New (pre-owned) Sea Doo Jet Skis in 2020!

Sea Doo GTI

I got a little bored with my jet ski from 2019. It is a 1996 SeaDoo GTI. It is a three passenger 10 ft. boat with about 80 hp. I went looking for something a bit more exciting, I found it in spades! I found a guy in Rancho Cordova that refurbishes mid 90’s Sea Doos. His name is Rich Theodore. He had a very nice 1996 XP. The XP is an 8 ft. boat with upwards of 120 hp. Literally a crotch Rocket on the water. Back in the day, it was the fastest jet ski made , and was the boat of choice for racing. It is powered by an 800 cc two stroke Rotax engine putting out over 120 hp. Just to put that in perspective, my classic 1958 Chris Craft Silver Arrow has a Chevrolet 283 V8 that put out a whopping 185 hp. Long short, it really is a rocket ship.

Sea Doo XP

After a few trips to the lake, I realized two things. One, it was a lot of fun. It accelerates like a sling shot and turns on a dime. The second thing is, it has the capability to throw my fat ass off anytime it likes. Because of it’s small size, low weight and boyancy, I am not able to get back on it in deep water. The technique is to climb up the back of the boat and keep it balanced and upright as you climb up onto the seat. I have the upper body strength, but evidently not the balance. It is like the trying to stand on a beach ball.

I made a deal with Rich to trade him the XP back for a GSX. The GSX is a foot longer, about 6 inches wider and about 4 inches deeper. It has the same 120 hp. 2-stroke Rotax motor, but more stability. I am expecting the same blistering performance, but more stablility I am doing the trade tomorrow. Here is a photo of my new rocket ship. .

Sea Doo GSX

I picked up the new GSX last Wed. In Rancho Cordova. Rich Theodore was working late and he met about 6:30 pm. We swapped my XP for the GSX. I made a deal for a single place trailer for my odd GTS. I will pick that up later.

Thursday, we headed up to the after bay at about noon. We took the GTI and my new GSX. The GSX ran great. I was a little disappointed in the “hole shot”. It is a tad slower getting up on top than the XP. It literally shot out of the water. The GSX is a hundred pounds heavier, so I get it. The stability of the GSX was amazing. I was in control for a change. Top speed was comparable. Without a speedometer, I could tell no difference. I am thinking just north of 60 mph. The ride was increadably better. The XP would hop real bad at any trim setting above full down. The GSX rides smooth even in chop with some up trim. I think maybe the trim range was off on the XP, and it was not trimmed down enough.

I would maybe like to get a nice GTX next. It would be nice to have a high performance 10’ boat for cruising. It could carry some gear and handle rough water.