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CoastGuardSteve
06-09-2001, 07:05 PM
I am fairly new to the world of Jetboats in the respect that I have never owned a boat. I am preparing to make that giant leap of faith and purchase my first Jetboat. I am looking for a boat that will suit my needs, or wishes/desires, and hope to tap some of the knowledge that appears to be available here. I will be using the boat to pull the usual toys...skier, knee-board, inner-tube...
I am interested in a nice mini-daycruiser in the $5-6K range. My preference for power is BBC, plenty and fairly cheap parts, and a jet manufactured by...??? Here is my big question...What manufacturer should I be looking for in a jet? I have read the postings that compare and discuss the Berkley JC & JG. What is the difference? How will it affect me and my boat? I need help....PLEASE.

Bubbledeck
06-09-2001, 09:32 PM
CoastGuardSteve I would look for a Berkley mainly for the reasons you gave for wanting a BBC. I've had my jet boat (had a pontoon before)for 4 years now, the first 2 years I never knew I had JC and the last 2 years I haven't cared. I think a mini cruiser in that price range is a good choice, but that's just me. I would worry about the condition of the boat, motor, pump, and trailer. Whether it has a JC or a JG would be the last thing on my mind. If I found a nice boat at a good price even if it had a Ford I'd buy it. I have a Ford in my boat and I can't tell you how much parts cost because I haven't needed any ;-)
But you as the buyer are in the driver's seat and you should stick pretty close to what you want. When I went boat shopping I had my mind already made up that if it didn't have a Chevy or a Ford with a Berkely I wasn't gonna buy it. Don't get boat fever and buy the first piece of crap you look at (memories of my pontoon boat hehe). If you aren't familiar with boats I'd find a good boat mechanic, now, not later, and let him go over the boat when you find one. The few bucks you pay him may just save you thousands down the road.
Also, although this is the best time of year to own a boat it may be the worst time to buy one. Good luck!

froggystyle
06-10-2001, 10:03 AM
Good advice. Look for full length stringers in a boat of that size designed for that duty. Eliminator has always made a great boat, but double your price for a decent 20 year old one. If you find one for $5K I would wager something is wrong with it. Tahiti made a nice mini day, as did Placecraft. Place boats are phenomenal, but hard to find. A modified tunnel is a really good choice as well. It looks like a vee, but has some of the handling characteristics of a tunnel. A little more spendy though.

CoastGuardSteve
06-10-2001, 09:13 PM
Thank you fellas for your input! My ears are still open to any other advice that you or anyone else may have. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I have particular boat manufacturer in mind...How does Spectra rate? What about a Hallet? I will be using the boat in a lake not the river does this change anything? I am very excited about the prospect of being a proud owner for next season on my favorite new lake...Berryessa! It's a nice looking lake!

Cas42
06-10-2001, 11:32 PM
Steve,
Since your new favorite lake is going to be Berryessa, where abouts are you? I'm in Sonoma and frequent Berryessa often.
Anyway, back to your questions. What Bubble and Froggy mentioned is pretty good advice.
I'm on my 3rd boat right now, all of which have been Tahiti jets. This one is a 21' mini day that I bought a couple of years ago and I've been pretty happy with it. This is the first one I've had with a Panther jet, the other 2 had Berkeley's, a 12JC and a 12JG. As far as the jet goes, it really depends on what you want to do with the boat. The Panther is a very good jet but not as versatile as the Berkeley's as far as add-ons. After 2 years with this drive and a total of 15 with the others, I'd have to say that the Panther has less maintainance. It also comes with a stainless steel impeller and is less likely to get something wrapped around the shaft. If something does get stuck around the shaft, Berkeleys hand an inspection cover to aid in removal. The Panther has 4 bolts holding the exit nozzle on that have to be removed to access the shaft. It sounds like more trouble but it's actually real easy to do. Pulling a sucked up ski rope from a Panther will be much faster than from a Berk.
If you're going to be looking for high performance, Berkeley and some others are probably a better choice but Panther does have some good options.
Are you more mixed up now?
I found my boat by using www.boattraderonline.com, (http://www.boattraderonline.com,) you might need to access from www.traderonline.com (http://www.traderonline.com) though. I checked out a few boats before finding the one I have. I got it for $4,000.00 and have put another $1700 into it, by choice, not need. Oh yea, it has a BBC that's pretty much stock but that's really all I wanted. If I were to buy another jet boat, I wouldn't hesitate on a Panther, based on my needs.
SteveC

Spectracide
06-11-2001, 01:02 AM
I have a Spectra 20, So that makes me bias. I really did not know that much about the differnt brands of boats. I think that I lucked out getting my Spectra.

Cas42
06-11-2001, 05:52 AM
Steve,
I just did a search at Traderonline, came up with 40 just in No CA. I expanded my search a little and went 19ft to 21 ft, 4k to 6k range, mini day cruiser. I found a couple that look pretty darn good, might have to go look myself hahahahaha

SPECTRABRENT
06-11-2001, 11:26 AM
Steve,
Like Spectracide I am a Spectra fan and for $5000 to $6000 you should get a decent 18 to 20 foot cruiser. I would stay with the Berkeley & Chevy combo. If you need help finding a Spectra go to www.spectramarine.com. (http://www.spectramarine.com.) or email me @ Brentloan@aol.com. I may know of a Spectra 20 with the Chevy, Berk. combo.

Slick
06-13-2001, 06:52 AM
Steve,
If you decide to spend a few more dollars, stay away from Caliber 1. That's what I have, '94 206 skr. Nice boat for looks, ride and ammenities but the internal construction sucks. Putting a new floor in mine and found the stringers were not completely sealed, didn't epoxy the transom after they made the cutout for the jet and didn't use stainless steal screws to fasten the floor to the stringers. I guess you wouldn't know on any boat until you really started tearing it apart, but that's my experience with Caliber 1.
Slick

gstark
06-13-2001, 11:10 AM
I can tell you that the new Caliber 1's are well put together, fully buttoned up, sealed, all stainless hardware. Hard to find any fault with construction methods.