, but I am interested in buying an '05 UTOPIA that I have found at a great deal. Its low hours and looks to be in great condition. I have an inspection occurring this week, and I will be sea trialing it in a few weeks time.

So, does anyone have any thoughts about the boat? I'd appreciate it!

Thanks!

 

[seadoosnipe]

Welcome....

Welcome to the forum. This is the right place to be to learn and stay up to date with what's going on in the world of Seadoo's.......

The Utopia, in general, is a great boat. This 20 footer rides well in light chop and is excellent in coastal waters, around the beaches and out lying islands.

The only thing I would pass on to you is that it has the Mercury 240 EFI, M-2 engine. These are no longer used by Seadoo. I call it the hybrid boat because it's a joint venture for Mercury and Seadoo. This is Mercury's second time into the world of jet boats. They tried it one other time back in the late 79's or early 80's. It was actually an outboar looking motor with a jet pump at the foot.

This engine, to replace is around $10,000 bucks. So, make sure you do a really good inspection on it. The one thing I tell prospective buyers and the first thing I do myself is get a compression reading on the cylinders. This will give you an idea of the general health of the internal operating conditions of the engine.

Welcome to Seadoo forum.:cheers:

BTW, Rookie101 owns the M-2 engine and is probably one with more knowledge about this engines performance than me. So, seek him out. PM him if you like. He'll give you some pointers on what to look for.

 

[rookie101]

Utopia and the Merc

:agree:

You can't go wrong listening to Snipes advice. The Utopia it's self is a fantastic family boat with lots of room on board for everyone and their gear. The best feature it has for storage is the "Trunk". You'll love the way the bimini top disappears out of site when not in use, and there is room all your life jackets, ropes and safety gear back there.

The Mercury motor can go be good or bad depending on how many hours it has and how it has been treated. If it has low hours and has been maintained well it's a great motor. They have lots of power are very reasonable on fuel. Mine only has the 200dfi in it, and I can pull my three hundred pound brother out of the water on a wake board with no problem at all. Mine will also due 44.6 mph on the GPS.

Now the bad part about the Merc is it is an Optimax outboard motor power head sitting on top of a jet pump, and as such can be very costly if anything goes wrong. You will need to find a mechanic that has a good knowledge of the Optimax outboard to give the engine a check over before you write a cheque for the boat. Also forget trying to get the motor serviced at, or getting parts from a Sea-Doo dealer. Snipe put some links for Crowley Marine in this thread to order parts through.
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?t=10926

I'm not trying to scare you off the boat as I love my Merc, I use half the fuel of all my friends boats and still have lots of power. I just want to make sure you get the Merc checked out. If it checks out, runs good, and has no smoke it will be a great boat. But if it shows any kind of abuse or smokes a lot on the sea trial walk away from it. Just for your info when you go see the boat, my 200 has ZERO smoke at cold start up or extended idle. It runs just like a four stroke, don't let them tell you that a lot of smoke is normal for a two stroke...It's NOT. A small amount of smoke on cold start would be acceptable, but that's it.



Aaron:cheers:

 

[htchbckdrv]

Thanks for the info!

I'll be sure to keep an eye out for any engine woe's and especially smoke. It sounds like the boat will work out very well for exactly what we are looking to do with it

I'll be sure to keep you posted as how the sea-trial and inspection goes.

 

[Craigmri]

Just bought my 205

I just bought a brand new 2007 Utopia 205 if you can believe it. Mine has the twin Rotax 4-tec 310hp package. I havent had it on the water as yet but will change that tomorrow morning. The Utopia 205 has been a dream of mine for a few years and due to the economy I was able to get an unbelievable deal on this one.

I say if your checks out AOK and the price is right you wont be sorry.

Craig

Thanks for the info!

I'll be sure to keep an eye out for any engine woe's and especially smoke. It sounds like the boat will work out very well for exactly what we are looking to do with it

I'll be sure to keep you posted as how the sea-trial and inspection goes.

 

[htchbckdrv]

So I went on the sea trial this past weekend.
I am used to having a prop, so it was a very different experience! The slow steering is tough, and the reverse isnt something I like....

However, I did notice that the engine was quite loud. There was no smoke and it was smooth....is this normal?

 

[seadoosnipe]

Steering....

Believe me, this is something we have all gone thru when first buying the boats. Its weird, especially backing from the launch. But when you get used to it, your gonna prefer it over a prop job any day!.......when you learn how to walk it up to the pier sideways, do a 360* without any forward momentum.

The biggest pro for me was, when you are backing down in a prop, when you go to throw the shifter in forward, you have to roll the steering all the way in the other direction. With the jet, you don't. The direction your backing is going to let you continue your path when you pull the bucket up (go into forward).

But, with a jet boat, there is no real neutral. You'll learn to feather it to hold still or move it back and forth gently to maneuver..........

Believe me, your gonna get spoiled on the way these thing steer.

You mentioned it was stiff. It should not be stiff at all. Disconnect your linkage at the nozzle and see if it's the cable or the nozzle.........:cheers:

 

[rookie101]

So I went on the sea trial this past weekend.
I am used to having a prop, so it was a very different experience! The slow steering is tough, and the reverse isnt something I like....

However, I did notice that the engine was quite loud. There was no smoke and it was smooth....is this normal?

Don't worry the steering is very easy to get used to. Once you do you can make fun of all the sterndrive boats by doing 360's in place. Just remember in reverse the bow follows the steering wheel, not the stern.

As far as the noise, unfortunately the 240 is known to be a bit on the loud side. As long as there is no knocking or rattling this is normal with that motor.


Aaron

 

[Craigmri]

Twin Rotax

Hatch,

I used to have a Challenger 2000 with the 240EFI merc. It was my first jet boat and got me hooked on jet drive but there were things I didn't like about it. I too thought my 240 was loud. Mine smoked real bad too. Slow speed handling was.....Fair to mediocre.

I just took out my new Utopia 205 with Twin Rotax Engines(With Two Jets obviously). First off my twin 4-Tec setup is alot quieter than the single Merc at idle and at cruise. In addition, The gate design is significantly different on the Rotax twins than the single merc. I attribute this different design to the exceptional low speed maneuverability I experienced on my initial sea trial. Idling down a no-wake canal the boat didn't wander and I was able to keep it nice and straight without a lot of corrections. When I wished to make a sudden course change even at idle speed the boat changed direction without delay and around the docks I felt I was able to control the boat with good precision. So much so I was laughing out loud how the boat can be spun 360 degrees on its own axis.....Its crazy! Actually the merc package has a feature that when idling and you turn the wheel to either steering stop it gooses the throttle a little to help the steering some.....This is not on the rotax package and frankly not needed because of the improved design.

If your not 100% happy with what you tested don't buy it! Do yourself a favor though......test a twin Rotax set up and compare for noise levels, performance and maneuverability. There are deals all over the place out there so if you prefer the newer designs you;ll be happier in the end......If you still must do a prop then at least you tried it and found whats best for you.

Craig

So I went on the sea trial this past weekend.
I am used to having a prop, so it was a very different experience! The slow steering is tough, and the reverse isnt something I like....

However, I did notice that the engine was quite loud. There was no smoke and it was smooth....is this normal?

 

[htchbckdrv]

Hatch,

I used to have a Challenger 2000 with the 240EFI merc. It was my first jet boat and got me hooked on jet drive but there were things I didn't like about it. I too thought my 240 was loud. Mine smoked real bad too. Slow speed handling was.....Fair to mediocre.

I just took out my new Utopia 205 with Twin Rotax Engines(With Two Jets obviously). First off my twin 4-Tec setup is alot quieter than the single Merc at idle and at cruise. In addition, The gate design is significantly different on the Rotax twins than the single merc. I attribute this different design to the exceptional low speed maneuverability I experienced on my initial sea trial. Idling down a no-wake canal the boat didn't wander and I was able to keep it nice and straight without a lot of corrections. When I wished to make a sudden course change even at idle speed the boat changed direction without delay and around the docks I felt I was able to control the boat with good precision. So much so I was laughing out loud how the boat can be spun 360 degrees on its own axis.....Its crazy! Actually the merc package has a feature that when idling and you turn the wheel to either steering stop it gooses the throttle a little to help the steering some.....This is not on the rotax package and frankly not needed because of the improved design.

If your not 100% happy with what you tested don't buy it! Do yourself a favor though......test a twin Rotax set up and compare for noise levels, performance and maneuverability. There are deals all over the place out there so if you prefer the newer designs you;ll be happier in the end......If you still must do a prop then at least you tried it and found whats best for you.

Craig

I hear what you are saying, but I think my issue is not that I don't like the boat, but that I am just not used to the type of engine. The deal on the boat is incredible really, so its very hard to pass it up. I think I may go for it...

 

[Craigmri]

Hatch,

Where in FLA are you? I'm on the west coast just north of Tampa. Please share pics of your prospective boat if you can.

Craig

 

[htchbckdrv]

Im in Brevard County...Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral type area.

Dirty Engine Bay:

Are you looking for close ups of anything?

 

[htchbckdrv]

Pics Up

 

[rookie101]

The boat looks pretty clean. I'm used to fresh water, so I'm not sure what the life expectancy of the Merc is when used in salt. Make sure you give a mercury dealer a call and ask them how long an Optimax should last when used in salt water.

Also if you do buy it make sure you flush the engine after every use in salt water. The one nice thing about the Merc is you don't have to worry about how long you run the water for with the engine not running.


Aaron

 

[Craigmri]

Hatch,

Pics look good. I was wondering if it was the same boat I almost bought in Rockledge. It was a 2005 though I believe.

Craig

 

[htchbckdrv]

Hatch,

Pics look good. I was wondering if it was the same boat I almost bought in Rockledge. It was a 2005 though I believe.

Craig

This one is at Boaters Exchange....so I think it is...

 

[Craigmri]

Almost bought that one

Hatch,

I think your getting a nice boat! I almost bought it! I would have had it not been for a personal situation in the family. Shortly after I was cleared to buy again and my 2007 fell into my lap.

Craig

This one is at Boaters Exchange....so I think it is...

 

[htchbckdrv]

Well, I bought it...looking forward to using it!
Thanks for all the help guys,

Hatch,

I think your getting a nice boat! I almost bought it! I would have had it not been for a personal situation in the family. Shortly after I was cleared to buy again and my 2007 fell into my lap.

Craig