my choice of pwc and why

SPOOR

Member
I have spent 74 hours on the internet  last weak from Monday to Thursday trying to do as much research as i possibly can to help me make the best possible choice before spending a hell of a lot of money on a fishing ski .

I visited Fast power Sports in Richards bay where I live on Friday and had the most awesome honest salesman  "Duston' helping me make my choice .

Firstly I was very fortunate to have the chance to see most of the popular makes of fishing skis and to top it all of they were mostly rigged for fishing with all bells and whistles , some of which was owned by customers and was there for servicing so i could have a look at all these skis which have done lots of fishing hours and see how its holding up.

I was shown yamaha skis , kawasaki , and seadoo's and on all  these makes I was
made aware of the pros and cons , so pushing one particular brand wasnt even thought of.

Finally I made my choice . ill explain why before reveling .
I have been fishing at sea since i was 12 years old and in all these years 5 things i know for a fact.
1. salt water f*%*^(ks every thing up in no time at all .
2. when at sea getting wet on the move sucks (shades nose ears hair lips all looks like kgalagadi salt pans after a days fishing)
3. The kakest thing of a fishing session is loading the boat back up and washing it mainly for smell and to keep point no. 1 from happening quicker then it should.
4.getting your boat engine serviced is a costly affair .
5.Most of the shops now a days are all about making every last bit of money they can out of you now a days and service sucks like they are making to much money and feel like they're doing you a huge favor to sell something to you because you are mos the one who needs it not them .

so here is my choice referring to these points
1. SEADOO is the lesser of the three evils concerning corrosion ( a lot less metal parts used)
2.Again SEADOO plus fast pods are the lesser of the three Evelis     ( the way the nose sits in the water and on the plane the fast pods doesnt touch the water , this I was told I didn't see for myself but looking at the hull and where the pods stops it looks like it is the case !
3.SEADOO the lightest and from personal experience this is the big easy ! concerning the washing I must say all three makes is the same.
4.SEADOO gti 130 is by far the cheapest to maintain. dont take my word for it phone shops and ask around for different makes of ski's service part prices as if you'll do the service yourself so just on parts pricing and youl see there is a big diff.
5. Fast power sports ,I have yet to find another shop where the sound advise, time on individual customer spent, and honesty will match these guys . I can tell you now that after me spending a lot of time phoning and visiting diff jet ski shops in kzn    
These guys will have not only my business butt also my loyalty as a customer for a very very long time .


I hope this helps some guys out there making their decision a little easier.

LOOK for my jetski SPOOR on the water soon .::S
 
 
lekker man.
yip, proper research goes a long way.
all sea going vessels these days are good.
like you said, research, personal choice, backup service and parts is what it is about.

knowing your vessel better then the work shop guys, will even take you further.

it is indeed sad that it is more about making money then service delivery.

many new skippers normally buy cheaper vessels "only some can afford new vessels"
the price bracket normally calls the sale.

so there fore, it is advised that one takes time to make sure exactly how motor perform etc.

you can have the best mechanic on land, servicing your engines, but when you are stuck out there, you need to rely on other for assistance.

or, you might have sorted it out, there.

I know, it is not easy to work on a bouncing boat engine, but a simple problem could always be rectified.

enjoy the new vessel!!

go fish and bring some reports here.
 

hms1

New member
Glad to see you have made your choice Danie. Wish you all the best and many happy hours fishing on her. Hopefully one day we will meet up on the water.

Dustin is actually the owner if I am not mistaken.
 

Fish Taxi

New member
Jip, Dustin is the owner and also a shareholder in Z-Craft boats as well. I bought my ski from them and is more than happy with the ski as well as service....... You will not get better service and after sales service as from these guys. Also got a Seadoo 130GTI, most versatile ski on the market at this stage in my opinion. Fastpods is still a desired item for me because it is a bit pricey, but on the other hand, I have spoken to Racetec and their new patented "latch on" Pods is more than double the price of Fastpods.......... Fastpods is R 15 000.00 or R 16 000.00 fitted
 

belindau

New member
Congratulations on the new purchase. Have they sorted the starting problem (solenoid) with the new model or was it only an issue with the older mmodels.
 

SPOOR

Member
It was older model problems I was told  .

I have spoken to several guys who owns late models and no one has any complains , as soon as I get my ski ill operate on the starter and investigate the solenoid and Bendick I will then look up the specs of older models as well and look for a wiring diagram as well as exploded view of the starter assembly on both the new and old model seadoos .

From what I have heard , these symptoms of starters mysteriously not kicking in and then does kick in moments and a few tries later sounds a lot like moisture getting into the electro magnet of the solenoid due to contraction and expansion caused by heat created at the engine whilst running , then cools down when shut down , a poorly sealed unit will then absorb the moisture always present in the general body of air whilst at sea level .

If i could get my hand on one of these older starter assemblies i would have liked very much to perform a simple experiment to prove my theory and berry this doubt in seadoo ones and for all   .

 
 

belindau

New member
Thanks for the reply SPOOR. Very good news to hear that it was only an issue on the older models. Trust me - not a good feeling if there is no click when you are out in the deep. I will strongly suggest a Dual battery setup whilst spending the big bucks on a new GTI.

Remember to give us an update on the fishing. Not sure how well the jetski chaps are doing off Richards Bay? My markers for Cuta in your area are all past the 5Nm range so will be interseting to hear what the chaps are catching.
 

wipeout

New member
Good job on the research SPOOR, hope you enjoy your purchase.

Would have still gone for the yami though........see you on the water
 

SPOOR

Member
A guys give a chap a chance . Rome wasn't built in a day :fbash ill post photos as soon as i have the ski on my drive way .
 

Poensie

New member
I am now a real necro poster.

Spoor & all, I am in the market for a ski. Had a Seadoo Wake for two years in 2006 & 2007. Was extremely happy, but had to sell because of family pressure to buy a boat.

I have sold my boat after many years of fantastic fishing & fun & don't want to trailer huge things to the coast anymore. So here I am back to the jet ski option. What really impressed me on the Seadoo was the wear ring in the jet pump, especially for use at sea.

So how did the Seadoo perform over the past years. Why is Yahama such a favourite in Durban & surroundings & what about wear on the impeller?

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Werner
 

plugger

Senior Member
You guys should contact Mick Clark (the Codfather) for his views. He's had Yamaha and Seadoo and fishes a lot more than the average guy, he also knows the pros and cons of Tubbies,Fastpods etc. He has a regular column in GoFish magazine.
Having had 6 Jetskis (3 currently) in the family 2 Seadoos and 4 Yammies we are most definitely in the Yamaha camp.

Poensie to the best of my limited knowledge the wear ring on the Seadoo is made of nylon and quickly wears with beach (sand) launches, guys have been replacing it with a stainless unit but like everything it has a price. My 2 cents, use it don't use it.
 

Poensie

New member
Thank you Plugger, valuable info. I used to replace the wear ring every 12 months because of reduced performance. The question is maybe the Stainless will wear out over a much longer period. I also heard it is not a problem to re-build the impeller.

Tx
 
The Ancient Mariner wrote:
Good choice of jetski!

Mine is a 2006 GTI 130 4-tec with 165 hrs(trouble free apart from the starter solenoid which was replaced.

Have fun!
:SSS

Well its 3 years and 3 months since the original post.I am now sitting on 235 hrs of trouble free jetski fishing(touch wood).Starter solenoid has held out and she starts reliably.I have recently had fast pods installed and I must say,this has dramatically improved the fishing dynamic of my ski.My next step is to get a Neptune sliding bracket and 5 hp outboard motor as a backup/trolling motor.One thing that I really like about Seadoo is the closed loop cooling system.It has an internal cooling system,like a car utilising coolant.Instead of a radiator,It has a heat exchange plate under the stern,so no corrosive sea water is getting pumped through the engines water jackets.So I don't have to flush my ski everytime I come off the water,as well as longevity of the motor.Mine is a basic ski with no trim/tilt like some of the yammies which have quite a few other features as well,like rear view mirrors,so you can check before changing lanes ;).Don't get me wrong,all the skis are good,I just like mine,she has served me very well up until now.
::jdski
 

Poensie

New member
Thank you Ancient Mariner, the closed loop also sold me on the SeaDoo.

Is there any Yamaha owners that can shed some light on the wear on the jetpump as a result of sand etc. How often does the impeller needs to be re-built?
 

plugger

Senior Member
It really depends on how often you fish and how you beach. I see guys sliding up the beach with the engine still reving, not so clever. My sons fish a fair amount and rebuild probably once a year. This is probably more than necessary but as soon as they notice the slightest bit of cavitation they redo. They take their jetski maintenance seriously, engines flushed with Salt Assasin,ski washed and engine sprayed with WD40 after every outing.. They also go for a run on Inanda Dam to give it a good flush after a Vidal or Moz trip.
My best advice would be to talk to Mick , he's had both skis and fishes a lot more than my boys.
 

Poensie

New member
Plugger hi

I will definitely give Mick a call. I know that when you accelerate you can draw in water & sand to a depth of 1,8m, or so I was told. So even gunning it in shallow water to avoid a wave will suck in a lot of sand. I do not stay at the coast and 5 trips per year at the sea, sea me replacing the wear ring.

Tx for the info, I will get Mick's advise!
 
I replaced my nylon wear ring at 200hrs(bearing in mind that I bought the ski at 60 hrs,and my ski previously lived at the vaal river,no sand),as the person who was dong my service said the gap between the wear ring and impeller was too large and beyond spec.However,the ski was still jumping out of the hole without any cavitation and going just fine,with more power than I could possibly use at sea.I had probably launched and beached say 40 times and passed quite a bit of sand through the pump,in this time.Personally,I think my wear ring was good for quite a few more hours,but I took the advise of pro and replaced it anyway.
 
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