Carver Owners Forum

This year at the Detroit Boat Show I spent some time looking at PWC's (jet skis). There were only 2 brands represented at the show Sea Doo and Yamaha. I did price out a Yamaha and it came in around $9000. I didn't price out a Sea Doo. May do that next year.

The reason I am considering buying one of these is the operational costs. Last season I took my boat out generally once a week. A ride around Grosse Ile in the Detroit River would usually burn at least $100 worth of fuel. I figure I could do the same in a PWC for quite a bit less.

One of the plus's is there is a launch ramp at my marina and it is free to use for those of us who dock our boats there so that would be one cost of operation of a PWC that would be basicly 0.

The reason I did not buy this year is I still have 4 payments left on the Carver and I did not want 2 "boat" payments going on at the same time so the decision to wait until next year should I decide to do it.

The question is, which one, Yamaha or Sea Doo. The consensus of those whom I have spoken with so far is go with the Yamaha. I was just curious as to which one members here would prefer. I guess the other question would be are there any other PWC manufacturers in the market I should look at.

Anyway, I appreciate your opinions.

I bought mine quite some time ago to replace an inflatable tender and trying to keep my daughter at the boat. My criteria was reliability, low fuel consumption and comfort. Yamaha VX cruiser ticked all the boxes, Surprisingly over 10 years later they still make the same model however the price has gone up substantially. Paid $6500 US in the states in 2007 and see them listed now for $15,000. That being said maybe a slightly used unit would be a good buy. Never did a thing to mine except annual oil changes and a couple of batteries.

I've been told Yamaha models are more reliable and have less mechanical issues and maintence problems. I agree with Midnightsun, a good used one may be the way to go! Oh yea, hope your back is in good condition, it's harder on the back than riding a snowmobile. Maybe a small 12' jet boat is in order?

Had a Yamaha VX cruiser, Fantastic machine!! Sea Doo is not as reliable as Yamaha.

mjk1040 wrote:Source of the post I've been told Yamaha models are more reliable and have less mechanical issues and maintence problems. I agree with Midnightsun, a good used one may be the way to go! Oh yea, hope your back is in good condition, it's harder on the back than riding a snowmobile. Maybe a small 12' jet boat is in order?

Weight and size make a substantial difference. My son in law bought one of those light weight BRP (Sea Doo) models, very uncomfortable in wave conditions and very unstable compared to mine. Those are good for teenagers wanting to just have a riot turning in circles and flipping over.

We had two Hondas for a while. They were fun fast reliable and economical if you didn't have the turbos kick in. But Honda stopped building them several years ago. From what I know, I would go with a Yamaha or Kawasaki. The Seadoos use a rotax engine, and it seems they are only good for a couple hundred hours. The rotax engines however, are about a third or the price to replace than the yamas or kawis.

i have both sea doo and yamaha 3 seaters, we ride quite a bit in tennessee even in the winter sometimes. although mine now have some years and some hours on them i have not had to work on either one. i do prefer the ride on the yamaha but the hull shapes are way different between the 2 i have. i havent looked at newer ones that may not be the case now days i would see if you can take a test drive on both if new or go out with a friends that have ones similiar to your tastes just to rule that out. i would sure look for a used one maybe a couple years old or so to save some money . springs here they will be coming out of hiding now . good luck

I've had SEVERAL Yamahas over the years and one Seadoo. After working on and reading a lot, I think the Yamahas have the reliability edge. If I bought a new one I'd definitely prefer Yamaha.

I'd also seriously explore the RiDE feature. If it works as advertised it's a cool system. I have not ridden one that has been equipped with it, so I'm not sure exactly how well it works.

I'd definitely get a larger one though, if you're going to be using it on Erie or the Detroit river. You'd definitely get beat up on a two-seater or a smaller three-seater.

Have you looked at RIBs? For much less money you could buy an 11' RIB with a 20-30 HP engine and it could handle 4 folks easily. Not quite as fast as a PWC, but much more pleasant ride and much more versatile. You'd have the same issues with trying to take it with you on the boat (if that was even an interest) and the exact same issues with launching/retrieving or finding a spot in the marina for it. You could even go slightly larger (12-13') and not complicate things much (like needing a dedicated well). Very economical to run, very little maintenance and very reliable as long as you're putting decent fuel in it.

I already have an inflatable that I use with my 15 HP Merc outboard so I am really not looking at a RIB. Nice idea though. There is a launch ramp at my marina that we can use at no extra charge so I have a place to launch and retrieve. I don't want to spend more than 10K if at all possible. The Yamaha I looked at in February at the boat show came in just over 9K. Most likely I will go with a 2 person but who knows. I will check it out at the next boat show. I will take the advice to look at used and see what is out there. Maybe at the end of the season there could be some good deals to be had.

Admiral Grew, just to take a different angle of thought.
If the round trip cost using your boat is $100.00, that means your ROI (on a new unit) is 90 trips. How many trips do you take per season?
And of course, on a PWC you are likely solo or perhaps one guest whereas you boat offers substantially more room, even including bathroom facilities for convenience.
On the other hand, we as boaters cannot dwell on ROI, simply because in most instances it is incalculable! It's about living your life and finding enjoyment!
Good luck with your decision. If thumbs up on PWC purchase, I say go 'used' or 'pre-owned', depending if you purchase from an individual person or dealership