16 replies to this topic

[thumper]

what do you get if you cross a ski rope with a sportster - a call to the coastguard!!!

yes folks my worst nightmare happened on my third outing in a shiny new sportster

the good news is that i had over 60mph on a magellan gps (see outings log for details)

the boat only has about 2hrs in total.
at a constant 8000rpm it hit over 60mph - the speedo was jumping between 55 - 70mph!!!!

it was absolutely glued to the water and felt very stable - conditions were perfect also.

my girlfrien who was also on the boat decided to go skiing (6am) so that was ok until she finished - shortly after lettting go of the ski rope - approx all of it dissapeared under the boat - engine stopped.

shit

no mask to go under water

called the coastguard

got back ok-
basically about 8m of 12strand nylon ski rope wound itself around the drive shaft - it was very tight to the rubber boot.
sliced down it with a stanley knife then needed mole grips to pull it out - no aparent damage to rubber seal - will check engine bay next time shes just off trailer to make sure there is no water coming in around drive shaft.

good lesson learnt - always switch off engine when reloading skier - never done that in a proped boat - just stuck in neutral

oh well you live and learn - no autopsy - no foul

[Kevin Leclair]

Congrats on the top speed!

On the other note, sorry to hear about the rope ingestion. Hope all checks out well, but you are right we live and learn.

[cAn'T sWim]

Not to throw salt on the wound.....but this is part of the job for the spotter. Oh ya, you need one by law here. Their job after locating the skier that went down, is to keep the rope elevated to avoid it from going under the boat. I always make sure to have someone reliable DOOing this.

[SuperCharged]

the test result on boattest are there.. they say the the top speed is 53 mph


The challenger 180 very disappoint me i think the engine is too small for the boat

The fuel economie and the performance are not very good

well i'm not changing my challenger 1800 for the 2005 for sure!

[thumper]

cant swim - of course you are correct about the spotter -
try getting your mate up at 5am to go skiing!!!

seriously though i have been skiing now for 10 years - never fouled a prop boat ever - i guess i had no idea these pumps sucked some much at idle, it was a lesson well learned and by this website hopefully any other new dooer wont have the same thing happen to them.

[thumper]

the above test was done with fresh 90 octane unleaded next time i will use 95 octane super unleaded just to see if this makes a difference to the top speed - as this is the fuel that is recommended in the european seadoo manual.

i had to wear goggles at 50mph!!!! - with no windshield 60mph felt like 80 on a rice burner

[Kevin Leclair]

i had to wear goggles at 50mph!!!! - with no windshield 60mph felt like 80 on a rice burner

Sounds like a blast!

[stevenh]

the test result on boattest are there.. they say the the top speed is 53 mph


The challenger 180 very disappoint me i think the engine is too small for the boat

The fuel economie and the performance are not very good

well i'm not changing my challenger 1800 for the 2005 for sure!

The boattest numbers stop at 7750RPM for the Sportster, the SCIC limits at 8000. The extra 250RPM will give you a bit more. Speed results vary quite a bit based on conditions. It sounds like the SCIC is a zippy little boat! I was torn between the C-180 and a Speedster 200, after viewing results on boattest, I went with the Speedster 200. I love my Sporster, but 4 person seating is just not enough. The 180 numbers (SCIC) look very similar to the normal 4-tec sportster as far as speed is concerned.

Steve

[cAn'T sWim]

cant swim - of course you are correct about the spotter -
try getting your mate up at 5am to go skiing!!!

seriously though i have been skiing now for 10 years - never fouled a prop boat ever - i guess i had no idea these pumps sucked some much at idle, it was a lesson well learned and by this website hopefully any other new dooer wont have the same thing happen to them.

Prop or Jet....there is a reason for having a spotter. And a better one for making it law here..

Could you imagine what would happen if the rope was your skier.....

Anyway, don't feel bad as I had a large beach towel get sucked up when someone decided to let go of it near my boat. I turned the motor by hand at the flywheel and in reverse while my buddy pulled on the towel from underneath.

5am....is there light where you are at 5am??? Must be darn cold too!!

[Yuji]

Well, regardless of the results I'm picking up my Burnt Orange 180 SCIC this afternoon. I'm hoping it's faster as the motor and pump are broken in...I've also been searching the net for possible aftermarket mods that will bump up the performance. The bottom line is the 180 is pure sexy lookin' and it seats 8! I will post pics once I get it home.

[tiggerman]

Well, regardless of the results I'm picking up my Burnt Orange 180 SCIC this afternoon. I'm hoping it's faster as the motor and pump are broken in...I've also been searching the net for possible aftermarket mods that will bump up the performance. The bottom line is the 180 is pure sexy lookin' and it seats 8! I will post pics once I get it home.

Ya gotta love the orange..... I do.

[Kevin Leclair]

Well, regardless of the results I'm picking up my Burnt Orange 180 SCIC this afternoon. I'm hoping it's faster as the motor and pump are broken in...I've also been searching the net for possible aftermarket mods that will bump up the performance. The bottom line is the 180 is pure sexy lookin' and it seats 8! I will post pics once I get it home.

Sounds excellent, congrats on your new doo!

[thumper]

cant swim -

its dark when we leave - but its light just enough to troll to the ski area (troll- yeh right read 50mph!!!!) by the time weve had a flask of coffee its ok to get wet!! have been doing this for years just not witha jet boat, it was cold also. but hey if its flat you just gotta ski - we cant ski on lakes here as they seem to be full of retired judges fishing off plywood rowing boats - they wouldnt appreciate doos chopping them up at 50+ - it would be fun though!!!

[thumper]

yuji

picking up a new boat is probably the second best thing ever - hope you have heaps of fun - btw - what is a bazooka sub???? im assuming its sort of a very large speaker...made by bazooka

[Yuji]

u r correct Thumper, it's a powered subwoofer with a housing shaped like a tube. off topic a bit but....Can some of you please help this family make a decision...we are in the process of purchasing a Chalenger 180 SCIC w/ wakeboard tower. Our problem is deciding on color...Blue or Copper? You woulnd't believe the stress this is causing us heh heh. Any advice or opinions is greatly appreciated. I'm headed to the dealer in an hour...and I'm still torn grrrrr

[CANDOO]

u r correct Thumper, it's a powered subwoofer with a housing shaped like a tube.  off topic a bit but....Can some of you please help this family make a decision...we are in the process of purchasing a Chalenger 180 SCIC w/ wakeboard tower. Our problem is deciding on color...Blue or Copper? You woulnd't believe the stress this is causing us heh heh. Any advice or opinions is greatly appreciated.  I'm headed to the dealer in an hour...and I'm still torn  grrrrr

Copper is hot, yet the family will choose blue. I just bought a 2004 speedster 200 and I wanted RED, the wife won !
Pick your battles, I say!

[thumper]

you already said that blue is common where you are - it doesnt have to match in transit - so i would go with the copper just to be different - it certainly looks cool in your avatar