Any side to side maintenance cost comparisons between a JB and a IB/OB Available

[Matt Phillips]

As others have said, there's more maintenance with an I/O due to their complexity: bellows, lower ends, transmissions, water pumps, etc.

Jet boats are simpler and here's what I found for pricing on annual maintenance today on Amazon:

Initial things you'll need that can be re-used year over year:
-- Vacuum oil extractor: $77.63
-- Small Oil Filter wrench: $14.11
-- Magnetic spark plug wrench with 6" extension: $15.44
-- 3/8" sliding T-handle for spark plug wrench: $8.99
-- 50-pack Puppy training pads (to catch oil where needed): $13.50
-- Teflon spray grease (to use on steering cables, reverse buckets, etc.) $10.13
-- Fogging Spray (some don't use this, I do): $3.67
-- Permatex Anti-seize for spark plug threads (some don't use this, I do): $3.89
-- Grease gun (you'll use this on either boat as it'll be needed for wheel bearings): $20.55
-- Royal Purple Grease (for wheel bearings and engine bearing...that's what I use): $12.47
Maintenance Total: $147.36
Total with Grease & Gun: $170.25

Annual Things I use:
-- Mobile 1 Synthetic: $46.88
-- K&N oil Filters: $20.50 (2 @ 10.25)
-- 8 NGK Iridium Plugs: $49.62
Annual Total: $117.00

As you can see, your first year will be less than $300 for maintenance and all of the tools to do it. Subsequent years will be less than $125. Several members on here have written instructions on how to do oil & plug changes with pictures, so it's pretty simple to do. Total time for me to do the annual maintenance is now about 2 hours of my time. I also enjoy it as I get a chance to look closely at the engines and inspect for anything that may be amiss.

 

[jollyroger]

Yep, Matt Phillips, that is a great summary. I seem to have to replace the manhole cover every year which is about $50.00 each. Also add Yamaha ring free to every tank of gas.

The first time or two I worked on the boat it was slow. Now, for example, I can change plugs very quickly. There is comfort that since I do the basics if I do get in trouble out on the water I can probably figure out how to fix things or at least have a good idea of the problem. Winterization takes about 20 minutes as I go crazy fogging.

My one mistake so far is that I went a little cheap on the vacuum oil extractor. Buy a good one to get as much oil out as possible. And do NOT overfill the oil.

Finally this forum is a godsend. Will be looking to the board as I make a couple modifications this summer.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Replace "manhole" cover? What does that mean? Also, why do you add ring free to every tank of gas?

 

[Speedling]

I didn't change my plugs or oil last year. i didn't have enough hours really at all. So I saved like $500 right?
Already got the stuff ready for this year. Ready to go go go!

 

[robert843]

Replace "manhole" cover? What does that mean? Also, why do you add ring free to every tank of gas?

The man hole cover repair kit is used to fix the issue of clean out plugs becoming difficult to use

 

[Ronnie]

I think manhole cover being referenced is a clean out plug that is being refurbished with a new seal every year.
Using ring free is recommended by Yamaha of course and for all of its engines not just those in their boat line. I used it once when I first bought the boat but at $50 a bottle I can't justify using it in every tank.

I'm somewhere in the middle on the maintence thing now. From the day I got my first jet ski back in the 80s that I needed to learn how to wrench on these things if I was going to own them or I would go broke paying for repairs and maintnance.

As others have said I used to get s lot of satisfaction working on my boat and have bought all of the tools to do oil, spark plug and impeller changes. Replacing the plugs used to be annual thing not because I had to or it was recommend but because I liked doing it and knowing every year that the plugs are new. The last couple of years my priorities have changed (life got busy) and I find myself with less time but more money so I'm more apt to pay someone to work on the boat even though I could do it myself. Basically, I just want the boat to work when I have time to use it, I don't want to keep or continually working on it.

That said, I can't compare maintenance costs between a jet and I/o since I never had the latter but doesn't it all come down to an hourly rate and the number of hours it take to do the job? For yamahas it means changing the oil (and plugs) every so often and taking some time to line the pump bearing, some other parts like the steering cables and tightening up loose nuts and screws and finally add stabil before storing for the off season. I figured out that it takes me less than an hour to change the oil in both engines and lube what needs to be lubed. so If I were to pay for it to be done i would only be willing to pay for an hour of labor plus the cost of materials. if I/os have more recurring maintenance items to address I'd expect maintence to cost proportionally more than it does on a jet boat.

My advice is to do it yourself if you can and have the time to do so but if you can't or don't have the time get educated on what it takes so that you can avoid feeling "ripped off" if you decide to pay someone else to do it.

I try to avoid my local Yamaha dealer because they like to charge by the job not the hour and their quoted costs seem high , like a rip off too me. For example, $700 for the 10 hour service which is basically and oil and lube job.

 

[jollyroger]

The manhole cover is for the clean out plugs as others stated. I will try and paste a link to what my SX190 uses, see part #12. The Yamaha Ring Free is recommended by Yamaha to prevent carbon build up. One ounce of Ring Free treats 10 gallons of gas; which means 3 ounces of Ring Free per 30 gallon tank. This is about $6.00 of treatment per tankful. When we boat we go through 15-20 gallons of gas per day and that is being on the water all day. For me, it is cheap insurance to use Ring Free so that I am doing what I can to make sure the engine lasts as long as possible and runs as well as possible.

http://www.yamahasportsplaza.com/oemparts/a/yam/5004ec45f8700223a0a06bb4/jet-unit-4

I tried to keep track of the money spent boating last year; boat payments, insurance, gas for car, gas for boat, fuel additives, camping fees, etc. The maintenance dollars were minuscule in the total. Yamaha boats are super reliable and SAFE. With 3 kids, a dog, friends, etc. I would never buy a prop boat. And, knock on wood, we have never ingested anything in the jet.

 

[tdonoughue]

And, knock on wood, we have never ingested anything in the jet.

Really? On a 2012? You must not be using it enough.

On a more serious note, to add to your point (which is a very good one), if you do ingest anything, removing it is an operation you can do yourself. Might take a few minutes (like with a rope wrapped around the impeller--ask me how I know), but all very doable, and usually on the water.

 

[jollyroger]

Until I live on a lake and can go out every day I am definitely not using the boat enough.

Ok, here is my I am an old fart story regarding jet boats. Started boating in late 70's when I was a youngster on a 16 foot or so outboard; we had no idea what we were doing initially. The prop scared my parents to death. One morning a salesman pulled into the Marina with 2 Jolly Roger jet boats and our family happened to be walking by. A 2 hour test drive later my parents bought a yellow Jolly Roger (307 Chevy and OMC jet drive). We ingested a few ropes the first couple of years. Talk about a nightmare to get the ropes out! But boy did we have fun through the years.

Flash Forward to today and I have trained my wife and kids to keep ropes waaaay out of the way and never to run over a rope. We do keep a knife with a lanyard, to hook around the wrist, (it is super easy for a knife to slip out of one's hand when wet and disappear to the bottom of the lake) in the glove-box just in case. This is way off topic, but when I ask my kids what they enjoyed doing most each year the boating/camping is at the top of the list. Sun, fun, no cell phones, and family time. Priceless.

 

[Englewoodcowboy]

As for a comparison, most seasonal boaters only change oil once a year and it is best to do at the end of the season when you are prepping it for storage. That being said, the only thing you can compare on a JB vs IO vs IB is the oil change as that is where it stops for the JB. For the IO or IB you have gear oil changes that have to be done so often, along with raw water pump impellers, belts etc. The price comparison will vary based on what everyone else has pointed out here, you can do it yourself and save a ton and become more knowledgeable with your boat or you can pay a dealer.