Sea-Doo Challerger

Thebrucru

Recruit
Joined
Jan 27, 2015
Messages
1
Hello, I'm looking into trading our jet skis for our first boat. Looking for something small that can fit in my garage, to cruise the bay and pull the kids around. So far i like the Sea-Doo challenger. Any input on this boat?!

Thanks in Advance!!
 

jkust

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 2, 2008
Messages
4,942
My lake house neighbors bought one for their teenage son so he can get around the lake and not worry about prop issues. Their son always has friends up and so they use the heck out of it all summer. It uses a lot of gas and they are unpopular so can be bought for very little money.
 

Natesms

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Messages
464
We had a Doral version of the Seadoo. As a kid it was fun, as an adult it's not so much fun. You get beat around like on a wave runner but you can't stand up. The parents liked it when we coved out, so they would make the kids drive it to the cove and then putt around in it and have kids drive it back home.

The best thing I remember as a kid was putting the new guy on the bow seat and plowing it through a wave. You could flood the boat and it would pump itself out through the drains in the floor. Retrospect, not the best plan, however hilarious watching your friend get knocked from the front to the back and then panic because the boat was "sinking".

It was an awesome river boat though. Low draft and the river here is always smooth. Everyone liked it on the river.

Fuel usage is like wave runners, bad.
 

smokeonthewater

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
9,838
Fuel usage is like wave runners, bad.

This isn't really a fair statement.... REALLY BAD would be more accurate....


My thoughts on this vessel.... would be lots of fun for a little while, but this isn't a boat.... It's an overgrown waverunner that you can't stand up in... I'm a pretty tough guy and my buddy took me out in the ocean in his seadoo speedster.... As soon as we hit rough water my lower back was in immense pain from the pounding and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it since the seats are just a few inches off the floor..... less than 15 minutes and I was at the point of him turning back or I was gonna bail and swim to the beach in the surf.

My .02.... IF you want a boat, get a boat.... not one of these things
 
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Brian 26

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Messages
574
What year or size are we talking? Seadoo plays around a lot with their boat names. The 1990s challangers are not even close to today's challengers.

The 15' models are basically big jet skis with gunnels. The 18'+ models of today are true boats and comparable to say an 18' Glastron run about.

Seadoo actually stopped making boats and has since teamed up with Glastron and Scarab (I think) to offer the seadoo 4tec engine/jet drive as a power plant option.
 
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