I am half considering buying a used jet boat that is about 14 to 16 feet long. But a lot seem to have engine issues. Maybe the engines in these boats are variations of the jet ski engines and not that durable.
Used jet boat
- Thread starter Donald
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im in nj and when i was in Ny i owned a boat but it did not pay because of the long winters.
My brother in Buffalo just sold his jet boat, it did not get used enough, and storage and maintenance was not worth it to him. People beat the heck out of these little 4 seater jet boats.
Jet boats require a ton of maintenance. Well any boat for that matter. Do you have a place to store it inside?
The engines are durable IF maintained. And if it's an older carburated 2-stroke, it may have been run lean (on oil or gas, or both...) and that can lead to cylinder scoring ...
At first I thought you were talking about a Tahiti or something with a Chevy in it and a Berkeley Jet or a Jaccuzzi ... But if it's a small jet, it may have one or two PWC motors and jets. Can still get up and haul, but the HP is less and the go is less too.
The jets I have issues with are the 455 Olds that do not get built right. The often knock the bottom ends out of them ...
Jets (all jets) like RPM. Folks figure this out real quick and then they start to spin them to get speed, or up on plane quicker. etc. RPM is OK as long as everything is built for it... But years of WOT and max RPM can take their toll ...
At first I thought you were talking about a Tahiti or something with a Chevy in it and a Berkeley Jet or a Jaccuzzi ... But if it's a small jet, it may have one or two PWC motors and jets. Can still get up and haul, but the HP is less and the go is less too.
The jets I have issues with are the 455 Olds that do not get built right. The often knock the bottom ends out of them ...
Jets (all jets) like RPM. Folks figure this out real quick and then they start to spin them to get speed, or up on plane quicker. etc. RPM is OK as long as everything is built for it... But years of WOT and max RPM can take their toll ...
Jet boats are the WORST buy of all time. They ALL have engine problems, which makes sense that the one you are looking at has problems, as they ALL have problems.
If the boat you are looking at has jet ski engines, usually two of them, those engines are not built with durability in mind.
Rich folks buy these things, have fun on the lake for a season or two, and then dump them. They rarely if ever are maintained and are usually dumped when the problems start up. Then they buy another one and again have a fun boat for another season or two.
I cant say this enough.... RUN from that "deal".
If the boat you are looking at has jet ski engines, usually two of them, those engines are not built with durability in mind.
Rich folks buy these things, have fun on the lake for a season or two, and then dump them. They rarely if ever are maintained and are usually dumped when the problems start up. Then they buy another one and again have a fun boat for another season or two.
I cant say this enough.... RUN from that "deal".
Sounds like a money pit.
I bought my first boat when I was 12 and I'm still building/working on them... I have two in the back yard in various stages of completion, and a canoe. It's a hobby, and in my case, part of life's work. I worked boat yards and ship yards and small boat operations most of my life.
If you got salt water in your veins, you just gotta have somethin to tinker on and go out on. Can't stay on shore forever
Maybe this would be a fun "project" as all boats are... If that is not how you see it, do not go near it...
Small motors are not hard to rebuild, Tuning can be learned easy enough. Jet pumps are simple machines. Learning marine coatings can be a bit tricky when working with dissimilar metals and salt water, but if you are a lake or river person, that gets much easier
If you got salt water in your veins, you just gotta have somethin to tinker on and go out on. Can't stay on shore forever
Maybe this would be a fun "project" as all boats are... If that is not how you see it, do not go near it...
Small motors are not hard to rebuild, Tuning can be learned easy enough. Jet pumps are simple machines. Learning marine coatings can be a bit tricky when working with dissimilar metals and salt water, but if you are a lake or river person, that gets much easier
Maintenance is where these things suffer badly. Owners of any kind of PWC-style vessel do not take care of them at all, and abuse the heck out of them. It's the trifecta of disaster: Boat+Poor Maintenance+Abuse
Even when PWC owners do get repairs performed (they only think of it when something breaks), they always request that the most half-mooned repair be performed.
Down here, jet boats are the least valuable boats by far, because even the little guy knows they are probably trashed. The less they are worth, the less people are willing to put money in them. Result? Nothing but trash on the market.
Even when PWC owners do get repairs performed (they only think of it when something breaks), they always request that the most half-mooned repair be performed.
Down here, jet boats are the least valuable boats by far, because even the little guy knows they are probably trashed. The less they are worth, the less people are willing to put money in them. Result? Nothing but trash on the market.
Yeah, but he's in upstate NY... I dunno about used jets around there....
Around here, used lake and delta boats with decent jet power command prices from a couple of thou for a project, to sixteen or seventeen thou for a nice 10 year old day-cabin with a solid BBC
Around here, used lake and delta boats with decent jet power command prices from a couple of thou for a project, to sixteen or seventeen thou for a nice 10 year old day-cabin with a solid BBC
Boats are holes in the water you throw money into. Unless you live on a lake I wouldn't consider it.
I have a 24' sport cruiser boat so well aware of the maint. and money pit issues.
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Marine powerplants operate on a duty cycle like few others.
"USCG fire suppression and manufacturers' anti-corrosion requirements notwithstanding, "not certified or approved for marine use"
is an oft-heard disclaimer with relatively inexpensive crate or commonly available replacement engines.
Most are seldom able to keep road-going machines at or near WOT all day, whereas that's oftentimes SOP for boats.
Rarely do they get a downhill stretch to rest much, either.
Upside is end-of-season may be a good time to pick one up reasonably. Happy boating.
www.performanceboats.com/forum.php
"USCG fire suppression and manufacturers' anti-corrosion requirements notwithstanding, "not certified or approved for marine use"
is an oft-heard disclaimer with relatively inexpensive crate or commonly available replacement engines.
Most are seldom able to keep road-going machines at or near WOT all day, whereas that's oftentimes SOP for boats.
Rarely do they get a downhill stretch to rest much, either.
Upside is end-of-season may be a good time to pick one up reasonably. Happy boating.
www.performanceboats.com/forum.php
I clearly would want it to be as reliable as a Mercruiser Alpha 1 with GM V8 engine.
That'll be tough to do. Not impossible, but tough. A Jet with that kind of reliability is either a blue-printed Berkeley or Jacuzzi, or a Hamilton out of the box. I have not met a Panther or other stern mounted jet that was very reliable. If salt water is in the equation, it's down to Hamilton ...
You already have a big boat, so what is this smaller one for?
The best of these smaller ones are built for river fishing with upstream rapids as an issue. Shallow draft, good pumps, welded hulls, V-8 power
A few folks try Jet outboards. Usually not very satisfied... Fuel burn is very high and they get tore up pretty easily...
Kawasaki, Yamaha and others made neat little runabouts with PWC power - usually dual engines. If you could find a low time unit from a Grand-Pa (estate) who had a cabin at a lake and bought it for the small kids to go out on with him, that would be a cool deal. Otherwise you need to be real careful about wear and tear... I think that's what most of us are saying
You already have a big boat, so what is this smaller one for?
The best of these smaller ones are built for river fishing with upstream rapids as an issue. Shallow draft, good pumps, welded hulls, V-8 power
A few folks try Jet outboards. Usually not very satisfied... Fuel burn is very high and they get tore up pretty easily...
Kawasaki, Yamaha and others made neat little runabouts with PWC power - usually dual engines. If you could find a low time unit from a Grand-Pa (estate) who had a cabin at a lake and bought it for the small kids to go out on with him, that would be a cool deal. Otherwise you need to be real careful about wear and tear... I think that's what most of us are saying
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