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Has anyone here owned a Personal Water Craft (PWC)?

slugg

slugg

Diamond Member
What is it like to own these things? Are they easy to maintain? Do they get boring? What about insurance?

Anything else you'd like to say regarding PWC's is welcome and appreciated. I'd like to know the good AND the bad.

Thanks!
 
Where will you carry the beer?

I thought that they made PWCs that were docked inside a boat and acted as the propulsion unit. Essentially, two vessels in one.
 
I had a standup 91 Kawasaki 350 last year. They are a blast, I am hoping to purchase a sit down and a 750 stand up this summer. They are fairly easy to maintain. Make sure it has a bilge pump, and don't let them sit in water for long periods. If you are going to leave it hooked up to a dock overnight or anything try to get a rack that pulls it out of the water. I live in Kansas, so you don't have to have insurance or anything extra for it. I remember I could fill the tank up on a friday and ride it all day friday and saturday and not have to fill it up again until half way through sunday.
 
My company makes WaveRunners, and I get to take them out all the time; but I have no knowledge of ownership costs. And you CAN fit a case of beer, with ice, into the front compartment of an FX SHO.
 
Yea I'd be interested in a 3 person sit-down. I want something that I can pull a tube or wakeboarder with. Does this mean I'd have to look for some type of high performance model?

edit: oh I'm in Florida... Every month is a hot month 😉

Randomness: I have a partial bias in favor of Yamaha. I've been using their musical instruments for years and swear by them over most other brands. I know it's completely unrelated, and probably won't influence my choice (if I decide to buy), but that's just a thought I'd like to share. Yamaha's drum hardware is made in their motorcycle facility...
 
a friend traded a car for one and regretted it almost immedietly... and almost as fast got bored of it. they are very much a toy and should be purchased with that in mind.

as someone who bought another motor toy (dirtbike) id have to assume theres at least a little maintenance involved every 3-4 rides, but i could be wrong.

then theres the fact that theyre seasonal (not technically, but still), will you be getting your moneys worth out of it during the hot months? do you have the time?

thats all i got
 
They can be a lot of fun if you have easy access to water. You can pull wakeboards, tubes, waterskis, etc. with a jet-ski.
 
I have ridden them a couple of times and they are a blast.

I live a half mile from the state boat launch on Oneida lake. I'd like to get a pair of jetski's or a small jet boat in five years or so when I have my savings built up and some things paid off.
 
sit downs get old after a few months to a year, but standups never get old

Kawasaki never made a 350. They made a 300, 400, 440, 300sx, 550/sx, 650sx, 750sx/sxi/sxipro, and 800 standup.

I own a 3 seater sitdown my wife and kids ride, and a 750sxi pro with factory wet pipe, 650sx standup, and two X2 standup/sitdown hybrids.

Standups are by far the most fun to ride.
 
Whats the learning curve and injury rate on a standup? lol

But yea... for towing a wakeboarder, do I need some type of high output engine or something? Has anyone tried wakeboarding behind a PWC? Any comments?
 
I rent wave runners in the summer. No need to carry them back home. I'm thinking about getting a motorcycle though. Something used and under 5k.
 
My only suggestion is that you either buy 2, or make sure you have a friend who has one. It gets boring really quick just riding around by yourself. If you like to just go out and chill, then a boat is a better option. If you like to play around on the water with easy in/out access and less overall cost, PWC are good choice.
 
I have a 97 Sea Doo SPX and 93 Yamaha Wave Runner. The wave runner has only required spark plugs and batteries and always runs. The Sea Doo has required some wrenching, but it is not stock. I pay $73 a year for each PWC for liability insurance only with State Farm. When I had full coverage the premium was about $250 a year. My parents have a house on the Tenn-Tombigbee water way and we have a pier and a neighborhood boat ramp. Also have a pontoon boat.
 
I have a couple kawasaki standups.

750 SXI pro and a old 550 SX.

I always preferred the standups over sit downs. We used to say "if you dont sit to pee you dont sit to ski".....lol
 
If you're the least bit athletically inclined, do yourself a favor and get a standup.
You will very quickly grow tired of a couch (sitdown).
A standup is a challenge EVERY time and a blast to ride EVERY time.
If you want a brand-new model, Yamaha makes the Superjet, and Kawasaki makes the SXR.
Personally, I prefer the Superjet.
Check out www.x-h20.com or www.pwctoday.com
 
dad has a seadoo gtx at his lake house

I love it, it is definitely a toy in the fact you don't feel like riding it all the time

Its more fun when you have people to ride with IMO, but it can also be dangerous, his will hit 79 mph no problem and we have had some rear seat passengers flung off at that speed over minor wakes, its not enjoyable at all. The newer ones come with speed programmable keys tho so you can lock amateur drivers to slower speeds

We do once a year maintenance for winterizing, we take it to the shop, they do the performance maintenance and tuning and then winterize it for like $100, then we park it in our garage.

We wakeboard behind it, and its actually good for learners because it will pop people up quick and doesn't have high torque so you wont get whipped around. It can still pull people too fast though same with intertubes etc it can be really dangerous with amateur drivers. Its not as fun as behind a boat tho as the wake is generally smaller and you can't cut as well, but its easier to learn.

as for the beer, there's plenty of room for beers in the flip open forward compartment and the rear underseat ice chest thing :beer: :thumbsup:
 
They are a lot of fun but quite honestly they aren't nearly as much fun to own as they are to use.

Rental fees: $70/hour

Ownership fees: $3-4,000 for one PWC easily (double that if you have a spouse)
Insurance: $200-300 a year
Trailer to tow it to your favorite body of water: $800-1,200
Trailer hitch and wiring to your favorite tow vehicle: $200-300
PFCs and other gear: $200-300
Fuel and maintenance costs: $300-400 annually
Storage fees: $0-100 monthly

Honestly, you could easily rent one a few times a year and get your kicks for a teeny tiny fraction of the cost of owning one.
 
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
They are a lot of fun but quite honestly they aren't nearly as much fun to own as they are to use.

Rental fees: $70/hour

Ownership fees: $3-4,000 for one PWC easily (double that if you have a spouse)
Insurance: $200-300 a year
Trailer to tow it to your favorite body of water: $800-1,200
Trailer hitch and wiring to your favorite tow vehicle: $200-300
PFCs and other gear: $200-300
Fuel and maintenance costs: $300-400 annually
Storage fees: $0-100 monthly

Honestly, you could easily rent one a few times a year and get your kicks for a teeny tiny fraction of the cost of owning one.
Click to expand...

Watching n00bs drive their trucks into the drink while loading: priceless. :laugh:
 
i have a '94 sea-doo XP and a jet-ski 550sx. Both are awesome. Living in florida, if you intend on riding it in the ocean or brackish water, they'll need quite a bit of maintenance to make sure the salt water doesn't corrode everything. Our jet-ski never needed anything but gas, oil and spark plugs. The sea-doo, not so much. we've replaced just about everything in the drivetrain at least once and have blown about 5 motors. usually because some noob was riding it and got too much water in the engine. But we did ride the hell out of it and it's still mostly running with ~2500 hours.

You don't need a super high performance model to tow skiers and wakeboarders. my sea-doo had 80hp and worked just fine for such things. most models today have >125. However, they aren't good for wakeboarders who want to do a bunch of aerial tricks because the tow hook is so low to the water.

I can't recommend a 3 seater model, unless you're a lazy old man, along with that, I don't like many of the newer models because they're too big and heavy for wake/surf jumping. I don't like rentals because they always give you the shittiest model in the lineup.

last i'll add that standup models aren't good for entertaining guests. most people don't have the athleticism to ride them correctly, although its fun to watch them try.
 
I'll chime in.

I live in Tampa too, and have a 96 Yamaha 760GP Waverunner. I hav had it for ~5yrs. No maintenance other than plugs and batteries, except that one time it sat for 2 years. I had to drain the old gas and put fresh gas in. The only other maintenance is the the trailer wheel zerks, and maintaining the lights on the trailer.

I love it, it's a blast. For quick trips we put in at Courtney Campbell Causeway - I have taken it to Ft. DeSoto a few times too.

As far as some amazing amount of maintenance because it's in salt water - shenanigans. Rinse off the exterior well, and flush the motor for 10 minutes - it's all done.

If you haven't, you may want to rent a few times to see if you will actually use it, John's Pass is a good place to rent. If you decide you do want to make the jump, Craigslist is a great place to find a deal.
 
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
They are a lot of fun but quite honestly they aren't nearly as much fun to own as they are to use.

Rental fees: $70/hour

Ownership fees: $3-4,000 for one PWC easily (double that if you have a spouse)
Insurance: $200-300 a year
Trailer to tow it to your favorite body of water: $800-1,200
Trailer hitch and wiring to your favorite tow vehicle: $200-300
PFCs and other gear: $200-300
Fuel and maintenance costs: $300-400 annually
Storage fees: $0-100 monthly

Honestly, you could easily rent one a few times a year and get your kicks for a teeny tiny fraction of the cost of owning one.
Click to expand...

This price list really depends on where you live. Ownership fees for used yeah, 2k-5k each
insurance.. i pay 68 bucks/yr
trailer. I have a 3 person trailer worth $700.00. Used double or single trailers range from $200-$500.00
Hitch and wiring. You can do this yourself for around $100.00
pfcs.. i own 6 and paid $25.00 apiece over the span of a few years
Fuel and maintenance.. well, yeah, its a fuel powered vehicle. I spend around $50.00 a week on fuel alone, plus oil is another $30.00/month and maintenance.. well, something always breaks, its part of the fun, so another $100.00-$200.00/yr on each
Storage=0

Like anything, if you want to play, you have to pay.
 
Unless you live on or very close to the water, it seems a waste. Just rent one a few times or befriend someone who owns one 😉.
 
WATER MAGGOTS! 🙂


Get trained and learn to behave properly around larger boats. It may be cool to jump the wakes but when you are flying through a slow zone or worse zigzagging in the right of way of another vessel trying to maneuver you are a huge problem.

I like them and don't want more rules and regulations put on them. They are fun but don't think because you are surrounded by water you can't get hurt.
 
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