Sea Rayder-looking to buy, need advice

[jetlvr]

I have the chance to buy a very clean low hour 93 Sea Rayder 90 hp unit for about $3000. Is this a good deal? Had new stator and box installed this spring.

Anything to watch for other than compression?

Thanks in advance!

[pyro]

These are badly underpowered. They will NOT pull up a skier over 150 lbs. They have VERY slow holeshot with passengers, they are slow to start with. The only small jet boat that is worth a damn is the twin-engine Sea-Doo Speedster. You can pull tubes behind it, it gets going quick, and tops out around 55.

Seriously, drive it before you consider buying it. If you ski at all, stay away from jets altogether. The boat is cheap because it sucks. Look for a good older outboard rig if you want to spend a smart $3K.

[Torino Jet]

I've owned four outboaurd ranging from 40 to 150 h.p. and one 455 Olds jet, and I feel that the jet is pretty damn good for skiing. The wake is sort of small for big air on the wakeboard, but the power is incredible for pulling anybody out of the water with a quickness.

[Rickracer]

But try it with an anemic 90 horse 2 stroke. Hehehehe:cool:

[pyro]

my thoughts exactly. An outboard with 85 HP would be better for skiing than a jet with 120 HP.

of course, you haven't said what you wish to use it for...

Making lots of noise? These things have an annoying "sick animal" sound as they run around the lake, pretty loud for 90 hp.

Going 35 mph? Maybe 30 with a couple of buddies...

Driving recklessly? I see people driving these like jet-skis all the time, doing bat turns, spinning out, going in circles, some of them will submerge the bow if you throw it in reverse while you're cruising. I saw somebody lose a passenger out the front like that.
****, get a jet ski if you want to do that stuff. Just don't do it on my lake. We got enough suicidal idiots out here already.

Crashing into things? It happens a lot. Their steering does nothing unless you're on the throttle. If you turn the wheel while you're coasting, it just goes straight into your neighbor's raft. Maybe some of them also have a rudder to improve this. Not sure...

OK, the pros. It's a cheap boat, it's small, doesn't take up space in the garage or driveway, no exposed prop to injure someone's leg, runs in less than 2 feet of water at full throttle. I think they have a hard floor, you can hose out the interior to wash it.

Take it for a test drive before you buy it. and compare it to some other stuff in that price range...

[MICHAEL2MAN]

I happen to have the same boat you are describing......
It really can not do what an outboard will do with the same power rating. It is not the total pig some might believe it to be.
Mine is great for the small size and shallow draft when it is on plane. As for the speed...you would be surprised what a $175 Solas impeller and a set of Boyeson Reeds will do.
I paid 2K for mine, it is a 1994. I would suggest unless you are capable enough to take on both electrical and mechanicals yourself, buy an outboard so you can pay somone else to fix it at a much lower cost. And by the way, 3 grand is too much!
Michael2man