165 HOI , 2hr SEA TRIAL, SHE'S ALL MINE. SHE'S A LIL BULLET!

[Bry-n-Jess-165/HOI]

Hi All !
I am buying a 2015 fully loaded 165 HOI w/tower on this Friday . It's been in their showroom for few months, Wilson marine in Brighton Michigan . I will be water testing it , how long should I test drive ? What should I look for during and after test ? I'm in Chicago and driving a little under 4hrs for the purchase. I really really like this model and don't see that many reviews from actual owners of the 165 HOI w/tower on here,I know they are a newer model and really would appreciate any and all advice/input to help comfort me through this purchase. I will be posting updates and pictures soon.
Thanks for any input,
Bryan

 

[RiverRat]

From what I've observed with others getting that particular boat I would say the most important thing is to make sure she gets up on plane without any cavitation. Sure looks like an awesome boat and I wish you luck and many happy outings on your new boat!

 

[Scarabski]

If it gets out of the hole ok you should be fine.

 

[Bry-n-Jess-165/HOI]

If it gets out of the hole ok you should be fine.

I have to admit I am having second thoughts on buying it, it's a awesome looking boat. they have all my paperwork ready to go and I am to drive 4hours to dealer,put it in the water and test drive. I kinda want to test drive for a couple or few hours to make sure none of these horror stories I have read here come my way. You would think scarab would have a recall on this cavitation dilemma .

 

[Scottintexas]

glad to have you on board, so many times we just hear about the problems and people don't talk about the good ones so it can seem a little out of whack,

I would think a one hour test ride where you tested the hole shot and got it up on plane would be enough to feel comfortable, all boats have some issues it's more about how are they going to be resolved and how comfortable are you taking the risk, if your dealer is 4 hours away do you have a mechanic closer? that would also factor into the equation,

 

[Bry-n-Jess-165/HOI]

glad to have you on board, so many times we just hear about the problems and people don't talk about the good ones so it can seem a little out of whack,

I would think a one hour test ride where you tested the hole shot and got it up on plane would be enough to feel comfortable, all boats have some issues it's more about how are they going to be resolved and how comfortable are you taking the risk, if your dealer is 4 hours away do you have a mechanic closer? that would also factor into the equation,

I have been searching and have yet to find dealer/manufacture warranty mechanic/rotax/scarab,etc shop in the Chicagoland area for any service/warranty work needed. Even on the scarab web site it's a little tough to steer in direction of service

 

[ScarabMike]

Make sure you sea trial the boat. Take as long as you need to. Open the engine hatch, listen to the engine.

The HOI 165 should take off like a bat out of hell. Its as close to the RXP Sea Doo as you can get, but in boat form.

Check your lights, radio, speakers. Go through the different modes on the dash in the water. Make sure they reset. For example, put the boat on docking, turn it off, then turn it back on and see if the ecu resets itself.

Check the hinges on the seats, stitching. Make sure all of the led accent lights work.

And the most important part is to buy it knowing you are 4 hours away from the dealer, and if any issues arise, you will be out of the water for an extended period of time. This will not only be because of distance, but you have a 90% chance that your dealer has no clue how to diagnose, and service the boat properly if anything arises. The Scarabs are incredible, fun boats to have, the engine is extremely reliable, and the hull is solid. The problems with the line is quality control when they join the engine to the hull.

 

[Robert Sands]

Fully agree with everyone here. When I bought my boat new I arranged to have it sea trialed and I checked the engine oil first thing...it was low. So we topped it up, so be sure to check that out. Open the engine hatch and listen to the engine, if you have that little button on the throttle to rev the engine do so and listen. Feel for any sputtering or cavitation, test the reverse. Bring some tunes and an auxilliary cable to test the music for sure, I had a 'fizzle' sound in one of my kicker speakers that I had to get repalced at teh dealership, they just scavenged another Scarab luckily. That will weed out immediate problems and then anything that goes wrong in the future you can't really kick yourself for and say I wish I sea trialed it.

I'm pretty far from a dealer to, 3.5 hours but we make it work.

Good luck, you'll love it I'm sure.

 

[4x15mph]

Unless your set on that particular model, know that you can get a lot of boat for $30K and you could step up to a 21 or 23 footer. You may want the 165 for size reasons so if that is the case, I think that is one of the best options out there or a used SeaDoo. I really like the Scarabs and I hope they continue so that a used 2015+ can be on my upgrade list.

The best advice as everyone said is to make sure you sea trial the boat. No question

 

[Bry-n-Jess-165/HOI]

Drove to dealer Friday, did a 2hr sea trial. Checked everything from a-z,even kicked the trailer tires ! She's in my home port now , sped up and down the Chicago shoreline and put 9 hrs on her, HOLY CRAP SHES QUICK !

 

[Bry-n-Jess-165/HOI]

After around 6hrs on the engine I was out cruising and 1hr into journey I was thrusting forward on take off and a horrible grinding noise from lower end with lose of propulsion , it would move but slow and sounded absolutely awful. I stopped immediately and shut it down. Let it sit a min, started it and it still was doing it, I put it in reverse and gave it a lil gas, it still had noise but much less violent sounding and then a few seconds later it stopped completely making noise and I took off. I had 5 bodies on board. All has been perfect since that 1 episode. There was little pieces of bark/wood in the water. Do you think I pulled a piece in and that was the problem? Or do you think this is the dreaded cavitation lack of sealant on bottom plate debacle? Please advise, any and all input/opinions are much appreciated.

 

[subysti]

Sounds more like you sucked something up. If it were the cavitation issue it wouldn't go away.

 

[Scarabski]

The cavitation problem on this boat has been from take off only. Good looking boat!

 

[ptdavidson]

Bry-n-Jess-165/HOI go to the Scarab website here: http://www.scarabjetboats.com/#home

put in your Zip Code and your off. looks like there are a few dealers around Chicago.

The grinding was that Bark you say floating around for sure. If it was cavitating you wouldn't be so excited about how quick it is! Great choice on color!