Thoughts on a used Sea Doo versus a used Waverunner

Both are very reliable, what I like over the Yamaha is the Sea-Doo with its closed loop cooling as you stated. Nothing worse than sea water lingering/trapped in the nooks and crannies. You will never get 100% of the sea water out no mater what you do when you bring them home after a day at the beach. Not even thinking of the electrolysis happening while you're puttin around.

 

Take it to a dealer for inspection. I tend to stick to newer stuff. 10 year old PWC is a little too old. If something breaks, it would be a nice down payment on a newer one.

 

What exactly are the goals with the pwc?


If you're strictly just looking to have fun, I would recommend a new spark. This time of the year, you can find good deals on an already cheap ski.

They start around 5k new

 

I actually just got an email from Sea Doo, they are selling new Sparks for $4,799 now.

You cannot beat that for a new ski

 

The R&D for Spark was over 7 years. Polytec is not "recycled water bottles", that is way too simple. The Spark is meant to be more fun and thus not as stable as the fiberglass models. You are correct that it is a shallow hull and you wouldn't be comfortable in the chop. There are quite a few people that do ride them in the ocean due to light weight and being able to launch off a wave. Taking out the screws to work on the engine is not a big deal. Nothing like splitting the case on a motorcycle.
There will be more polytec hulls coming from Seadoo for other models.

 

I spend a few weeks on the FL coast every year and EVERY marina that rents PWC's rents Yamahas. They must know something, the prices to buy them are are about the same.

I own 2 Sea Doos and one is always broken. I only use them in fresh water.

 

Seadoo or swim.

 

I prefer the seadoo . I have owned seadoos for around 25 years normally buying a new one every 2 to 4 years and have never had a problem with them.. I also would NOT recommend a spark for the location you want to use it . I would recommend the GTX or for a few dollars less a gti.
During the winter the resale value on these things is terrible .. I sold a 4 year old I think rtx with 260 hp for only $3500 last winter... THat was one model i did not like it was fast but just to big and heavy..
also i use them in salt water ...and rarely get around to flushing them ...
I have also owned other brands and they have all given me more troubles ...

 

I advertised mine on craigslist it sold pretty quick after it sat at the dealer for 5 months with no interest at all....I think it sold in about a week on craigslist so not a bad place to look

 

I am an observer in some of the Long Island jetski groups in Facebook. They're full of 'colorful' characters who id never want to be near on the water, but one thing is for sure and that's that undoubtedly every week there's a post about a broken Sea Doo while Yamaha owners rave about their reliability. For the sound I would recommend trying to find a FX HO. By all accounts those are pretty bulletproof, great in the chop and come without the supercharger maintenance of the SHO. My riding is limited to some old Polaris' that are still running great.


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I had 2 older seadoos, the 2 stroke variety... great machines, never an issue. Recently purchased a couple of the Yamaha FX SHO.. OMG!!! these are the absolutely fastest things ive ever been on.. SCAREY fast! something like 260 hp. Love em!! no real maintenance issues. oil change after initial 10 hrs... super stable in the water.

Either way ya go, youll get a quality machine (new.. no idea what ya get on the used market, like anything used.)

 

We have two Yamaha FX SVHOs and use them in Pensacola Beach, where we live during the warm water months. We have never had an issue with them. We have only owned Yamaha motocross/watercraft for 20+ years and never had a problem. We also have a Yamaha jet boat. Again, no issues. Our friends with Seadoos have problems every year. Also, Yamahas come salt water ready, so no adjustments needed to move from fresh to salt and vice versa.

If you want fast, the FX is blazing fast. I've gotten mine up to 82 on the Sound.

 

The greatest 'tell' for me when I was looking for a ski last year was that Yamaha offers a much longer extended warranty. If I recall correctly it was 2 or 3 years longer than the longest Available seadoo warranty at the time.


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I live on Pensacola Beach May-Sep and have yet to see a Kawasaki on the water.

 

Get a Honda -- besr PWC I have owned

 

That's amazing!!!

Have you made any modifications to it?

I have never driven a high performance jet ski. Fastest I've gone is probably 63 on a Yamaha VX110. That's a really good jet ski to drive. Our friends have two and they always seem to be running and are easy but fun to ride.

I turned on offshore jet ski racing the other day. It was a race from Long Beach to Catalina and back. Every make was represented except Sea Doo. Kawasaki was really popular which is the exact opposite of recreational jet skis.

 

That's bone stock, and I still had some left to go but was approaching a big boat wake and had to slow. They are so fast that they'll put you off the back in a second if you grab too much throttle. But very stable, which is cool.