late 90's jetboats, ie bayliner jazz, regal rush, etc

[hwy420man]

I am considering purchasing a late 90's model jet boat like a regal rush or a bayliner jazz. I like the style of those boats and am just wondering if there are any serious issues with the merc sport jet 90 and 120 engines and jetdrives I sould be wary of and or fixes I sould know about. Also are their known issues I should be aware of, such as part availability issues, fuel consumption, or problems to look for when purchasing. Please note that this boat will used by myself and my girlfriend, and my roomate and his girlfriend to tube, ski and fish on freshwater lakes. All four of us total weigh less than 600lbs and I have heard these boats are rated for 800. Not looking for anything really fast, just want to make sure this boat can perform to the usage I need it too. Thanks for all your advise in advance

 

[Campylobacter]

Re: late 90's jetboats, ie bayliner jazz, regal rush, etc

In your other thread you were looking for the "toyota" of boating, these are more like a porsche (or worse, an F150 with a porsche engine). The use LOTS of gas because jets are inefficient, are not real comfortable for 4 people, and can be a bear to maintain. Some people love them, but I would do lots research before buying one.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: late 90's jetboats, ie bayliner jazz, regal rush, etc

The merc sportjet is actually a Force engine block. They were put in quite a few jet boats and were branded Mariner and Sea ray in addition to Mercury. A lot of people Rag on Force engines but there are a lot of them out there. When something does go wrong, they are by far the easiest to work on and while certain parts are a bit difficult to find, almost anything can be found with a bit of searching.

If you are comfortable maintaining and working on motorcycles, you will certainly be OK with maintaining the engine.

Understand though that any boat requires constant maintenance and use lots of fuel. These vehicles are not like your modern day automobiles. A fun day on the water will cost 100 bucks or more in fuel.