Boats aka Bring over another thousand

[number six]

Was thinking about a boat.

Yes, yes, yes.. they are money pits. That's my one problem with them of course.. I don't want to spend $10k on one, I have no illusions of navigating deep water or ending up shark food like those football players that took their 16 footer out 50 miles offshore and tipped it over. I've seen Open Water (1 and 2!)

Last time I was in Cancun we rented a small speed boat and it was a lot of fun. Small, agile.. nothing fancy but fun. Thought it might be cool to have something like this to jet around the small islands around St Pete and maybe Sarasota. I've been to them before (via boat) and they are cool because it cuts down on the people as you need a boat to reach them.

Saw something like this..

https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/boa/5728298896.html

Is that useless? Money pit? Pitfalls? Should i give up?

[k7]

i looked into seadoo speedsters lightly a few years ago. and that's a pretty good price compared to stuff down our way...but:

maintenance. you'll probably being fixing it more than using it. just my opinion from friends who have owned boats. i stick with jetskis. i would google that speedster and read feedback on some watersports forum for that exact model. gives you an idea of reliability and all that before you take the plunge.

knock $500 off his price. or buy in november. colder weather and people paying storage equals better deals for a buyer.


good luck.

[mcluvin]

I've heard of boat sharing clubs.  No experience with it, but might be more tolerable with everyone tossing money into the pit vs. just you?

[Niloc]

Is that one a "jetboat" ? My Dad owned one of those and it was a nightmare. Always something broken.

I don't claim to have a lot of boat experience but you might be better off buying something used that takes an outboard motor, then buy a new outboard for it. Easy to replace the whole motor in that case, easier to have it serviced too since you can detach it from the boat rather than having to tow the whole thing to the mechanic.

[FUNWIZ]

Carefully inspect the linkages, esp steering. No pix of the rear showing the thrust bucket?  That area takes a lot of abuse, look for repairs, welding, damaged gaskets. Check all cable lines for any cracks that could let let salt in and cause rust.  Drop it in the water and let it sit 15 min at pier, then check for leaks, run it around then check again.  Look at flush hose port for any corrosion. 

[k7]

Is that one a "jetboat" ? My Dad owned one of those and it was a nightmare. Always something broken.

they come with more problems that their cheaper price reflects. but yes...you will be repairing the seadoo more often than not.

[MilitiaMan]

For what you are talking about doing, something like that is just about perfect. It is basically a jet ski motor with a speedboat style hull.

One thing I learned about owning jet skis, stay away from older two stroke engines. If you can find something a little newer with a 4 stroke engine, you will experience far less problems. Also, use it! Engines like to be run; the longer it sits the more problems you are going to have with it.

Avoid boat clubs at all costs. You will never use it enough to justify the HIGH cost. The monthly payment might look attractive at first ... until you find out about the down payment. YIKES!!!

You will spend money when you buy your boat and you will spend money the entire time you own the boat. It's that simple. If boats were cheap, every homeless person would own one.   

Steve
MM

[Centaur Brother]

The best thing to have is a good friend or family member with one. Show up, have a great day and go home. Always help them when you can with it, the cleaning, loading and unloading & gas. I have a 27' pontoon and love it however like any boat, it always needs something. Great days with family and friends. Like MilitiaMan said, if you use it often it seams to work better.
Good Luck
 

[djude]

I live on a lake and own an inboard ski boat.  I've seen a lot of heartache with these jet boats..... my advice is to stay away from jets, and Seadoo in particular.  My brother owned several and they were considered the worst when it came to maintenance and breakdowns.  His sat in need of repair a lot more than they ever ran.  Yamaha makes better stuff, but they are still jets.  As others have said, jets are prone to leaks and other issues that come with the design.  Also, as others have said... you need to run them.  Jets need to be run at least once a week.  When you first buy your boat that doesn't really seem like that much..... it is.   Over time, once a week will seem like an impossible task...  I live on the water, and it's very difficult.

Lastly.... Jets, especially these jet boats.. are GAS PIGS....  You'll think you're running an F-16 the way these burn gas.   If you really want a boat bite the bullet, get an outboard preferably not a 2 stroke... If you can afford a 4 cylinder do it.    Oh... and never burn ethanol in it....ever.

[Big Al]

Despite some real good practical advice here, that boat looks awesome!

For asking price of 3K you've wasted way more on other stuff.

Roll the dice.

" Doooo it " !!

Big Al

[HammysHangout ( Hammy )]

Salt water kills all boats... If you don't rinse after running they break. Maintenance Maintenance Maintenance is the key, or leave in the water. More parts that get exposed to salt water than air over and over will be prone to failure, hence why people give jet boats/jet skis a bad rap.  Outboard is bar far the least maintenance because it has the least amount exposed to water and by far the easiest to flush the salt out of.

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk