Is This Boat a Good Choice?

[Bill VS]

Hi - I am new to this forum and my son and I are looking to get a boat, primarily for pleasure for next season. We live along the south shore of Eastern Long Island and would be using the boat in the Great South Bay and local bays and rivers. We would essentially be first time boaters, although we have had a little experience in the past. I have seen a 2004 Polaris Jet Boat for sale, model EX2100 with the Mercruiser 250 HP Optimax engine. I believe it is a 2 cycle with an oil pump. The boat would likely be moored during the season.
Considering that Polaris exited the jet boat business after just a couple of years, and this boat / motor combination, would this boat be worth buying for our needs? (or did they typically have problems?)
Has anyone had experience with Polaris boats and or the Optimax engine?
With the general conditions of the water in the Great South Bay, is a jet boat, even a 21 footer, a poor choice? The water is often chopping here but protected from the ocean by Fire Island.
Your thoughts and insight are very appreciated. We want to boat on a budget to see if this is right for us as a family before investing more money, and jet boats seem to offer less maintenance and costs than stern drives.
TY Bill

 

[captras]

I had 2 2001 Polaris jetskis. They were a great product, however since it has been over 10 years since they went out of production, OEM parts are not available and it is very difficult to even fiND somebody to work on them. Unless it is a steal of a deal and the boat is in perfect condition, I would not buy it! Just my opinion!

 

[Julian]

Will it be moored in salt or fresh water? Not a good idea to moor a jet boat in salt water for longer than a week or 2.

 

[Gym]

Welcome aboard @Bill VS. The previous poster makes a good point. We have members that have "out of production boats" that can be a real challange to find parts for.

As a new boater you want to maximize your time on the water enjoying your new toy rather than working on it. You didn't mention what the Polaris was selling for or what your budget is but you have picked the perfect time of year for buying. Boat owners are looking to sell to save the expense of winterizing & storing and it's not too cold for a test ride.

You should be able to pick up a well kept 21 or 23 foot Yamaha jet boat in the 2005 - 2009 range at a reasonable price if that's your preference. If you are going to be out on the open ocean the 23 foot would be my preference. I'v been using my SX230 in the open waters around Martha's Vineyard for the last 6 seasons with lititle dificulty.

 

[biffdotorg]

There is one of those boats on our lake, and I have noticed it is quite similar to what we are running. The fact that they utilized the Mercury SportJet. The 250 Opti is a powerful jet, and should be quite solid if it was maintained and DFI 2-stroke oil was used rather than the standard 2-stoke oil we used in our EFI SportJets.

Although solid, that would be an expensive engine to fix if anything catastrophic were to happen. Your best bet is to either check out the merc sportjet specific forum for help, or find a local dealer that will not shy way from the Merc Opti SportJet. Telling any dealer that you have a Polaris boat will push them away even quicker. As this has nothing in common with the Polaris PWC either. The boat itself should hold up if in good shape now. Many parts will not be available as Polaris parts, but third party alternatives are an option. At first, I thought this may have been a salvaged Sugar Sand hull when they went under up here in Fargo, but no. Baja actually designed that hull for Polaris. Who knows, there may be something available from them if you were ever to need anything.

http://parts.polarisind.com/Browse/Browse.asp

http://pi54.com/brochures/2004/sport_boat.pdf

The motor is what you need to worry about, and if you don't have a local dealer that can service it annually, I would shy away. My 240EFI SportJet needs to have stator and gear oil replaced annually, and it does require a bit of pump disassembly to do it. Not impossible in the driveway, but nothing I would expect a first time boat owner to tackle. And if that is in salt water, those bolts/plugs will be near impossible to remove annually without breaking something. As others have said above, a jet is not the type of boat that should be moored for any length of time. It should be on a lift or trailered as a certain amount of water gets in, and there are components in that jet pump that do not like the corrosive effects of long exposure to salt.

Good luck with whatever you do.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

The v 6 mercury engines were installed in a lot of jet boats like sea doo for instance and sugar sand to name a few, some people do not like the 2 stroke v6 others love them we have people on this site that own and operate them who would be capable of giving you advice . In my opinion the one to avoid was the 4 and 3 cylinder sport jet that was actually built by FORCE and installed in a lot of the smaller jet boats.

 

[biffdotorg]

The v 6 mercury engines were installed in a lot of jet boats like sea doo for instance and sugar sand to name a few, some people do not like the 2 stroke v6 others love them we have people on this site that own and operate them who would be capable of giving you advice . In my opinion the one to avoid was the 4 and 3 cylinder sport jet that was actually built by FORCE and installed in a lot of the smaller jet boats.

Agree 100%. Ranger even made a 2-3 man bassboat with one of those Force-powered SportJets. We have a pretty strong merc forum over on one of the SeaDoo forums. It has helped me quite a bit with maintaining my Merc powered SeaDoo. It's all about who you can run to if you have issues. Who knows, it may be rock solid, but do not buy without a sea trial.

 

[d_coyne1984]

We have two 2001 Polaris jet skis and they have been great, but now that they are starting to really show their age and need some work, I am having a very hard time finding parts for them. For that reason I would be very weary about buying a Polaris watercraft. The skis have Polaris made engines though so you may not have as big of a problem getting parts for the Mercruser.

 

[AZDANSX230HO]

@Bill VS I agree with the others on here and would advise you to look at a different boat. What is your budget for your first boat is the big question? That can help us put you in the right direction for a good solid first boat. Jet boats in my experience with owning 3 Yamaha's are very low maintenance and great boats.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I will pass this on with a disclaimer that it has been well over a decade since I have used this for parts and it may not be relevant today but it would be easy to check on. Years ago I learned that N A P A carried a lot of parts for the older outboard engines they also carried electrical parts like brains coils etc and gasket sets most of the employees were not even aware of this as they warehoused them in California and listed them in a book they called the SMALL ENGINE BOOK so if you ask a counter person to research the small engine book for outboard and old force jet boat parts you may be surprised, I would visit my local n a p a dealer when I needed parts for my old jet boat engine years ago. their prices were very reasonable so it may still be a source for out of date parts.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

One of the good things on the v 6 mercury is it was a converted outboard engine adapted to a jet drive so any competent mercury dealer should be able to work on the power head as for the jet drive I hear that they were pretty reliable but getting someone to work on that end of it may be slightly more difficult.

 

[su laxplayer21]

Although I can't advise you on the particulars of the boat you are speaking of I can attest to the versatility of a 23' Yamaha jet boat in our waters. I do 99% of my boating in between the forks and in the shinecock bay. I also make regular crossing of the Long Island Sound. Even in some pretty snotty chop my boat will do well. However, there are definitely times when these boats are out matched.

Regardless of what boat you get, the best thing you can do is have a good understanding of the water you will be boating in. Get a grasp on what the consistent direction of the winds are ( generally SSW on Long Island in the summer) and how tidal changes and wind impact water conditions. Conflicting tidal currents and winds make for miserable conditions. Also, understand these boats will do fine in the ocean on a calm day. Knowing when you can cross Moriches Inlet is what is truly important and not if the ocean is 1'-3'.

 

[biffdotorg]

One of the good things on the v 6 mercury is it was a converted outboard engine adapted to a jet drive so any competent mercury dealer should be able to work on the power head as for the jet drive I hear that they were pretty reliable but getting someone to work on that end of it may be slightly more difficult.

Jeff is right on, the best investment is a service manual (which are all over for free in pdf) that lists the part numbers for common components. And these parts can be sourced in the oddest of places. Common items are injection components and temp sensors. Filters are common as said, they are the same as their outboard counterparts. The pumps can be serviced by a couple vendors online in Canada and the US. Impros was a common one for re-sleaving the pump if they become pitted. Impellers are available if one gets beat up. Common components there are the intake grate and impeller as they take the beating.

Many of us have even added extended ride plates to counter the porpoising that can happen with no trim or trim tabs.

Go with your comfort level.

 

[Will B Free]

Man, I just sold my Polaris EX 2100 for $700. The interior vinyl deteriorated, but the hull was clean and strong. The 250 Optimax engine starts, but it needs some TLC (most likely fuel injectors). I bought a Yamaha FSH 210 a couple of years ago and was paying $50 monthly for storage, so the boat was sitting and I had to get it out. The guy got a great deal. Even the trailer was in excellent shape (bought new in 2011)