sea doo x20

I am going to buy a boat to board behind, play and hangout... Due to funds I will be buying a IO or sea doo x20 and want to stay around $20,000.. The problem I really like the x20 but know absolutely nothing about it and can't find any good reviews...
Does any one know anything about the X20

I am very much into PWC's as well as boardin..I ride stand ups, but it is well known throughout the PWC community that Sea Doo is better known as Ree Doo. There engines are junk. Maintance would be a nightmare. If I'm no mistakin, this boat has two-two strokes. The boat will need a rebuild at about 400-500 hours. Not to mention some places wont even let you put it in the water. I would stick with the I/O there are plenty of nice ones for under 20 grand...hope this helps

thanks, all info helps!!! I hope more people respond so I can get as much information as possible.

I am from Dallas so if anyone has a good boat for me please let me know!!

Tal

$20K gets you a nice used comp boat. It's a buyers market.

Find a Glastron dealer - Get the SX195 w/ 5.0 v8 volvo engine,sun pad, huge ski locker ( will hold a 600lb fat sack) right now - 6 year warrenty on engine & drive - lifetime on hull.
tilt wheel,snap in carpet. $17,500. tt&l = 20 big ones

all the new sea doo boats are powered by Merc

Thanks guys!!!

Keep the good info. coming, I can use it all...
Is the Glastron a good boat? I know the volvo is a great engine but don't know much about new glastrons..
Tal

The new sea doo boats are powered by a single 6cyc merc. I looked at them a couple of years ago. I don't think you can buy a new one for 20 big ones. I run the SX195. There is a pic of it posted on the Powder next thread. For a i/o,its size and weight with a v8 engine it works out nice. The inside is layed out great for boarding or sking. Its not a frilly boat - basic and powerful. Another good part is - get light (drain sac) change the prop (real easy on I/O) and get fast. We have hit 58 on the speedo. Also check out American Yacht sales as a keyword and select the dickinson yard down near Clear Lake. I got mine there. I bought it in 2001 - its a 2000 model with 18hrs on it. Saved 6 big ones. They have lots of good boats there - some stinkers too!
Scott

Scott... American yacht sales as a keyword on what....none of my searches produces crap.. your speakers look great..

i dont think you can (as of yet) put perfect pass on a volvo, ive got a merc myself with pp, if you get a 19' + boat get the V8, you will be glad you did and sorry if you dont when you start adding fat sacs

Check out http://www.dallasboats4sale.com - that have some good used boats on there.

Ya, you can put perfect pass on a volvo.. I allready looked into that. Do you think a 305 will be sufficient in a 20.5' larson?

www.americanyachtsales.com
try that-- then boats for sale
watch how you spell "yacht" its one of those words that looks funny in print.
They have a couple of ski boats right now and lots of Larsons - a couple of real good ski boats are already sold.
Scott

For right around 20 you can get a new Moomba Outback (of course no tower ballast etc). Thats what we did about this time last year. Check and see if you can still get the boat show deal. In Dallas its Waterski boats dallas in Lewisville off I-35. I'd rather have the bigger boat with the V-8 and prop than the jet drive Sea-Doo but that just personal preference.

The Sea-Doo is a bad skiboat or wakeboardboat, go for a used comp boat or a less expensive new one like the Moomba Outback. Used mastercrafts, Correct crafts and Malibu are really good boats. Especially Correct craft has a very good reputation when it comes to performance and wakeshapes of boats from the 1980:s to present time.A new Moomba Outback build in 2003 with your colours and options are nice but what ever you do }.don´t buy the See-Doo.

The jet propulsion system combined with the hull on the See-Dee makes a bad ski- or wakeboardboat.
You will get less performance if you use ballast and it will be harder to hold your speed. It will be harder to hold a straight course when the rider cuts out to. See-Doo is just trying to make some money on the popular wakeboardingarena with a jet-boat with a tower on it.

I've spent a lot of time in a newer SeaDoo and it is a really fun boat.

Good points: Light-weight, Handles well, pretty fast, nearly indestructable interior, almost zero maintenance, reasonable on gas. Since they are using a Merc V6 now, the comment that you will need to rebuild after 400 hours is completely unfounded. You can expenct the same life from that motor as any high end outboard.

Bad Points: It's not a wakeboard or ski boat in any shape or form. The wake is absolutely terrible and it's hard to drive pulling someone, especially at slalom speeds.

For a fun, low maintenance boat to cruise around the lake, it is a great boat. All depends what your expectations are.

Shawn, I was refuring to the two stroke, not the merc.

The current motor is a merc two stroke.

Ohhhhhh, ok..well having been around two strokes a very long time. at about 400-500 hours, you will want to change the rings. not a entire re-build, but it needs to be done. I dont know much about merc two strokes, but i can guarentee they are better than bombadier(sp)..

They are a lot better than the bombardier (basically a snowmobile engine) and would guess that was the primary reason for the switch. I have seen three of the V6 mercs with over 500 hours that have never seen anything more than new plugs every year. I think the relatively low RPMs that the Merc V6 turns (compared to other two strokes) and the (somewhat) sophisticated oiling system they use to prevent lean running has helped a lot with the life span of the motor.

Tal- Are you wanting a new boat or used? I know of a couple that might be available this Summer.

Tal i have a 305 on a 3400 lb 19.5' i/o, im running a 19" pitch high five and it is good to around 1000 lbs ballast and 4-5 people on board. I am kicking around the idea of getting a 17 or 18" pitch 4 blade to try with all the weight (1600 lbs) in the boat. I tried it once but it was struggling a bit so after a while i unloaded 2 of the 250's. While it was full though it was VERY big let me tell you. My concern was will the outdrive be able to handle it and from looking around they are putting alpha 1's on boats in the mid 20 foot range that must weigh around 4K or more, add to that the extra feul capacity of a larger boat and your running 5K wet weight

Ok....sea doo is way out of the picture!! THANKS

Next, I put a refundable deposit down tonight on a new 2002 wellcraft 210 excalibur sport with all the options 2 piece snap on cover, bimini top, cd, extended swim platform, U seating, fill in cushions, 5.0 fuel injected but can get 5.7 carb....whats best? great trailer, and snap in carpet.. What do you guys think, good deal or not $22,995.00 I can still back out I just want a boat that will hold a good number of my friends for my girl and a good wake for me.. I board a lot and that is its primary use, second is partying!!
I don't want to be head deep in a boat though. I have seen too many friends in trouble because they spent way too much on their boat!!

If i were you I'd consider going to the local moomba dealer. For that price you'll get an outback (seats ten + lots room)and trailer. If you can find a new 02 you'll probably get a rad a cage tower for that price. If there is a local boat show Moomba gives you a bunch of other freebies (stereo upgrade, heater etc). Throw in a little weight and it will throw a big wake at 20mph for boarding. WakeboardBoatTest.com (http://www.level10mag.com/Award_Winners.html)
certified 26 boats with greatwakes and judge them on rider comfort, drivers response, and how good of wake for wakeboarders was. This is the only boat certified by that I see in your pricerange. Not that you always have to accept others word on things, It is nice to see something that picky boarders feel has a great wake. Just my $0.02 worth.

Tal,
If it were me, I would get the 5.7 carb. More torque,less maint costs down the road. You should really have the bravo drive or Volvo SX on that size boat. Boarding with sac's and lots of friends onboard will put alot of strain on that alpha. See if they will throw in an extra alum prop down 1 pitch size. You will need it boarding. Don't run a ss boarding with lots of weight either. More work on the drive with all the starts and stops.
~S~

Thanks Scott!!

Joel, do you know of any good websites to view the interior of an outback? That would probably be the boat of choice but my girl doesn't like the seating arrangmnets in inboards unless it is a v-drive and I am not about to drop that much cash with the economy like it is..
Tal

http://moomba.com/moomba.html

Tal, here are my opinions: even though it may be a bit less HP id go with the efi 5.0(i believe in 2002 they were 260hp-mine is 240 and i was pissed a year later they had 20 more ponies), next will depend how many people you will be riding with since the moomba is SMALL (i have a buddy with a moomba and he is jealous of my interior space), if all you will be doing is boarding i would recommend a hull that was designed for wakeboarding (IE: the shape of the wake didnt just happen, they designed it that way). I do think you will outgrow a moomba D fast, with your last statement the way it is i would recommend the welcraft they are very nice boats and i would say the quality is the same as a moomba.
Before you buy it make sure you take it out on the water and ride or at least view the wake, if your not sure of what it should look like ask a wakeboarding friend to go. DO NOT IMPULSE BUY or you may wind up regretting getting what you got (PS: i do not regret getting my I/O although if my son who is 10 starts getting better-inverts and spins-i would then look into the feasibility of a v-drive. Do you run on fresh or salt was also a leading factor in getting the i/o since id hate to be depreciating a v-drive the way you would if you were running it 300 hours a year in salt.

Bob, thanks for the good info.

Hey guys I would still like more info. on 5.0 or 5.7.....

yes 5.0 260 hp that will top out higher than the 5.7 but the 5.7 has more torque... I will be adding perfect pass and fat sacks along with a full boat some of the time (6-9)... I am very undecided on the engine size... I will have this boat for 2 years at the most then I will be getting a V-drive.
The 5.0 will get better gas mileage, and I'm suer we will have high gas prices this summer.

I need a cage and would like for it to fit around the bimini top, any ideas?? and look good!!!

Tal

i had mine custom made but it doesnt fold as low as id like so keep that in mind, as a matter of fact if you have one made keep every little thing you think is or might be(and i mean every litlle thing) important because if you leave anything out it surely will get missed or messed up

Tal,
The hp maybe more on 5.0 fuel inject,but it will be all top end (high rpm). Wakeboarding requires more low end hp (torque) to maintain the speed. The 5.7 is more fuel effic. than 5.0. You are in Dallas so the biggest problem I have read about the fuel injected models is the layup over the winter time shouldn't affect you if you chose the 5.0. A larger engine at trade-in time is not going to hurt either.
As for the top and tower, I built my tower to go around the winter top that hooks to the windsheild. Any way you slice it its going to be expensive. Have one custom built to your boat. There is a place in clear lake that does them.
Tops & Towers. There should be someone in your area that can do it.
~S~