Jet Boats

[TJ]

I am considering buying a jet boat and am wondering if any of you can give me some pros and cons. Will be used on Winni. Thanks

[Captain]

I had a 20 foot Yamaha LS2000 for a few years as a a second boat. It was a lot of fun, had great acceleration, and very comfortable seating. They are great for pulling skiers or tubing.

They make a great second boat because you can pick and choose the days and conditions you wish to use them. I don't think I would want to own one on Winnipesaukee as my only boat because there are too many rough days when you wouldn't be comfortable using it.

The twin 135 HP engines (270 HP total) really push you back in the seat when you take off. However they are noisier than an I/O and will use more gas than a comparable runabout with an I/O.

[CharlieL]

Bought a 23-foot Yamaha SR230 runabout last summer. I am fairly new to boating -- this is my second boat.

Pros: Price, acceleration and high-speed performance, styling, design (the SR230 has a great swim platform as a result of no outdrive), relative quietness of engines -- and did I mention price?

Cons: Docking and other low speed maneuvers take lots of practice to master. I'm still learning.

Bottom line: To me the design, styling and price of the boat are enough to offset the time required to master the low-speed handling. However, be prepared for some degree of initial frustration getting comfortable with the driving experience.

[GWC...]

Perhaps I misunderstand your idea of a jetboat; but this one is well designed by Tripp and will easily handle any Lake conditions.

Jet boat by Tripp:

Crazy Horse 38' (12m) high performance Weekender

Twin Jet coupe, 21 inches draft

Beautiful mahogany and tawa interior

Top Speed 43 knots

Link below image:




http://www.trippdesign.net/content/galleries/crazyhorseGallery.htm
http://www.trippdesign.net/content/images/crazyhorse/ch_running.jpg

[TJ]

Yes, you misunderstood my meaning of a jet boat!!

[Kona Bay Girl]

I've been out on a 16 ft Yamaha Exciter. It handles large wakes and crosswakes extremely well unless you haven't planed. The only downside would have to be the lack of control in No Wake zones. Then again, the water jacket on the boat was broken at the time so I don't know if that had to do anything with the steering, but man I loved that boat.

[KevinPlante]

I have a Polaris (Baja) EX2100 for sale. You can go to http://watercraft.polarisindustries.com/watercraft/features.aspx?ModelID=028DCDEB-8A4E-4415-A5EC-54C1812260F7 to check it out. Email me with any questions.

Pros - very inexpensive to run, almost no draft, minimal maintenance, lots of fun, all the fun of any other boat on the lake. This is the only jet boat I've spent any time on, so I can't really compare it to any others for you. I had no problems docking it or taking it through slow moving channels. It is different from boats with a prop hanging down and takes about a weekend to get used to it.

Cons - it is a 21' boat, so some weekends the broads can get to be a bit on the rough side. That is why it is for sale - looking to get into something in the 25' range. This could be a pro or a con, but I get a lot of comments about the boat - most people really like it - but I'm pretty sure it's the only one on Winnipesaukee, so you won't be able to say, 'no you must be mistaken, that must have been someone else in their EX2100, it wasn't me....'

[the real laze]

Keep it coming. I've been looking seriously at the Sea-Doo Sportster 4-tech, 15ft 4 stroke 155hp rotax. It's use would be on a much smaller lake than winni but the pros of strong acceleration for skiing and shallow draft make for desirable traits, as well as the much cleaner 4 stroke motor. Anyone who's used this craft?? Any thoughts, experiences??