If you had 10k to spend on...

[capt]

Hello guys,
I have been on this forum lurking and was looking into getting a Yamaha jet boat, but I have decided to get a pair of jet ski's instead. I know NOTHING about jet ski's and would like some input from all of the experienced guys here.

I am looking for two jet skis/waverunners/seado's I have 8K-10K to spend for the pair. What should I look for? Make? Model? Year? Should I buy them as a pair or separate? I would like to have 3 seaters and enough power to pull a tube. I would like it to be reliable.

Also any links to videos or websites that would give me more education on jet skiing would be great.

 

[NavyShooter]

Our family looked at jet skis first, and considered a few of them, then realized that a boat was a better fit for us.

Does your price range include the cost of your trailer? Here's an example site (not endorsing, just pointing at the first one that came up on Google with a price: http://www.loadrite.ca/most-popular-boat-trailers/#jetski )

Are you looking used or new? If new, there's not much on the market that fits that price range...

$10000
-1644 (twin trailer)
= $8356

A staring model Sea-Doo Spark will run you around $6K in Canadian funds, (I see it listed for $5300 US) but that doesn't leave you much room to play to buy two of them.

At least not new. So....on the used market?

 

[capt]

Yes I know that new is going to be out of the question. Was looking to get 2 used skis with trailer for around 10k. But was wanting to know which Manufacturer would be a good one to look for. I was thinking a yamaha fx sho and then maybe a more beginner to intermediate model .

 

[biglar155]

My 2 cents as a Father of 4: If your Avatar Picture is your family, I'd strongly recommend a boat instead of skis. It really does depend on what your plans are but if you want to do swimming, cruising, and tubing, there are a TON of used boats out there in your price range. They won't necessarily be jet boats, but don't let that dissuade you. I had a 1990 17' Rinker open-bow with an 85 HP Yamaha outboard that we'd STILL be driving around to this day if the planets and stars hadn't aligned and allowed me to get my Yami. In fact, I sold it to a guy here at work and he still uses it on a regular basis.

You may have already made up your mind, and you know what's going to work best for your family, but I'd recommend getting on boattrader.com and browsing. Just get on there every day and browse. You can set up alerts for when boats with your search criteria show up. You'll get to know what's a good deal and what isn't after a few weeks. Generally speaking, I've found that if the boat or ski looks clean and well maintained from the outside, the critical systems have probably received the same treatment.

(The other thing that browsing for a while does is help you realize that the one you have your heart set on is not the "only fish in the sea." If the seller doesn't want to deal, there will be another boat along in a week that's in better shape with a lower price.)

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, but again - I've been boating since I was a toddler and as one Dad to another I think your family would be better off with a boat than skis.

 

[Av8tor07]

I had a 2003 bayliner 175. Cost me $5000. We had a lot of fun on it. I also recommend the boat over the jet ski.

 

[robert843]

I do agree with the above posts with if you have a family of 5 I would get a boat you will likely find skis not a comfortable fit for you guys. That said to answer your question I would try and find a 2011 or newer sea doo gti or a pair of 2011 or newer Yamaha vx cruisers should be able to find a pair of either close to your price range. Just me personally I would avoid a used supercharged ski you never know what kind of mess your getting into with those.

 

[Bruce]

I agree, skis are fun but a boat will be much better for the family.

Is that $10K cash? If so you should be able to use that as a down payment and easy finance the rest of a used or new 190. You might be able to get a good used 230 under $20K but financing an older boat may be harder.

You would spend way more on fuel with the skis.

 

[Bruce]

And there is nothing wrong with buying that $5K Bayliner (bottom liner?) to enjoy the summer then upgrade when you can.

 

[Betik]

@capt

I was totally where you are right now. I like motorcycles so skis was would make perfect sense for me. I thought $15k and I am done. I could tow on a CRV like vehicle and have a minimal investment. The 2 reasons that changed my mind were the following:

1. On average the ski excitement wears off quickly. Unless you are super attached to it, I can see how you wish had a boat. My wife and I worked out all the arrangement about how we could manage 2 kids and 2 adults in 2 skis. Not a an easy task. For example, if I wanted to tow my 5 year old, then my wife will need to be observed, but who will be supervising my 3 year old ? Too much work to call it a "fun time" On the boat, she can manage the 3 year old and observe the 5 year old. And then second reason sold us 100% on the boat over the skis.
2. we love being together and we could all ride our boat to bimini on the boat, whereas on the skis you will have to leave the kids behind.

if I may give one advise is to be very very patient until you find something you like. The longer you wait the most likely you will have more than 10K for your future boat.
Note: I was very very impatient, but I feel obligated to tell people to do as I say not as I do.

 

[Jgorm]

I have at least 2000+ cumulative hours on sit down skis. I thought about getting 2 of them for a day, then realized how much better a boat is. Granted I had to buy a tow vehicle too, but it's still worth it. One skis burns as much gas as a boat, mybe more. All wake sports suck, even if you have a legal 3 person ski. There is no communication while riding, no radio, no beer, it's only good when the air and water is warm, you get wet, can't bring a shade and chairs, only holds a tiny cooler, gotta bring spare gas cans..... If you're goal is to go out and spend more than an hour on the water with your family or friends, get a boat. Then get a stand up ski because they are 100x more fun.

 

[jdonalds]

I switched from a ski to a boat. We lived in Southern California where I could take the ski on the ocean which was great fun. When we moved to Redding, CA, away from the ocean lake riding was just not as much fun as ocean riding. Also after several wonderful years of riding the ski I realized I might be riding with 10-20 ski club members, but we were each alone on our ski. Socialization on a ski is done on the shore or a restaurant, not on the water. So we bought a boat.

My son and I both had skis and miss riding together, but we rode all the arms of our large lake twice and there wasn't much more to do on them. The boat is a whole different experience. It is social, you can stop and walk around, set up a table and eat lunch, tow more than one person on a tube (skis are usually restricted to one).

I find gas cost is about equal with the boat vs ski. The reason is we would jump on a ski and ride it full throttle for a few hours. With a boat we tow someone for 15 minutes, shut down, drift while people swim or eat, then fire it back up to tow a wake board. So the boat engine hours are much lower on a boat than a ski in our situation.

I'd go with a boat.

In my experience (and my son works at a Yamaha / Seadoo shop) Seadoo is by far the least reliable brand. Kawasaki is pretty good but Yamaha is by far the most reliable. Don't even think about buying a 2-stroke either.

 

[LeeFlan7]

Ditto...go with the boat, it will become a part of your whole families lives and will love the lack of wifi, Facebook, twitter and cell phones

 

[skrip345]

I would second all the comments here with the ski vs boat argument. We have quite a few jet skis, (5 actually) and they all sit except our two stand ups. We use the boat. If you decide you have to have skis, you will definitely want Yamaha four strokes. It may be a little tough, I haven't shopped that market for a while. However, don't be tempted by the low cost of the two stoke skis. Even if it cost you a shade more than your planned budget, fuel injected four stroke Yamahas will make life much easier! Ive always had good luck on craigslist. Let us know what you end up with!

 

[capt]

Thanks for all the replies and good advice. I think you might have talked me out of skis.

 

[Scottintexas]

I had a neighbor with two small kids who doesn't mind buying stuff, they started off with two skis and after a season they were tired of them not being "together" enough, not being able to carry stuff (water/food/toys) with them around the lake and having to leave stuff at the marina or beach unattended, they eventually upgraded to a boat,

I think if your wife enjoys the water a boat would be a better way for the "family" to enjoy time together, everybody will be together and your be able to enjoy more time together (she'll be able to take pictures of the kids tubing while you drive, you'll be able to pack a lunch, put the anchor down and enjoy a swimming break).

I would suggest even an 04 yamaha as long as it's a 4 stroke and it should be very doable for what you need.

If you did get a ski I would suggest any 4 stroke Yamaha because if you had problems we could still give you a lot of help,

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Sorry I did not read all the posts but I have a lot of experience with skies 1000's of hours on all sorts of skies. with 4 kids and 11 grand children . Remember my first rule on a ski is take off one passenger, if it is a 2 seater 1 person will work fine 2 will be a pain in the butt. 3 seater the same applies it will be comfortable with 2 people and a pain with three. You can find a boat and trailer that will handle the job and do water sports for the kids etc and maybe even have some money left over for a simple ski to play around on and get accustom to those also.

 

[Betik]

Thanks for all the replies and good advice. I think you might have talked me out of skis.

The people on this forum talked me out of a 3 month old Honda Pilot.

 

[Bill D]

But think of everything we talked you into @Betik.

 

[Betik]

I dont need to think about it. My wife reminds me very often of the additional $13,000 on top of the boat purchase price.

 

[rsg1963]

Not sure if you're still on the fence or not. A lot of good advice here. I've personally owned/been on JetSki's for over 30 years with thousands of hours on both stand ups and couch models. Also now own a boat. I could NOT have the boat without at least one ski. For a family of three a 3 seater ski can be a blast, you can even legally tow with them. Add a stand-up and it's perfection. However, as some have said, you will spend most of your time on the shore watching and not seeing much since you should be a safe distance from the shore (think young swimmers having their heads caved-in, not generally a good thing). Three people on a 3 seater can be the most fun of all, as long as all three don't mind occasionally falling off during a turn or while idling around. To your original question, what to do with $10k. Your idea about two runabouts is not bad. Just be sure they are Kawasaki or Yamaha. I have not seen ANY long term Honda's, SeaDoo's, etc., worth owning. $10k is tough considering it will include a trailer. Look for low hours, hulls not gouged to hell and an engine compartment fairly clean (showing the owner cared). Then ask to bring them to a local shop for cable, compression, pump checks. A $10k boat will be pretty beat up I think. Perhaps $10k down on a $18-20k boat would get you something worth investing in? Just a thought.