What do you guys think of a 2003 Seadoo Speedster?????

[yogi24m]

Im looking at buying a 2003 Seadoo Speedster witht the Mercury 240hp motor. Is this a good reliable motor or would i be better off sticking with the speedsters with the 2 110hp motors. Anything i should look for on this boat when im there? Im going to try and get it for $9000 is that a good deal? How are they on gas and how fast?
Thanks

 

[rookie101]

Mercury

Like most things it's all about being informed, and doing your research before you buy. Make sure you can find local support for any type of boat you're thinking of buying before you make your decision.

The Mercury motor can go be good or bad depending on how many hours it has and how it has been treated (just like most things). If it has low hours and has been maintained well it's a great motor. They have lots of power and 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. There are also a number of custom river boat companies that still swear by the Mercury Sport Jets, one of them is just north of me in Red Deer Alberta. If you want to see some of them in action look for videos of Outlaw Eagle jet boats on You Tube.

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, they wont touch them. Snipe put some links for Crowley Marine in this thread to order parts through. Most of the local Mercury dealers I have talked to on the phone have no problem with working on or getting parts for the Sport Jets, but make a few calls locally for piece of mind.
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?t=10926

I'm not trying to scare you off 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:

 

[timmyboy76]

hey, to start, "rookie101" knows his s***, about the Mercs, and if down the road, need some help, he'd be the guy, to blow up his "pm" box...however, that can also be a problem, no offense to anybody on this site, but from what i've seen/read, HE'S the only one...
Just taken that in consideration, you go with any rotax boat, the possibility of fixing it in reasonble time, and by yourself, just by dig'n the forum,..is in your favor
So, you ask for our 2 cents, and this was mine....good luck

 

[Seadoopilot]

Piece of mind

Im looking at buying a 2003 Seadoo Speedster witht the Mercury 240hp motor. Is this a good reliable motor or would i be better off sticking with the speedsters with the 2 110hp motors. Anything i should look for on this boat when im there? Im going to try and get it for $9000 is that a good deal? How are they on gas and how fast?
Thanks

Everything that SeadooSnipe said is correct , and my 2Cents worth would be that with the twin 110's you can even throw a rod and still get home nice and safe.