PWC Recommendations

SOB · 03-09-2010, 03:42 PM

I had bought a 2000 Sea Doo GTX 3 seater brand new. I did 2 years on the bay in RI and 6 up on the lake with it. Never had any issues with it, 3 person is perfect size for 2 people, but easily handled 3. Motor was a 952 CC 2 stroke, more than enough power to snap your neck back. I never had an issue with it wiping out in 8 years. It is a very stable ride, had it out on the borads on the worst of days. I do not know too much about the newer models, but I always received good service in Tilton, right off exit 20. Forget the name, but they were always helpful.

If you buy brand new then you won't have any issues. All I ever did for maint was cleaning it out, spraying the anti-corrosive on the engine, kept the oil levels up etc. In the end I had over 700 hours on it.

Good Luck.

dpg · 03-10-2010, 11:55 AM

Sea Doo has some neat innovations on the new RXT models such as braking and a suspension deck.

Braking? How the heck do they brake?

Rattlesnake Gal · 03-10-2010, 12:54 PM

I concur with anyone who has recommended HK Sports in Hookset. That is where we purchased our Sea Doo and have it winterized/serviced each year.

GTO · 03-13-2010, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal

I concur with anyone who has recommended HK Sports in Hookset. That is where we purchased our Sea Doo and have it winterized/serviced each year.

I also recommend HK, but the one in Tilton. I shopped all over the lakes region last year (Jan, Feb) trying to get a good deal on a brand new left over. I even tried HK in Hooksett but the saleman there said he'd call me back and never did. I went to HK and got a great deal on a left over GTX. Brand new. They threw in the trailer for free, gave me a cover at cost. Great to deal with. The first week I had it, chipmunks ate all the wires out of the new trailer. I called HK and talked to the service dept. They said they would fix it and the service manager happened to live a few streets over, offered to pick the trailer up at my house in Merideth and when it was finished, he brought it back. That kind of service will get them good recommendations all the time from me.

PS, I got the same machine $4000 cheaper than what Irwin Marine in Alton was going to sell it to me for

codeman671 · 03-10-2010, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpg

Sea Doo has some neat innovations on the new RXT models such as braking and a suspension deck.

Braking? How the heck do they brake?

The water is really tough on the pads and rotors...

They use a lever-actuated gate control on the left grip that drops the gate over the pump nozzle to redirect the propulsion forward, thus braking. It also acts as your reverse control all on one.

http://www.sea-doo.com/en-US/watercr...controlBraking

offmycloud · 03-10-2010, 01:46 PM

Can I just leave it tied up by the dock our should I use a ramp and keep it fully out of the water when not in use? What is optimal if I already have a dock?

There are no 25 HP ones I can buy for my kids, correct?

Thanks

chipj29 · 03-10-2010, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by offmycloud

Can I just leave it tied up by the dock our should I use a ramp and keep it fully out of the water when not in use? What is optimal if I already have a dock?

There are no 25 HP ones I can buy for my kids, correct?

Thanks

There are no 25HP PWCs that I am aware of.

You can leave it in the water, but many people would not recommend it. The floating docks that you can drive up on work pretty well.

Rattlesnake Gal · 03-10-2010, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by offmycloud

Can I just leave it tied up by the dock our should I use a ramp and keep it fully out of the water when not in use? What is optimal if I already have a dock?

There are no 25 HP ones I can buy for my kids, correct?

Thanks

I think a lift of some kind is the way to go.

These might stay under the 25 mph

They appear to be kid friendly and they look quite fun. They will keep you fit too! They are a real step up from a pedal boat.

Convertible Wind Surfing Board

Water Bikes

Hydrobike

Sea Cycle

Hydrobike

Water Trikes

Rattlesnake Guy · 03-10-2010, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by offmycloud

Can I just leave it tied up by the dock our should I use a ramp and keep it fully out of the water when not in use? What is optimal if I already have a dock?

There are no 25 HP ones I can buy for my kids, correct?

Thanks

We are on the Broads side of Rattlesnake and my friend Dan convinced me that the PWC would last a lot longer if it were out of the water. Two reasons 1) reduction in condensation 2) reduction in the banging into the dock. We invested about a grand in a lift like this. It actually had the unintended benefit of adding some weight to the dock which can be a good thing in rough weather. I added a bit of a out rigger leg on the bottom so that it would not put such a twisting load on the dock. If I had it to do over, I would get a taller one for the bigger than expected range of water height on Winni. Ours came with a 2nd key which restricted the speed. Kids had no idea why we would even suggest they would want to use it.

codeman671 · 03-10-2010, 09:20 PM

I use two Sunstream mini lifts for ours with an aluminum gangway from shore that connects between them. The mini lifts are hydraulic (one is solar powered) and have a good lifting range. You can get them with an even wider lift range than mine for places where large waves are a concern.

I drive right on, reach over, hit the button on the pendant (key fob available as well), and out of the water it comes. Great setup.

NHKathy · 03-10-2010, 10:06 PM

has anyone here ever flipped a SeaDoo (UNintentionally)?? i did last year (my 1st time riding one and was going slow)
I think it was the way i turned and hit my own small wake...

chipj29 · 03-11-2010, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4 for Boating

Regarding 25HP, the only ones that I know of that are below this are the older Kawasaki 440 stand up skis that are not all that easy to ride but come in at about 23-24HP.

A couple of questions for those that may be in the know.
1. On the topic of 2 or 3 seater, what are the ramifications tied to being classified as a boat as opposed to personal ski craft? Does this make any difference in terms of who can ride/drive?

2. We are also thinking of buying one but the topic of having guests come over for say a weekend from out of town and not have a NH boating license comes up all the time. How do people handle this? Many of our friends have ridden these before and have experience but I guessing would not be interested in spending some of the vacation going to school as they say.

Thanks!

1. There is no difference in who can drive a ski craft or boat. All require the boaters certification. One of the differences between a 3-seat PWC and a ski craft (fewer than 3 seats) is the lake restrictions. Many bodies of water in NH prohibit the use of ski craft. With the proper sticker, a 3+ seat PWC is allowed in those areas.
2. I am not sure, but I think I have heard that temporary certificates are available. Don't quote me on this though. If that is not an option, any person who is driving would need to have a boaters certificate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NHKathy

has anyone here ever flipped a SeaDoo (UNintentionally)?? i did last year (my 1st time riding one and was going slow)
I think it was the way i turned and hit my own small wake...

I have done it 3 or 4 times unintentionally. Sometimes it is the slow-speed "events" that will get ya. One of my flips was at a higher speed (I was screwing around on it, doing about 30 mph). The other ones were slow speeds with passengers. All that extra weight from the passengers can make things a bit tippy.

John A. Birdsall · 03-12-2010, 02:06 PM

I flipped a rented one, and the funny part was that on the bottom it gave direction to flip it back, one direction only, I forget whether that was clockwisse or counter clockwise..

Oh yeah and we were watersking with it. Of coarse we ate the water ske line once, and had to tow it back in. Afterwords my son said he signed something that said we would not tow skies with it.

Nice information to know.

03-10-2010, 12:54 PM	#3
Rattlesnake Gal Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Central NH Posts: 5,252 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 1,451 Thanked 1,349 Times in 475 Posts	HK Sports I concur with anyone who has recommended HK Sports in Hookset. That is where we purchased our Sea Doo and have it winterized/serviced each year.

03-10-2010, 10:06 PM	#11
NHKathy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Moultonborough when I can / RI Posts: 699 Thanks: 180 Thanked 38 Times in 22 Posts	this is a little off the topic here, but.... has anyone here ever flipped a SeaDoo (UNintentionally)?? i did last year (my 1st time riding one and was going slow) I think it was the way i turned and hit my own small wake...

03-12-2010, 02:06 PM	#13
John A. Birdsall Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Norwich, CT Posts: 599 Thanks: 27 Thanked 51 Times in 35 Posts	flippinga a jet ski I flipped a rented one, and the funny part was that on the bottom it gave direction to flip it back, one direction only, I forget whether that was clockwisse or counter clockwise.. Oh yeah and we were watersking with it. Of coarse we ate the water ske line once, and had to tow it back in. Afterwords my son said he signed something that said we would not tow skies with it. Nice information to know.

03-09-2010, 03:42 PM	#1
SOB Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pawtucket, RI Posts: 31 Thanks: 3 Thanked 12 Times in 3 Posts	I had bought a 2000 Sea Doo GTX 3 seater brand new. I did 2 years on the bay in RI and 6 up on the lake with it. Never had any issues with it, 3 person is perfect size for 2 people, but easily handled 3. Motor was a 952 CC 2 stroke, more than enough power to snap your neck back. I never had an issue with it wiping out in 8 years. It is a very stable ride, had it out on the borads on the worst of days. I do not know too much about the newer models, but I always received good service in Tilton, right off exit 20. Forget the name, but they were always helpful. If you buy brand new then you won't have any issues. All I ever did for maint was cleaning it out, spraying the anti-corrosive on the engine, kept the oil levels up etc. In the end I had over 700 hours on it. Good Luck.

03-10-2010, 11:55 AM	#2
dpg Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 2,591 Thanks: 150 Thanked 229 Times in 166 Posts	Sea Doo has some neat innovations on the new RXT models such as braking and a suspension deck. Braking? How the heck do they brake?

03-10-2010, 01:46 PM	#6
offmycloud Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chicago IL and Moultonborough Posts: 165 Thanks: 3 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Can I just leave it tied up by the dock our should I use a ramp and keep it fully out of the water when not in use? What is optimal if I already have a dock? There are no 25 HP ones I can buy for my kids, correct? Thanks

The Following User Says Thank You to Rattlesnake Guy For This Useful Post:
offmycloud (03-11-2010)

03-10-2010, 09:20 PM	#10
codeman671 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,486 Thanks: 221 Thanked 810 Times in 486 Posts	I use two Sunstream mini lifts for ours with an aluminum gangway from shore that connects between them. The mini lifts are hydraulic (one is solar powered) and have a good lifting range. You can get them with an even wider lift range than mine for places where large waves are a concern. I drive right on, reach over, hit the button on the pendant (key fob available as well), and out of the water it comes. Great setup.

The Following User Says Thank You to codeman671 For This Useful Post:
offmycloud (03-11-2010)