new 97 speedster owner - first outing questions
 

Got what I considered a good deal on a speedster with low hours. Took
a good long test drive and maybe i just didn't notice these things,
but here's what happened my first time out with the family this
weekend.

The boat noticeably wants to go to starboard. In all honesty, I weigh
quite a bit more than my wife and 4 year old son put together. Is
this a normal thing or do I need to have the alignment of the jets
checked?

The left RPM gauge has some moisture in it and as such seems to be all
over the place. I have the service record from a few weeks ago where
the seller had the carbs tuned to match. Is this anything serious to
worry with, or as long as the engines seem to be pushing the same
speed I'm good?

The bilge blower and bilge pump have never worked according to the
seller (2nd owner, I'm the third). Bilge pumps seem to only be $20-30
online. Is this a difficult thing to install?

When docked or parked in the water, there seems to be a bit of water
coming on board through the drain hole under the driver's seat. The
drain plug between the engines was tight when i pulled it out of the
water. I called the seller and he said he'd never noticed anything
like that. There's always a little water in the boat, but he always
chalked it up to them getting in and out of the boat. A couple of
things regarding the water:
- Water recedes as soon as the throttle is opened.
- Engine compartment stays dry
Am I just over-sensitive? Any ideas where the water could be coming
from?

Thanks for any tips you guys can give.

new 97 speedster owner - first outing questions
 

The boat noticeably wants to go to starboard. In all honesty, I weigh
quite a bit more than my wife and 4 year old son put together.

I don't know much about the Speedster, but most boats are sensitive to
loading. If the boat is pulling to starboard, ask your wife to take the
helm, and you go to the port side. How's it ride now? The smaller the boat,
the more sensitive it is to loading.

The bilge blower and bilge pump have never worked according to the
seller

Bilge blower... Get it fixed ASAP! That's a fundamental safety item, that
must be functional. Starting the engines with the bilge filled with gas
vapors from a leak, or whatever will ruin your whole day... or life. Fix it
before you take the boat out again.

The bilge pump... while not as catastrophic, will ruin your day as well if
it's not running, and you need it. Personally, I would not go out if my pump
was inop. Both the blower, and pump are easy remove and replacements.

The left RPM gauge has some moisture in it and as such seems to be all
over the place.

Swap the connectors for the tachs and see if the problem remains on the left
tach. If it does, then the tach is fubar. If the right tach all of a sudden
shows the same problem, you have a more serious problem elsewhere.

Can't help you with the leak, as I'm not familiar with the SeaDoos. I'm a
Yamaha jet boat guy. ;-)

I hope this helps.

--Mike




wrote in message
oups.com...
Got what I considered a good deal on a speedster with low hours. Took
a good long test drive and maybe i just didn't notice these things,
but here's what happened my first time out with the family this
weekend.

The boat noticeably wants to go to starboard. In all honesty, I weigh
quite a bit more than my wife and 4 year old son put together. Is
this a normal thing or do I need to have the alignment of the jets
checked?

The left RPM gauge has some moisture in it and as such seems to be all
over the place. I have the service record from a few weeks ago where
the seller had the carbs tuned to match. Is this anything serious to
worry with, or as long as the engines seem to be pushing the same
speed I'm good?

The bilge blower and bilge pump have never worked according to the
seller (2nd owner, I'm the third). Bilge pumps seem to only be $20-30
online. Is this a difficult thing to install?

When docked or parked in the water, there seems to be a bit of water
coming on board through the drain hole under the driver's seat. The
drain plug between the engines was tight when i pulled it out of the
water. I called the seller and he said he'd never noticed anything
like that. There's always a little water in the boat, but he always
chalked it up to them getting in and out of the boat. A couple of
things regarding the water:
- Water recedes as soon as the throttle is opened.
- Engine compartment stays dry
Am I just over-sensitive? Any ideas where the water could be coming
from?

Thanks for any tips you guys can give.

new 97 speedster owner - first outing questions
 

On Mar 31, 9:32 pm, "Mike" wrote:
The boat noticeably wants to go to starboard. In all honesty, I weigh

quite a bit more than my wife and 4 year old son put together.

I don't know much about the Speedster, but most boats are sensitive to
loading. If the boat is pulling to starboard, ask your wife to take the
helm, and you go to the port side. How's it ride now? The smaller the boat,
the more sensitive it is to loading.

The bilge blower and bilge pump have never worked according to the
seller

Bilge blower... Get it fixed ASAP! That's a fundamental safety item, that
must be functional. Starting the engines with the bilge filled with gas
vapors from a leak, or whatever will ruin your whole day... or life. Fix it
before you take the boat out again.

The bilge pump... while not as catastrophic, will ruin your day as well if
it's not running, and you need it. Personally, I would not go out if my pump
was inop. Both the blower, and pump are easy remove and replacements.

The left RPM gauge has some moisture in it and as such seems to be all

over the place.

Swap the connectors for the tachs and see if the problem remains on the left
tach. If it does, then the tach is fubar. If the right tach all of a sudden
shows the same problem, you have a more serious problem elsewhere.

Can't help you with the leak, as I'm not familiar with the SeaDoos. I'm a
Yamaha jet boat guy. ;-)

I hope this helps.

--Mike


Thanks for the advice. Any idea what the blower will run?

new 97 speedster owner - first outing questions
 

Thanks for the advice. Any idea what the blower will run?

Anywhere from $25-50 for your size boat. Cheap life (and boat) insurance.

--Mike

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Mar 31, 9:32 pm, "Mike" wrote:
The boat noticeably wants to go to starboard. In all honesty, I weigh

quite a bit more than my wife and 4 year old son put together.

I don't know much about the Speedster, but most boats are sensitive to
loading. If the boat is pulling to starboard, ask your wife to take the
helm, and you go to the port side. How's it ride now? The smaller the
boat,
the more sensitive it is to loading.

The bilge blower and bilge pump have never worked according to the
seller

Bilge blower... Get it fixed ASAP! That's a fundamental safety item,
that
must be functional. Starting the engines with the bilge filled with gas
vapors from a leak, or whatever will ruin your whole day... or life. Fix
it
before you take the boat out again.

The bilge pump... while not as catastrophic, will ruin your day as well
if
it's not running, and you need it. Personally, I would not go out if my
pump
was inop. Both the blower, and pump are easy remove and replacements.

The left RPM gauge has some moisture in it and as such seems to be all

over the place.

Swap the connectors for the tachs and see if the problem remains on the
left
tach. If it does, then the tach is fubar. If the right tach all of a
sudden
shows the same problem, you have a more serious problem elsewhere.

Can't help you with the leak, as I'm not familiar with the SeaDoos. I'm a
Yamaha jet boat guy. ;-)

I hope this helps.

--Mike


Thanks for the advice. Any idea what the blower will run?

new 97 speedster owner - first outing questions
 

It can also be that the engines are not close enough in sync. They need to
be running close to the same rpm or it will pull. Since you have a tach
problem it's hard to tell if they are running the same or not.

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Mar 31, 9:32 pm, "Mike" wrote:
The boat noticeably wants to go to starboard. In all honesty, I weigh

quite a bit more than my wife and 4 year old son put together.

I don't know much about the Speedster, but most boats are sensitive to
loading. If the boat is pulling to starboard, ask your wife to take the
helm, and you go to the port side. How's it ride now? The smaller the
boat,
the more sensitive it is to loading.

The bilge blower and bilge pump have never worked according to the
seller

Bilge blower... Get it fixed ASAP! That's a fundamental safety item,
that
must be functional. Starting the engines with the bilge filled with gas
vapors from a leak, or whatever will ruin your whole day... or life. Fix
it
before you take the boat out again.

The bilge pump... while not as catastrophic, will ruin your day as well
if
it's not running, and you need it. Personally, I would not go out if my
pump
was inop. Both the blower, and pump are easy remove and replacements.

The left RPM gauge has some moisture in it and as such seems to be all

over the place.

Swap the connectors for the tachs and see if the problem remains on the
left
tach. If it does, then the tach is fubar. If the right tach all of a
sudden
shows the same problem, you have a more serious problem elsewhere.

Can't help you with the leak, as I'm not familiar with the SeaDoos. I'm a
Yamaha jet boat guy. ;-)

I hope this helps.

--Mike


Thanks for the advice. Any idea what the blower will run?

new 97 speedster owner - first outing questions
 

"James" wrote in message
link.net...
It can also be that the engines are not close enough in sync. They need
to be running close to the same rpm or it will pull. Since you have a
tach problem it's hard to tell if they are running the same or not.

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Mar 31, 9:32 pm, "Mike" wrote:
The boat noticeably wants to go to starboard. In all honesty, I weigh

quite a bit more than my wife and 4 year old son put together.

I don't know much about the Speedster, but most boats are sensitive to
loading. If the boat is pulling to starboard, ask your wife to take the
helm, and you go to the port side. How's it ride now? The smaller the
boat,
the more sensitive it is to loading.

The bilge blower and bilge pump have never worked according to the
seller

Bilge blower... Get it fixed ASAP! That's a fundamental safety item,
that
must be functional. Starting the engines with the bilge filled with gas
vapors from a leak, or whatever will ruin your whole day... or life. Fix
it
before you take the boat out again.

The bilge pump... while not as catastrophic, will ruin your day as well
if
it's not running, and you need it. Personally, I would not go out if my
pump
was inop. Both the blower, and pump are easy remove and replacements.

The left RPM gauge has some moisture in it and as such seems to be all

over the place.

Swap the connectors for the tachs and see if the problem remains on the
left
tach. If it does, then the tach is fubar. If the right tach all of a
sudden
shows the same problem, you have a more serious problem elsewhere.

Can't help you with the leak, as I'm not familiar with the SeaDoos. I'm
a
Yamaha jet boat guy. ;-)

I hope this helps.

--Mike


Thanks for the advice. Any idea what the blower will run?

I have the complete shop service manual for that boat. I suggest you email
me and buy it! Actually, a friend had one, and the manual is listed on
Craigslist right now. It is in a three ring binder and covers all three
models for that year. Dan