Jet ski or boat?

[MonteC]

Like I need something else to waste money on. Been kinda back and forth on buying a decent used boat. Ive always liked the Stratos fish n ski boats. Gotta be an outboard motor, Ive already tried inboard/outboard and dont care to do that again.

Pete down at the shop has a few ratty old jetskis his family puts around on occasionally. He is trying to talk me into one. Im looking at one now but it seems to be looking like a lemon, (oil leak, low compression, cosmetic problems, dead battery)

So I thought id ask you guys what you would rather spend the money on. A boat or a set of jet skis (wife and I). I will probably not spend more than 5k on either

[Matts94Z28]

Greg says boat

[Tankninja09]

Boat. It can be used for so many more things.

[DolSVT00]

Buy my boat, its a fish and ski.

Boats are more fun IMHO, the novelty wears off a jet ski after a while you can only do so much with them.

With a boat you can pack it full of whatever, go to an island on the lake and camp, set it up to ski or wake board, set it up to fish, set it up to just go get drunk and party on a sand bar and have your own personal floating boom box ect......

I've done all of the above with my boat, and I've had it for about 8 years............ Be lucky if I have 20 hours on the outboard though, it cruises at around 57 mph on the GPS and tops out about 10 MPH after that so it don't take long to get somewhere and shut it off...

[chrisheltra]

Its cheaper to find a friend with a boat.

Wheres the option to vote for neither. I got rid of my boat because it never got used. At first their all fun and you use it a lot but after a while you realize that shit is expensive and almost like work. So you end up using it less and less until you never use it and your paying for it to sit around. Then the one time a year you do feel like using it you will have to pay an arm and a leg to get it running right so you can take it out but after you pay for that you cant afford to take it out the rest of the year.

[AverageJoe]

Its cheaper to find a friend with a boat.

Wheres the option to vote for neither. I got rid of my boat because it never got used. At first their all fun and you use it a lot but after a while you realize that shit is expensive and almost like work. So you end up using it less and less until you never use it and your paying for it to sit around. Then the one time a year you do feel like using it you will have to pay an arm and a leg to get it running right so you can take it out but after you pay for that you cant afford to take it out the rest of the year.

:bigthumb: Same reason I dont take my Dad's boat out, Lazy.

[snakeplissken]

Boat w/ a 4 stroke. Especially over some tired smoker jet skis.

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Its cheaper to find a friend with a boat.

Wheres the option to vote for neither. I got rid of my boat because it never got used. At first their all fun and you use it a lot but after a while you realize that shit is expensive and almost like work. So you end up using it less and less until you never use it and your paying for it to sit around. Then the one time a year you do feel like using it you will have to pay an arm and a leg to get it running right so you can take it out but after you pay for that you cant afford to take it out the rest of the year.

X2. I sold mine because we never used it. Two reasons. The first was because boating isnt what it used to be. I grew up boating every weekend and it used to be somewhat exclusive. Not everybody had a boat. Nowadays anybody with a credit score over 600 has one. Rivers and lakes are overcrowded with folks that have no business behind the wheel of a boat. I feel boater saftey courses should be mandatory in this state. Folks dont know the rules of the road when boating and dont even get me started on boat landing etiquette. Secondly everytime and I do mean everytime I went out I got harrassed with by the DNR. Never a drop of alcohol on my boat and all safety equipment was in order and a brand damn new boat. Got stopped and checked every damn time I put it in the water. That gets old. Meh on the boating. If I ever did get another one it would be a lil jon boat to fish and shrimp out of thats about it.

[jmd]

Boat!

[MonteC]

Buy my boat, its a fish and ski.

Boats are more fun IMHO, the novelty wears off a jet ski after a while you can only do so much with them.

With a boat you can pack it full of whatever, go to an island on the lake and camp, set it up to ski or wake board, set it up to fish, set it up to just go get drunk and party on a sand bar and have your own personal floating boom box ect......

I've done all of the above with my boat, and I've had it for about 8 years............ Be lucky if I have 20 hours on the outboard though, it cruises at around 57 mph on the GPS and tops out about 10 MPH after that so it don't take long to get somewhere and shut it off...

What kinda of boat you got randy?

[04ctd]

Its cheaper to find a friend with a boat.

Wheres the option to vote for neither. I got rid of my boat because it never got used. At first their all fun and you use it a lot but after a while you realize that shit is expensive and almost like work.

so you end up using it less and less until you never use it and your paying for it to sit around. Then the one time a year you do feel like using it you will have to pay an arm and a leg to get it running right so you can take it out

i agree. buddy had a $20k boat: 10k hull, 10k for yamaha (ford taurus) V6 outboard.

we took it out for 4 hours, and cleaned for 2 hours afterwards.

here's what Chris is saying: the prep work before, and the cleanup/put away afterwards, takes more time than the time spent enjoying it.

it just like drag racing, it takes 3 days to get it ready, 5 hours of racing, then a few hours to unpack it all over the next few days.


i dont see a boat as a "time wise" investment due to the prep/shutdown time.
esp if the wife helps at first, then she loses interest, it is ALL ON YOU to make sure EVERYONE else has fun. that gets old.


i vote for a motorcycle: the prep time is ~15 minutes, the shut down time is ~15 minutes.

so if you have 2 hours after work, you can buzz around on your bike, but if you have 2 hours after work, you really can't get the boat in the water.

"its just too much effort....rather set here & watch TV"
but the bank dont care, they still want thier payment.

and parts are $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
"break out another _____________"

[LadyInRed]

i vote for a motorcycle: the prep time is ~15 minutes, the shut down time is ~15 minutes.

so if you have 2 hours after work, you can buzz around on your bike, but if you have 2 hours after work, you really can't get the boat in the water.

Wife doesn't really approve of that option ;)

[DolSVT00]

What kinda of boat you got randy?

2002 18' (its actually 17.6) Javelin (Made by stratos) fish and ski.

Basicly a walk through bass boat with a full windshield, it has a full width bench seat in the back (seats 4) and driver and passenger buckets up front (total of 6 passengers). The 2 outside parts of the back bench can be removed and setup as high seats on the front and rear deck. It also has padded lounges on the bow, Pioneer sound system, GPS Fish finder, 62ftlbs trolling motor, 2 automatic airrated livewells, big built in cooler under the back seat, Bimini top blablabla

If you clean it, keep it clean and gas it up you can come borrow it if you want to see if something like that is what you guys want. Everything works and it stays under cover and treated with staybil, it just gets some dust and mildew on the seats from sitting in the winter. I have about anything you could want to use for it, Hi pole for ski's, rope, kneeboard, tube, fishing gear.

[DolSVT00]

Mine's gold instead of green.

http://media.channelblade.com/boat_graphics/dealers/23953/digi39421388_l.jpg

[Matts94Z28]

Those are nice little boats.

[CPTNSLOW]

Ill sell you a great jet ski for $3000

2001 Kawasaki Jet Ski Ultra 150


Its fast and in great shape. Runs awesome too

[LadyInRed]

Randy, what size motor does your boat have?

[Whaler]

Get a boat. They're a lot of fun, especially when you find the right places to hang out. I used it in the Ashley River last weekend, going to the Folly River and cruise to the Morris Island Lighthouse this weekend and Lake Moultrie next weekend. I'd also like to have a Jet Ski for the lake, but they tend to be high maintanence, especially with age.

Shawnboy get harrassed because he looks guilty and probably revving his engine at everyone at the ramp.:poke: :joke:

[DolSVT00]

Randy, what size motor does your boat have?

115 fast strike OHV

[White00gt]

Neither,.. Hydro foil FTW

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Shawnboy gets harrassed because he looks guilty and probably revving his engine and yelling fawkin ricers at everyone at the ramp. :poke: :joke:

Fixed lol

[Whaler]

Fixed lol

There you go. We have a winner. :bigthumb:

[gearmesh, inc.]

Like most have said here, you can do much more with a boat. I once did the expensive fiberglass boat route, though. First was a top of the line Action Craft flats boat, then a Bay Boat, then finally wised up to the simple idea of a tiller steer 15ft Jon boat with a 40hp four stroke.

Anything fiberglass with a gel coated interior is going to require compounding and waxing a couple of times a year to keep its shine. If you ever let the gel coat top layer deteriorate enough, it starts getting chalky and spider cracking.

After all the years of high maintenance fiberglass hulls, I finally decided to go simple with a modified V hull aluminum boat. I no longer cringe when I hear the scrape of an oyster shell along the bottom when I am tooling around in shallow water. I no longer have to yell at idiots throwing wakes around the boat ramps while my boat is tied up while I park my truck. If someone at the ramp bumps me with their fiberglass hull, then it's there loss, not mine.

It is nice to use the boat purely as a tool, instead of a delicate high maintenance trophy. Granted, I can't take rough water like the other boats I once had could, but if it is too rough to ride to where I am going to fish, then it is probably too windy and rough to fish anyway. If I get stuck on a sandbar, then I simply hop out and push the boat back to deeper water. Try that with a big boat with the tide still going out!

And to top it off, $4 a gallon gas won't keep me off the water with the 4 stroke EFI 40 Merc on the transom. I haven't been able to actually use all 6 gallons in the portable tank in a typical fishing day. I usually have 1/2 a tank left after running all over the river for the day. Jet skis are notorious fuel burners. Jet drive is not as efficient as prop drive.

In the hotter months, I usually stay off the water during the day. If I go out, it is at night to do some flounder gigging. The wind lays down at night and it is much cooler. All the other idiots are off the water at night, too.

[bwelch]

Get a boat. They're a lot of fun, especially when you find the right places to hang out. I used it in the Ashley River last weekend, going to the Folly River and cruise to the Morris Island Lighthouse this weekend and Lake Moultrie next weekend. I'd also like to have a Jet Ski for the lake, but they tend to be high maintanence, especially with age.

Shawnboy get harrassed because he looks guilty and probably revving his engine at everyone at the ramp.:poke: :joke:


Still have the big block fountain?

[Whaler]

Still have the big block fountain?

No, The motor went in and out so many times that I bought a new 502 longblock and sold it. It was fast with the 540 cu in motor, but unreliable.

I keep it simple, like Gearmesh said, but I have a 17' Boston Whaler, which is foam cored and literally bullet proof.

[1 Slow Z]

Bust
Oout
Another
Thousand

[Carlrx7]

THIS!

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/boat/products/modelhome/633/0/home.aspx

or this wave runner! it has BOAST!!

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/waverunner/products/modelhome/581/0/home.aspx

[MonteC]

lol, carl cant read.

[LXtasy]

I was actually thinking of getting one of those sx240's. Or the sister sx180 i believe is what it is

[98nbmz]

My buddy cousin/bestfriend used to have two rxps the 215 hp versions. Honestly thats some of the best times ive ever had on the water. Those things would absolutely fly! But for some reason we blew 3 up in less than two summers. He sold them shortly after

[Slow_Esuvee]

when i hit the lotto i want a bostonwhaler

[minytrker]

I vote neither, I had 4 jet ski's and currently have 2 boats. I have a 19ft checkmate with a 350 in it (ski boat) and also a 21ft pontoon boat with a 50hp outboard. I take the pontoon boat way more than the ski boat but its still alot of work owning either boat. Its much easier to pay for gas and go out with someone else. Between keeping up batteries, cleaning and general maintenance it seems something small always needs to be done. Plus registration and here trailer registration. I can easily go through $50 in gas just playing around for a few hours in the ski boat.

[bwelch]

my buddy cousin/bestfriend used to have two rxps the 215 hp versions. Honestly thats some of the best times ive ever had on the water. Those things would absolutely fly! But for some reason we blew 3 up in less than two summers. He sold them shortly after

lol

[///Mcompact]

The answer is obvious...you can't drink cristal on a jet ski.

Who's ever heard of "Jet Skis and Hoes"? Exactly...

[Matts94Z28]

who's ever heard of "jet skis and hoes"? Exactly...


troof!

[CPTNSLOW]

My buddy cousin/bestfriend used to have two rxps the 215 hp versions. Honestly thats some of the best times ive ever had on the water. Those things would absolutely fly! But for some reason we blew 3 up in less than two summers. He sold them shortly after

Thats bc they were Sea Doo's. I dealer will make more money servicing them than selling them. They are crap