Trying to make the jump to a Jet boat...…. or not!

[Hydrotherapy88]

I am trying to decide on the next vessel. We owned a Chap 26' with a Volvo penta 8.1 and dual prop. LOVED that boat. however we really didn't need that big a boat for the lakes in SC. Thinking of switching to Jet boats and looking at 2007-2013 range and of course the Yamaha 21'-24' range but don't know the difference between the ar and sx versions. Sea Doo Challenger 23' (2010) and a 2008 Islandia. Reliability of the Rotax vs the Yamaha engines? How many hours can you get out of one of these before a rebuild? I am fanatical about taking care of my boats and vehicles. ( I sold my last one for more than I paid for it). I need reliable and I am not hard on my toys. we will be using it for water sports and island hopping, maybe some fishing here and there...…. suggestions?

 

[AuburnVFR]

SX= standard bimini top
AR= water sports tower

Your year range will involve a few different motors from Yamaha. All have a reputation for being solid and reliable. The 230 line was made up until 2009 and had the MR-1 or MR-1 HO motors. The 240 line started in 2010 with the 1.8L motors that are still in use today. The 210 line also went from MR-1s to TR-1s but I don’t know the transition year, and the 212 version uses the 1.8L.

 

[Neutron]

MR1 engine revs way higher than the 1.8l which will make for a louder cruise. If it were me i would look at a sx/ar 240 (model depending on if a tower is wanted) if 21 foot is more suitable than look for one with twin 1.8l. It will be the fastest in the line up as well.
Parts for yamahas are more readily available than an old sea doo, which is now defunct. Unless you consider a scarab which is essentially a modern day sea doo.

 

[BlkGS]

Worth noting, both seadoo and Yamaha used PWC motors. Good for parts availability. The seadoo engines are still used to this day with some tweaks, not sure what the newer Yamaha skis use.

The challenger is a pretty typical runabout, the utopia was more of a family oriented deck boat.

A lot of this comes down to budget. All of these motors can do thousands of hours in a rental ski, so boat hours are nearly unlimited with proper upkeep. The supercharged seadoo motors do require more upkeep than the Yamaha motors, but they do offer more performance.

I orongally wanted a seafood sp210, but ended up in my yamaha sx230. We love it, but if money was no object, I'd have a seafood wake 230 with the 510hp motors and make great friends with a good doo tech for the supercharger rebuilds.

 

[zipper]

Worth noting, both seadoo and Yamaha used PWC motors. Good for parts availability. The seadoo engines are still used to this day with some tweaks, not sure what the newer Yamaha skis use.

The challenger is a pretty typical runabout, the utopia was more of a family oriented deck boat.

A lot of this comes down to budget. All of these motors can do thousands of hours in a rental ski, so boat hours are nearly unlimited with proper upkeep. The supercharged seadoo motors do require more upkeep than the Yamaha motors, but they do offer more performance.

I orongally wanted a seafood sp210, but ended up in my yamaha sx230. We love it, but if money was no object, I'd have a seafood wake 230 with the 510hp motors and make great friends with a good doo tech for the supercharger rebuilds.

What is this seafood wake or sp I see above? lol I gotta ask...do you have pictures of that boat out in the wild?

 

[2kwik4u]

I love the autocorrect of SeaDoo to seafood @BlkGS

 

[Crob83]

What is this seafood wake or sp I see above? lol I gotta ask...do you have pictures of that boat out in the wild?

Seafood special platter I'm guessing!!! 210 pieces of yummy seafood?. I hate autocorrect, but it is definitely funny sometimes.

 

[BlkGS]

What is this seafood wake or sp I see above? lol I gotta ask...do you have pictures of that boat out in the wild?

It's like this

 

[BlkGS]

I love the autocorrect of SeaDoo to seafood @BlkGS

Lol yeah, I thought I had gotten them all, haha.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I am trying to decide on the next vessel. We owned a Chap 26' with a Volvo penta 8.1 and dual prop. LOVED that boat. however we really didn't need that big a boat for the lakes in SC. Thinking of switching to Jet boats and looking at 2007-2013 range and of course the Yamaha 21'-24' range but don't know the difference between the ar and sx versions. Sea Doo Challenger 23' (2010) and a 2008 Islandia. Reliability of the Rotax vs the Yamaha engines? How many hours can you get out of one of these before a rebuild? I am fanatical about taking care of my boats and vehicles. ( I sold my last one for more than I paid for it). I need reliable and I am not hard on my toys. we will be using it for water sports and island hopping, maybe some fishing here and there...…. suggestions?

A bit of boat centrism here… have a look at the center console models, quite a few folks out there that like the cc‘s for things you do. You cannot hook a tow rope to the rocket launchers though.

 

[Hydrotherapy88]

SX= standard bimini top
AR= water sports tower

Your year range will involve a few different motors from Yamaha. All have a reputation for being solid and reliable. The 230 line was made up until 2009 and had the MR-1 or MR-1 HO motors. The 240 line started in 2010 with the 1.8L motors that are still in use today. The 210 line also went from MR-1s to TR-1s but I don’t know the transition year, and the 212 version uses the 1.8L.

Thanks for the information!

 

[Hydrotherapy88]

Worth noting, both seadoo and Yamaha used PWC motors. Good for parts availability. The seadoo engines are still used to this day with some tweaks, not sure what the newer Yamaha skis use.

The challenger is a pretty typical runabout, the utopia was more of a family oriented deck boat.

A lot of this comes down to budget. All of these motors can do thousands of hours in a rental ski, so boat hours are nearly unlimited with proper upkeep. The supercharged seadoo motors do require more upkeep than the Yamaha motors, but they do offer more performance.

I orongally wanted a seafood sp210, but ended up in my yamaha sx230. We love it, but if money was no object, I'd have a seafood wake 230 with the 510hp motors and make great friends with a good doo tech for the supercharger rebuilds.

Thanks for the information! I really like the Challenger and 230. Want to go wake surfing with and don’t want a ton of maintenance ( rebuild). Need reliable. Would the supercharger put the seadoo at a higher risk for breaking?

 

[BlkGS]

Thanks for the information! I really like the Challenger and 230. Want to go wake surfing with and don’t want a ton of maintenance ( rebuild). Need reliable. Would the supercharger put the seadoo at a higher risk for breaking?

Full disclosure, allegedly the supercharger rebuild issues are jet ski ones. The reasoning is jet skis bounce around more, and get revved high then low then high etc and are much more stressful on the washers in the supercharger. Anecdotally, you don't see people complaining about boat engine failure like you do on PWCs.

So the whole thing with the superchargers is the original design used a ceramic washer that would crack and fracture into the blower, leaving a trail.of destroyed blowers and somethings dead engines in its wake. They eventually switched to a metal washer that was less likely to shatter, and that's what the kits on sale now to rebuild them use. It's a risk thing, if you rebuild it every 100 hours or so many years, it reduces the risk of needing a new motor.

That said, I'm far from a wake surfing expert, but I don't think any of the boats you're looking at are great for it. They're more of the wake boarding vintage. There's others here with far more experience on that subject though.

 

[scokill]

Thanks for the information! I really like the Challenger and 230. Want to go wake surfing with and don’t want a ton of maintenance ( rebuild). Need reliable. Would the supercharger put the seadoo at a higher risk for breaking?

Yamaha engines typically only need oil change and plugs. 1,500-2000 hours wouldn't surprise me...regardless it could be a lifetime of normal use. There are random critical failures here and there as with any high performance motor, but not a rebuild schedule like a 2 stroke.

 

[2kwik4u]

@Hydrotherapy88

If you want a good all around boat. Jet boats are where it's at IMO. They are easy to maintain, easy to operate and generally easy to live with. The low profile driveline means they have cool layouts that are super family friendly. The center consoles from Scarab and Yamaha look really interesting and make great family/fishing boats (way better than the old "Fish and Ski" boats of the '90's). I think there are a ton of great reasons to own a jetboat.

However, there are some downsides.

They aren't great if you're in an area with a lot of seaweed, especially SeaDoos. No cleanout port on the SeaDoos and Scarabs makes cleaning a clogged jet a PIA. I'm on season 6 in midwest lakes and rivers and only cleaned out like 3-4 times over the 220-ish hours we have on the boat.

They aren't great if you want a dedicated surf boat. By nature they're light and don't displace much water, so the wakes have to be synthesized with ballast, wake shapers, and other devices. They can be made to surf, but it's more workaround than it is right tool for the job.

Most are loud at cruise. Jet drive units on family boats typically runner smaller higher revving engines, and the "buzz" from that is hard to not notice. Most dedicated wake boats have well insulated engine compartments, and large V8's with underwater exhaust. They're very quiet at cruise and under heavy load (like surfing). This is totally a perception thing as the total dB of the boat is VERY similar, it's a higher pitch and some people don't like it.

My biggest suggestion.....Find an owner near you and get a test ride one afternoon. Throw them some cash for drinks and lunch supplies and get a test ride on one. If you're in the midwest, the Lake Shelbyville meetup is next weekend. Show up there (announced of course), and I promise you'll get a good spectrum of owners, and some honest in person feedback on what makes them good and bad boats.

 

[BlkGS]

One other thought... if you want a family boat, to hang out at the sandbar and swim in lakes and don't expect chop or surf often... the new seadoo switch is like, probably the best family/party boat on the market.

 

[Hydrotherapy88]

@Hydrotherapy88

If you want a good all around boat. Jet boats are where it's at IMO. They are easy to maintain, easy to operate and generally easy to live with. The low profile driveline means they have cool layouts that are super family friendly. The center consoles from Scarab and Yamaha look really interesting and make great family/fishing boats (way better than the old "Fish and Ski" boats of the '90's). I think there are a ton of great reasons to own a jetboat.

However, there are some downsides.

They aren't great if you're in an area with a lot of seaweed, especially SeaDoos. No cleanout port on the SeaDoos and Scarabs makes cleaning a clogged jet a PIA. I'm on season 6 in midwest lakes and rivers and only cleaned out like 3-4 times over the 220-ish hours we have on the boat.

They aren't great if you want a dedicated surf boat. By nature they're light and don't displace much water, so the wakes have to be synthesized with ballast, wake shapers, and other devices. They can be made to surf, but it's more workaround than it is right tool for the job.

Most are loud at cruise. Jet drive units on family boats typically runner smaller higher revving engines, and the "buzz" from that is hard to not notice. Most dedicated wake boats have well insulated engine compartments, and large V8's with underwater exhaust. They're very quiet at cruise and under heavy load (like surfing). This is totally a perception thing as the total dB of the boat is VERY similar, it's a higher pitch and some people don't like it.

My biggest suggestion.....Find an owner near you and get a test ride one afternoon. Throw them some cash for drinks and lunch supplies and get a test ride on one. If you're in the midwest, the Lake Shelbyville meetup is next weekend. Show up there (announced of course), and I promise you'll get a good spectrum of owners, and some honest in person feedback on what makes them good and bad boats.

Great information! I live in South Carolina. But will look into those meet ups. Thank you for your response