Used SX210 Pricing aka Captain Hook's quest for the Jolly Roger

[OCMD]

Captain are you talking about the blue 2007 230 at Bayside? I don't remember the seats being faded at all. Perhaps they mixed it up with one they have on the lot. In any event, I need to run over there tomorrow and I will personally inspect the seats on it, and see if I can get a read out on the engine. I will take some photos.

 

[captainhook]

Yes, the 2007 at Bayside. I talked to somebody else this time, not Eric or DJ. Maybe he had his boats confused. I was very surprised to hear what he said because it seemed to conflict with what you said (and what Eric and DJ told me too). In the pictures you were kind enough to send me it didn't appear that the seats were faded but it was hard to see so I am not sure.

 

[OCMD]

I took a few photos for the Captain. Tried to post 12 photos, don't know if they posted or not. A 2007 SX230; 270 hours. Seats if supposed to be bright white are faded; if not? Then they are not faded either way they are in excellent shape with no stains anywheree. Negotiated to 21K with a full 90 day warranty on everything. Probably too many hours for the Captain, but a great buy on an 07 SX230. View attachment 8721 View attachment 8728
View attachment 8721

 

[captainhook]

@OCMD Thanks again for checking it out and sending pictures. I guess the guy I talked to is either extremely picky or has his boats mixed up. As I said in PM, it is unfortunately too many hours for me. I set my eye on 100 or less-it seems these are available but few and far between. My plan is to just wait it out at this point. I am looking at a 232 Limited tonight. This one is priced a bit high though as it seems there may be some issues, even though it has low hours, because it's been sitting for at least a couple of years. I have loaded up a toolbox of stuff to try to get the engines started so I can hook up the YDS cables and software and make sure it runs. Then I'll try my hand at making a deal. If nothing else I guess it is some practice on maintenance.

 

[jdonalds]

Just a note about boat hours. One comment in this thread states a concern that if the engines have 300 hours then so does the rest of the boat. Too true. However if a boat only has 50 hours it may have many more hours on the rest of the boat. It depends on the style of the boater.

The hours on my boat engines tend to reflect total hours on the boat, or perhaps the boat has about 20% more wear on it in hours used than the engines. Why. Because we tend to only go out for a few hours at a time. We live close to the lake. It's easy for us to make a decision at noon to go out boating, be at the lake and on the water in less than an hour. Then we'll tube, knee board, etc. for two hours, then head back home. On those days there is very little time on the boat with the engines turned off. On a rare occasion we might pull into a cove on the lake, anchor and sit for an hour or two. So our boat hours are just a little more than our engine hours.

I know other people who take their boat out, anchor, and use the boat as a swim platform, eat lunch, or just keep the boat at the shore for long periods while they are on and off the boat all the time. Many people love the jet boats for their wonderful swim platforms and sit there with the table installed and beer in hand. They might jump on the boat to take kids for tube rides for an hour or so but spend most of their time at the shore or rafting with other boats. Those people might put two to five times more hours on the boat than the engines. In this case a boat with 50 hours of engine wear might have 250 hours of boat wear.

I encourage those looking for a boat to examine the whole boat, as I know you are doing, but don't worry too much about the engine hours. 300 hours on a 6 to 8 year old boat just isn't a lot of engine hours if the boat was well cared for. There are numerous examples of jet ski rental companies with 1,000 to 2,000 hours on their rental Yamaha jet skis. If it was a car 300 hours x an average 40mph is only 12,000 miles. A Honda or Toyota is just getting broken in at 12K miles. Even 1,000 hours in a car is only about 40K miles.

Much of our concern about engine hours comes from 2-stroke days where engines might only last 200-300 hours between engine builds. They were fraught with oil / fuel mix problems, carburetor issues, fouled plugs, lower crank case pressure, and the like. None of those problems exist in these super reliable Yamaha engines.

I would have no problem buying a Yamaha jet boat with 500 hours as long as the rest of the boat looked great.

As captainhook said he has his eye on a boat with low engine hours but it's been sitting for a couple of years. That is a much bigger concern than engine hours. Were the engines just left for a couple of years or were they run from time to time on a hose? Were they fogged before letting the boat sit? Was the cover U/V protection enough to keep the sun from doing damage? Did animals or insects get into the boat and do damage?

 

[Bruce]

The difference in 50 and 250 engine hours would not bother me. The condition of the interior, gelcoat, bimini and cover would be much more important to me. These four stroke engines have been know to run for thousands of hours.

Regular use is important. If a boat sits then it likely has no maintenance during that time and issues that would have popped up during that time would not have been corrected. Someone who uses the boat frequently is likely to have fixed issues that popped up along the way.

 

[mark_m]

I would grab that sx230 if it were closer!

 

[captainhook]

Just a note about boat hours. One comment in this thread states a concern that if the engines have 300 hours then so does the rest of the boat. Too true. However if a boat only has 50 hours it may have many more hours on the rest of the boat. It depends on the style of the boater.

The hours on my boat engines tend to reflect total hours on the boat, or perhaps the boat has about 20% more wear on it in hours used than the engines. Why. Because we tend to only go out for a few hours at a time. We live close to the lake. It's easy for us to make a decision at noon to go out boating, be at the lake and on the water in less than an hour. Then we'll tube, knee board, etc. for two hours, then head back home. On those days there is very little time on the boat with the engines turned off. On a rare occasion we might pull into a cove on the lake, anchor and sit for an hour or two. So our boat hours are just a little more than our engine hours.

I know other people who take their boat out, anchor, and use the boat as a swim platform, eat lunch, or just keep the boat at the shore for long periods while they are on and off the boat all the time. Many people love the jet boats for their wonderful swim platforms and sit there with the table installed and beer in hand. They might jump on the boat to take kids for tube rides for an hour or so but spend most of their time at the shore or rafting with other boats. Those people might put two to five times more hours on the boat than the engines. In this case a boat with 50 hours of engine wear might have 250 hours of boat wear.

I encourage those looking for a boat to examine the whole boat, as I know you are doing, but don't worry too much about the engine hours. 300 hours on a 6 to 8 year old boat just isn't a lot of engine hours if the boat was well cared for. There are numerous examples of jet ski rental companies with 1,000 to 2,000 hours on their rental Yamaha jet skis. If it was a car 300 hours x an average 40mph is only 12,000 miles. A Honda or Toyota is just getting broken in at 12K miles. Even 1,000 hours in a car is only about 40K miles.

Much of our concern about engine hours comes from 2-stroke days where engines might only last 200-300 hours between engine builds. They were fraught with oil / fuel mix problems, carburetor issues, fouled plugs, lower crank case pressure, and the like. None of those problems exist in these super reliable Yamaha engines.

I would have no problem buying a Yamaha jet boat with 500 hours as long as the rest of the boat looked great.

As captainhook said he has his eye on a boat with low engine hours but it's been sitting for a couple of years. That is a much bigger concern than engine hours. Were the engines just left for a couple of years or were they run from time to time on a hose? Were they fogged before letting the boat sit? Was the cover U/V protection enough to keep the sun from doing damage? Did animals or insects get into the boat and do damage?

Thanks. You bring up many excellent points. I have known many people who have simply driven to their boat slip and spent most or all of the weekend on the boat, without having ever left the slip at all or much at all. I did not consider this.

Basically what I am looking for is new without the new price tag. It is a needle in a haystack. I've been down this road before with vehicles and eventually I have found my needle. Typically, it takes months to find the needle, but eventually I find it. This is becoming frustrating because obviously the season is limited in my area. That is new for this search as with cars or trucks, waiting doesn't matter much.

I liked what I saw on the 232 Limited, though it does have issues that can be overcome. I should know in the coming days whether that arrives in my driveway to become my "hole in the water." Here's hoping.

 

[captainhook]

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Jolly Roger (okay it'll likely be M&M after my daughters but humor me). 15 hours on the engines, "never in salt" (I call the Potomac salt but he didn't), not a single scratch. $23k.

Interesting story about the seller's wife using her car to block the sale (quite literally) but I have a boat to deal with for now (and my wife is making me buy her stainless steel appliances for going over budget so I need to research) and will tell the story later.

 

[txav8r]

Congrats on the new boat! That was my favorite of all the boats Yamaha made up until 2010. The 232L was a clean looking boat with great features and upgraded upholstery and carpets, along with a few other extras. And I always loved that tan! Congrats!

 

[Zarrella]

Damn.....I'm not sure why but I really like your boat!!

 

[OCMD]

Nice work. Told ya' one would fall into your lap. Can't wait to hear the story of the nut blocking your way out!

 

[itsdgm]

Congrats on the new toy. Make sure to post lots of pics when you get a chance. Of the boat and the appliances!!

 

[biglar155]

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Jolly Roger (okay it'll likely be M&M after my daughters but humor me). 15 hours on the engines, "never in salt" (I call the Potomac salt but he didn't), not a single scratch. $23k.

Interesting story about the seller's wife using her car to block the sale (quite literally) but I have a boat to deal with for now (and my wife is making me buy her stainless steel appliances for going over budget so I need to research) and will tell the story later.

View attachment 8850

Congrats! Nice find.

 

[captainhook]

Congrats on the new boat! That was my favorite of all the boats Yamaha made up until 2010. The 232L was a clean looking boat with great features and upgraded upholstery and carpets, along with a few other extras. And I always loved that tan! Congrats!

Thanks! The tan looks better in person. It was not my first choice though it looks very classy on the inside. I just could not pass up a boat with 15 hours on it. The previous owner kept saying how he saw it on the side of the road and it really caught his eye. All I need is a tower! I found some pictures of one that had a tower installed and it improves the look pretty significantly.

 

[captainhook]

Damn.....I'm not sure why but I really like your boat!!View attachment 8853

Thanks! I looked at some of your pictures to make sure I liked the color and model! Can you tell me where you got your trailer guides? I think those are my first mod.

 

[captainhook]

Nice work. Told ya' one would fall into your lap. Can't wait to hear the story of the nut blocking your way out!

Yes, you did and were absolutely right. I didn't think I would find one a half an hour away but the whole thing just fell together. This is the 232 Limited that I mentioned a few pages ago that was asking $25k and wouldn't come down because of a payoff. Well he updated the ad and indicated that it was left at a friend's house under some trees and the covers and carpet were destroyed. Knowing that these were expensive items, I felt it may justify a lower offer. Turns out I was right because he needed to sell it and countered my $22k offer with $23k, which I thought was certainly fair. He bought an aftermarket cover that will do for now, but I'm gonna need to get a Bimini cover eventually. The carpet can probably be cleaned but I am not 100% sure I am going to use it anyway.

I thought I was excited when I brought it home--then my wife and daughters jumped in and I realized that I had most certainly made the right decision. My wife keeps saying that it is "huge" and much bigger than the 210 we looked at but I assured her that it is much smaller in the water. She's still skeptical.

The seller's wife story is gonna take a bit to type out! May have to wait until Monday!

 

[captainhook]

Thanks for everyone who suggested the larger boat and to keep looking. It definitely paid off and now I am not sitting here wondering "what if" and "when am I going to sell this one I didn't really want for the one I did want". I think this is our boat for years to come.

 

[jawsf16]

You stole it at that price! Congrats!!

 

[buckbuck]

Your kids are going to have a fun summer. Congratulations.