Anyone own a Sea-Doo boat?(Not a jet ski) I'm serious about buying one. How do you like it?

Buy A Yamaha Last Longer , I Had A Sea-doo Stayed In The Shop

Im looking for a 14-15 footer. Does Yamaha make one?

I bought a Seadoo XP jetski. It was the worst experience of my life. Had to rebuild it 3 times (in 2 years) before I gave up. It was a shame because that was supposed to be my "fun" toy. Even worse...when it did run, I loved it. Awesome performance. But dealing with the factory and dealer was a nightmare.

But I would agree...buy a Yamaha. They have the best rep for watercraft by far...

Jason

I don't have a SeaDoo but I have a 1992 14' Boston Whaler Rage jet boat that has a Yamaha 650 engine in it from the factory. I've put some of the jetski and Waverunner hi-po parts on it and it runs better than when it was new. I leave my boat in the water from April til October so I will say that the jet drive gets a bit of abuse and corrosion from being in the water the whole time. If you're planning on leaving the boat in the water, I would suggest a boat lift or a floating dock that you can drive it onto. There's a couple of SeaDoo jet boats here where I keep my boat. As far as I can tell they seem to run well. I think they're single jet where the Yamaha boats are dual jet engines. If you really want some power, look for a 1998 Boston Whaler Rage 15' jet boat with the Mercruiser 175 hp jet. You can put 5 people in the boat and pull a water skiier easily. My boat can go through 6" of water which is probably the shallowest running jet boat anywhere. Here's couple pictures of my boat.

http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/jeffhansbury@comcast.net/Boat/rage2.jpg

http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/jeffhansbury@comcast.net/Boat/Yamaha650.jpg

I wouldnt hesitate to buy Seadoo watercraft. I have 2 GTX 3 seaters and I have never had a problem in 3 years. I bought them brand new and I do all my riding in freshwater. I dont think anyone brand is better than the other, they are all pretty much the same.


http://www.seadoo.com/NR/rdonlyres/7A07056B-7CB7-4E27-ADF7-160959753CC1/0/Bkg_01_Small.jpg

Bought a 89 Seadoo XP about 7 years ago. Only problem had w/ it was the starter drive , notorious weak link from the factory. Other than that, tons of fun, I have a hard time subscribing to must have 1-2 year old toys that everyone seems to believe in. Have fun with whatever year you can afford !!

I have a 2000 XP Lilited and have had no problems at all untill Saturday when my son and his grilfriend took it out and he decided to go brain dead and started it on shore and sucked a big rock and wiped out the hole drive and trim setup. It has worked flawless up untill then and it has been used by our family alot I beleave it has over 200 hours now. I dont know alot about the Sea Doo boats but if your interested my neigbor is the store manager for a Yamaha, Sea Doo, Polaris & KTM dealership and he will tell me how it is. Give me the model your looking at and I can find out. I know he sold another frind of mine a 16' or so Yamaha boat and they love it. Let me know if I can help.
Mike

Im thinkin about the Speedster or Sportster.Probably a 2000 or newer. Something like this one -
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31266&item=4554168184&rd=1

Finally, something that I can respond to with actual knowledge. :-)
First, get a twin engine model if you can afford it.

I owned a 1996 Sea-Doo Speedster until 2000. This was the 14' twin engine model with minimal seating. The boat was very fun and easy to manage. You could spin it just like a Waverunner. There were a couple of annoying defects but it was mostly trouble free.

A friend of mine wanted the Sea-Doo so I sold it and bought a left-over 1999 Yamaha Exciter 270. By far, the best purchase I have ever made. It is a twin engine (1100 cc, 270 hp total) and about 16-17 feet long. Seats 5 and runs about 55 mph with 2 on board. I absolutely LOVE this boat. I take very good care of it and it shows. If you need any more info, PM me.

Thanks. I was looking at the Yamahas too but they are more money. I know you get what you pay for. :( But this is my first boat and i don't want to spend a ton until i know im going to be into it. Did you have a lot of issues with the 96? Seems a lot of the mid to late nineties sea doos i see have had a lot of work done.Oil pumps,carbs ect.

I bought a 1997 Seadoo Speedster (dual engine) new. We nicknamed it the "Nutcracker" because that's what happens if you sit anywhere else but the rear bench seat. It's a real fun boat, goes like hell and turns on a dime, but the catch is it's only usable when the water is flat. With any chop at all, you just bang around and it's no fun. Good boat for someone on a small lake (less than a mile from one end to the other). Not a good fishing boat. No music on board. Great little cooler for your ice and brews.

Boat ran fine until it sank one night while parked in the river we live on. Engines both seized and I ended up selling it for $500, trailer included. Dealer wanted $7K for replacement rebuilt Rotax engines.

I replaced it with a cheap aluminum fishing boat with a small outboard. But then again, I'm an old dude now.

I have had a Yamaha AR210 for the last two seasons. Unbelievable boat. Its fast (270HP) and can turn on a dime. Great wakeboard/ski boat too. The quality is top notch. No problems at all compared to my seadoo GTX. I'm selling because I'm buying a bigger boat. PM me or email if you are interested. I'm motivated to sell. gregory_doherty@adp.com