8 replies to this topic

[pokefan]

Anybody seen or driven one of these? Gotta be awesome. Maybe next year, for me. Let me know!

[tiggerman]

Haven't seen one yet....... gotta be nice. Oh yeah, welcome to the board!!! Good to have you aboard, and tell everyone ya know!

[pokefan]

Thanks. Great board. I have just seen pics as well. The guy at the place we got our boat from said it is awesome. 170 to 310, I can't even imagine. The lake patrol thinks I drive too fast now!

[Don]

Long post, so grab a bite to eat while reading this!

I have had hands-on several times now in local showrooms. Yesterday, there was a boat show about an hour away, and I went down to see what was there (it is one of the strong contenders for my big boat purchase this summer). I spent close to an hour on board, looking and probing, including reading the owners manual, and can offer the following comments.

Overall impression: Well built and FUN FUN FUN. I won't repeat what is on the website or the sales brochure, as they are fairly detailed and I'm sure you have read them. Many of my comments may seem 'negative', but do not take that as meaning I dislike the boat. I actually love about 95% of it! It's just the sales brochures do not normally list any of the weaknesses, so I will do it here.

From Bow to stern:
Huge storage capacity up front! You could hide small family there. It is the only storage area which is carpetted so I would be leery of putting wet items there, even though I believe there is a drainhole at the rear of it. I can envision wet carpet in an enclosed area for several hot days! If you plan on stuffing an anchor in the boat, there is no notch for the anchor rode, and I cannot remember if there was even a place to secure the end of the line.

Although not recessed, the cleats and other hardware seemed very solid, and it felt like the backing plates would hold well (couldn't see them, just felt them with my fingers!). The big rails also seemed very sturdy and were just the right size to hang onto.

Bow seat storage x 2. Not very large, but have drain holes in them
Underfloor storage. Should be large enough for any skis you have. Has a support strut to keep the lid open.

Passenger side area: Glove compartment was very good size. Radio mounted below it has detachable faceplate. 12V outlet beside radio. Windscreen lifts up to provide access to a small storage bin. There is a 2-3" flip up deflector on the windscreen which doesn't seem like it would do much (I have not been at high speeds though, so that could be just ignorance on my part)

Helm side: Same flip up deflector. Windscreen lifts up to reveal a small insulated cooler. Good for about 6 pops and a bit of ice. Three control levers. One for the bucket direction, and one for each engine throttle. This is a huge step forward from the Utopia I looked at, which has the bucket and throttle on the same lever (with what appeared to be cheap plastic). Can't remember if the Speedster had metal or plastic levers, but they felt solid. The intake clearance purge is nicely located away from everything else under the throttles.

Both seats swivel 180 degrees and can slide fwd/back. No flip up bolsters.
As this is a sport boat, there is no window or gate blocking the walkway to the bow. No problem in hot climates, but it may mean a few cold breezes in Canada and the Northern USA until June/July.

Small storage under aft bench, as well as more storage above the engine cover.

Pop up ski pylon is a nice touch and felt solid.

Back deck had three well placed handles for reboarding, although the centre-placed ladder could have been one rung longer. Long leg persons may have to do some upper body workout to get onto the swim platform.

The DESS security system is a great idea. You can order addn copies from Bombardier if you have friends, etc that also use the boat.

Separate shut-down buttons for each engine.

The engines: I am not qualified to speak about jet engines as I've never owned one, but they seemed well laid out, and the control rods/cables and buckets at the stern also seemed solid.

One thing that I was not a fan of personally was that everything was seamlessly molded. While it certainly keeps things clean, if you want to add a depth warning indicator, flowmeter, VHF radio, etc to it, without using the 12V outlet and leaving the item in the glove compartment, you will have a bit of work to do.

Hope this helps anyone out there. My impression is that Bombardier put a lot of thought into this boat and 90% of the users would be happy with the layout and features on it.

If anyone has some experience on the water with it, feel free to add or disagree with me!

Don

[cAn'T sWim]

Believe it or not those little flip up wind deflectors actually work...although they are pretty flimsy and I suspect they will eventually get broke. Nonetheless...I made fun of them when I bought it but one day I forgot my shades at home, and had nothing to protect my eyes from the wind and water. I used the deflector and it worked!!

What is the intake purge? Don't have one on the Speedster.....Also don't have DESS but I know this is the Security feature.

[Don]

The intake purge is a little spring loaded button below the bucket control lever. It somehow reverses the water flow while pressed, so any weeds, dead fish, mermaids, etc get 'backwashed' from the intake grill. Not sure if plugging is a common problem with jetboats, but it certainly makes sense. Obviously, if your intake is plugging up, you will run the engines harder, lose power, and lose some control. More importantly, if you do not have enough cooling to your engines, you run risks of premature wear or (unlikely, but possible) a catastrophic failure.

As to the actual piping arrangement, I can't say without looking at some schematics of the system. I know on some jet boats, the outlet can be diverted to allow only a small portion for thrust control, and redirect 70-90% elsewhere (normally a fire monitor). Now that would be interesting! You could race up the river at 100 km/h, then redirect your output to pump water onto shore or put out a fire from 20-30m away!! Obviously, that mod is geared for fire fighters and other services. I suppose normal people could use it for fighting off the hoards of people who want you to take them for a ride!

As for the DESS, I didn't get a hands-on, but I believe they encode the safety lanyard the same way luxury cars have coded keys. That way, even with another lanyard, you cannot steal your neighbours boat...

I'm done here in another day or two, then down to London/Leamington for a few days before heading back to New Brunswick. Hopefully by Easter, I'll have a new boat in tow, Sea doo or otherwise... I'll keep you posted with the results in a few weeks.

Don

[cAn'T sWim]

Don't forget to check out Lockhart's Odyssey when you are out in the London area. I am sure most people out near there know exactly where it is so you can get directions once your out there. The exit which I believe is #59 South is right near where the 403 and 401 meet. About 15-20min from there due South in Courtland.

[Don]

Definitely will. Already went to the Kingston public library and photocopied the yellow pages for Belleville, London, and Toronto.

Don

[cAn'T sWim]

Definitely will.  Already went to the Kingston public library and photocopied the yellow pages for Belleville, London, and Toronto.

Don

Actually if you go to the Seadoo website and you have a Postal Code of where you will be. YOu can enter it and it will give you all the Seadoo dealers nearby.

I think the 2 big ones are Caljet and Lockharts....stay away from Bieda's Powersports. Although they will probably not be on your list as this is a little further away.