Dale180se

Greetings folks!

Looking for some advice and insight as I'm considering getting back into a jet boat.

My last jetboat was a Challenger 2000 with the 240hp merc. I thought it was a fun boat however three elements of that boat forced me to sell. One, my 240hp merc was a smoke machine at idle. Was so obnoxious. Two, in waters with floating sea grass, the inlet screen would get clogged and only effective way to clear was jumping in the water and manually clearing it out. Finally, it seemed like that boat had a torque steer issue because I recall it was more difficult to steer to one side under speed that the other. Otherwise I really enjoyed that boats performance and features.

I've currently got my eye on two Seadoo's:

Boat 1: 2007 Seadoo Challanger 180(Used three times with about 2 hours)
I really like some of the improvements they've made over my older Challenger 2000. Closed loop cooling, four stroke etc... I've been doing some research on this and I have seen a supercharger washer issue? Whats this all about? What inherent issues are typical and what should I look for when previewing and sea trialing this boat? Asking price from private owner is $12,800

Boat 2: 2004 Seadoo Utopia 205 240hp merc(Approx 50 hours)
I really like the Utopia 205's size and feature set however I'm worried about the smoke issue I had with my older challenger. In addition I'm worried that parts, service and costly repairs could be an issue with the merc/seadoo combo. This boat comes with no trailer but at an asking price of $6999 it sounds like a smoking buy(punn?) however I have only seem some low res pictures so a on-site visual is required before making an assesment on condition.

Can anyone offer some thoughts and suggestions to assist me in making a decision on these boats or perhaps other models??

Thanks in advance.
Craig

The only thing I can say about the Challenger 180se , That I think it is the best bang for your buck! If you were purchasing a new unit..$12.800 thats cheap..Id purchase another 4-tec.

I'm glad we have a Master Electrician here! So will this $60 charger do the trick while the doo's in hibernation? Low temp here is in the 30's. I plan to park the doo outside this winter season .

Here's the link
http://www.harborfre...temnumber=91325

Thanks!

Thats a perfect charger for over the winter. As long as they dont over charge the battery. Automatic Shut down at full charge. Take battery out of Doo and store in garage or basement If possible. Dont put battery on a concrete floor.

After filling up I ran the doo for about 20 minutes between idle and 4500 RPM..

I was nervous to push it any longer because it was running rough and won't go over 4500 RPM
at WOT. After I shut it off i noticed white smoke coming out off the exhaust. Haven't started it since.

If I did injest water from the fuel lines or sucked the crap from the bottom of the tank during the 20 minute ride to get me to the ramp. What is the solution and/or worst case scenerio. Did I do some internal enigine damage?

I would think the water would pass thought in 20mins But how knows? I dont think you did any damage. Dont get worried yet! Pull the spark plugs out and check for spark or even better get some new ones NGK DCPR8E try that first. Then run it with a hose. Im thinking now that it might be the problem. Hope this helps. Im jealous that you still get to ride! Got to winterize mine soon it was 30f/-2C last night.

Boat ran top notch all day cruising around on a 1/2 tank of new gas.

I forgot to keep an eye on the gas gauge until the engine started sputtering at WOT and we were about 2 lakes away from the ramp.

Once I felt the engine start sputtering, I reduced throttle to idle and the sputtering stopped, but the engine idled rough.
I gave it a little more throttle to about 3000 RPM's and engine smoothed out. We crawled back to the ramp without stopping and took about 20 minutes running at 3000 RPM's on fumes with no stopping or sputtering occuring.

Once I got to the ramp, I put some new gas in and went to ride some more but the rough idling continued and the engine won't throttle up past 4500 RPM's. I had no engine or tempature warning lights come on.

Not sure what could happen to the engine from running on fumes? Any idea's on what to check?
Maybe fouled sparkplugs, clogged fuel filter, drone mode?

Any help will be appreciated before I bring it in to a mechanic?

Thanks..

Maybe water finally got in the fuel lines from running the tank so low. Condensation builds up in the tank when not full all the time. hot/cold. Or maybe you pluged your fuel filter from sucking up crap from the bottom of your tank. You might think crap doesent get in to the tank but you be surprised after 4yrs. How long did you drive the DOO after you put gas in it?

I believe he works with Customer Service, just ask if you can speak with Remy; I believe he is the only Remy in that office unless things have changes since the last time I spoke with BRP.

Reme ext# 2608 Dont take no for a anwser!