3 replies to this topic

[rdtbay]

Our Family has been debating over the purchase of a couple of used boats that are for sale in our area. The first is a 2002 18ft bowrider with a Merc 3.0L I/O ( top speed of approx 42 mph). The second is a 2005 SeaDoo Sportster with the 155 Hp V-Tec engine c/w wake tower (top speed approx 50mph).

Our primary purpose will be recreational wakeboarding and water skiing. My son is 160lbs and very athletic, I'm about 180lbs and fairly athletic too. Neither of us have much experience water skiing, but we're both keen on improving our skills and making use of a slalom course set up on the lake.

Could anyone comment on which of these crafts would give the best performance for skiing and wake boarding?

Also, could anyone comment on how the fuel economy might compare between these two boats?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated!!

[Kevin Leclair]

I am a little biased but I would say go with the SeaDoo. I have driven both jet and prop boats; I must say prop boats are much easier to drive when launching, docking etc. but once you get this mastered in a jet boat then you will be good to go.

Our first boat was a 2000 160 Speedster which is what I learned to wakeboard behind, I weigh about 145 so the boat had no troubles getting me up. We now have a 2008 180 Challenger that we wakeboard, wakeskate and tube behind. The jet boat does produce "jet spray" but a longer rope will take care of this. The main reason I prefer jet boats over prop boats is because of the ability to go in swallower water and the safety aspect of not having to worry about a prop. The newer SeaDoos also have closed-loop cooling which is a great benefit if you boat in salt water.

I have friends that slalom behind our 180 Challenger with great ease, they weigh around 160 - 180. Our boat has the 215hp engine; when pulling them I have to give it everything because the ski creates quite a bit of drag but it gets them up fairly easy.

I can't really comment on the fuel economy but check out http://boattest.com and they should have some fuel results for you to compare. Overall we have been happy with the fuel economy in both SeaDoo's we have owned.

[ssmedt]

if you get a prop boat i would at least look for one with the 4.3L V6 it will have much more power to tow people; but you will have no problem with pulling up you and your son behind the sportster and the sportster will be much more fun even when not towing someone

[Tristan]

Hi there, we have a 2008 150 speedster and use it for waterskiing - what an excellent skiboat, highly recommended! Once you have mastered the handling characteristics of a jetboat, they are so much more easier to drive and manouvre around your waterskier than a prop boat.

I weigh 84kgs and can be pulled easily out of the water on a single ski. My brother in law is about 100kgs, takes a few seconds longer but he can also get up on a single ski - alot of it comes down to skier technique and experience. If we were to place a different pitch impeller that would give us improved low down grunt and pull out of the water easy but we would lose top end - works at the moment so need to change.

We use about 20 to 30 liters for 4hours of skiing, speed between 20mph to 35mph.

Good luck with your boat choice and future skiing.
Cheers
Tristan