Uh Oh. Another Brilliant Idea.

lncoop

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Howdy guys and gals. Been a while! I'd like to run something by the crew and get opinions for and agin, preferably with some whys and why nots attached..

The admiral likes to go slow. The vice admiral and her friends are thirteen and like to go fast. I like to avoid hearing complaints (and slow is also my preference when on the lake). We've been making do with the 21' barge and ninety horse, but I pitched the admiral on something and she didn't say it was incredibly stupid. Here's what I have in mind. Sell the Suntracker for whatever I can and buy an old 24-ish footer with just enough power plant to push it between coves and spend the rest on a three seat wave runner type critter. Leave the barge in dry storage near our favorite lake and keep the ski in the back yard; tow the ski to the lake then go back for the barge. We'd use the wave runner for water sports of course and leave the barge in a cove for the usual party barge type pursuits. In theory we'd save gas both on the road and on the water. I would expect insurance premiums to remain about the same or possibly drop since I have pretty good insurance on the Suntracker and would of course only carry liability on an old barge.

There it is! Whatcha think?
 

Frank Acampora

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Depends upon what state you are in! In some states, a 13 YO is not allowed to drive a jet-ski. Better to consider a smallish runabout with moderate power for the time being so the girls could ski and tube.
 

lncoop

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Good point Frank. In Arkie a SOLO operator must be at least sixteen, but twelve and up may operate with an adult who is in position to take immediate control. Replacing the barge with a runabout is out of the question. I've mentioned it before and the admiral is adamantly opposed.
 

smokeonthewater

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Don't plan on saving ANY fuel with teens and a jetski... You won't believe how many times a day you can put $50 in it...

How bout a barge and a 14'ish runabout.
 

MTboatguy

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We had a big get together here at the house a few years ago, and there were 4 ATV's around, in 2 days, us adults shelled out over $250 in fuel, it seemed like every 4 hours we were heading to town to get fuel for the ATV's, I can't imagine it would be much different with Jet Skis!
 

keith2k455

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As someone who recently went from jetskis to a boat I can attest to how much you will spend on gas with jetskis. each ski will easily burn a tank of gas in a few hours. I would also expect pwc insurance to cost about what your boat does. We went from 2 1998 1100cc kawasaki skis to the 03 Crownline with a 5.0 and I think our insurance increased by about $100 per year. We easily saved the insurance in fuel consumption.

I do like you're idea, though. In theory if you have a fast group and a slow group, get two crafts so each can have their way. I don't see any financial benefit though.

In my craft, admiral doesn't care about speed as long as its smooth. One kid likes to go slow, the other is to little to be consistent. I let my kid who cares ride on the bow and I do 22mph. If she complains about it being too fast I just tell hey the boat had to be on plane and this is as slow as we can go. You may try thinking of something like this, maybe say we have so much distance/time on this tank of gas and this speed gets us where we need to go. Eventually she may pony up some cash to get you to go faster, but I guess that's a parenting win on her learning responsibility and coming up with solutions to get problems.
 

smokeonthewater

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We had a big get together here at the house a few years ago, and there were 4 ATV's around, in 2 days, us adults shelled out over $250 in fuel, it seemed like every 4 hours we were heading to town to get fuel for the ATV's, I can't imagine it would be much different with Jet Skis!

For jetskis at least double it.

4 jetskis with kids for 2 days... Easily $500!
 
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tpenfield

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Yea, 13 year olds with a boat/PWC not the best idea . . . Too many bad things could happen.
 

alldodge

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It wasn't specifically stated but I'm going from a 21 footer with outboard on trailer to a 24 footer sitting in the water 24/7, I see a large increase in maintenance.
 

lncoop

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Good thoughts guys. Thank you very much. Just to clarify; I never intended to simply turn my daughter or her thirteen year old friends loose on a PWC. Way too many bad things could happen in a situation like that, not to mention it's illegal. Sounds like saving fuel costs on the water is unrealistic. That still leaves saving fuel costs on land, and I do like the idea of a smaller bow rider instead of the wave runner critters. It's evolving.
 

lncoop

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Who knows, y'all may see a JUST BOT THIS TRIHAUL WHATS IT WORTH THINK ITS GOT CARB PROBLEMS FROM THE ETHENAL post from me soon.:peep:
 

bonz_d

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Incoop I think I'd be looking for a 14'-15' StarCraft with a 40-50hp on the back. Could possibly get by with a 35hp on a 14'. I say that because I know for fact that my 14' with a 35hp Evinrude used about half the fuel as my 16' with the 50hp which is why I'm thinking of going back to another 14'.
 

thumpar

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You could do one of the little jet boats. It still won't save on fuel but would give you something to have fun on and can carry more people than a PWC.
 

redneck joe

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kids on a jetski will bankrupt you. They have wo speeds, WOT and WOT and WOT burns the most fuel.
 

littlerayray

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A small bow rider would be your best bet but it doesn't matter in any case your the captain your in control tell em if they don't like how you pilot they can swim or go stay on shore I tell my kids that all the time
 

Silvertip

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How about a deck boat. Speed when needed - space for all, leisurely cruising and a good platform for hanging out in a cove.
 

gddavid

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Cheap pontoon and a used 13' boston whaler. Enough power to pull a small tube or light wake boarder, large weight capacity for it's size. They hold their value incredibly well, but you will find a deal on one every once in a while when some widow or estate doesn't realize what they are selling. In the right setting a small boat can be a great way to reward a responsible youth with some freedom and responsibility before setting them loose with a car. I had a 14' aluminum boat with a 15 hp and eventually a 40 hp that I saved up for when I was 13-17 years old, we skied and fished all over with that little boat. A friend had a whaler and it was the bees knees.
 
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