School me on PWC or sit down jet ski, or whatever it's called

I'm thinking about buying a sit down jet ski or whatever it's called. I know nothing. Only rode one a half dozen times, but it was fun. It will be for me, my 9 year old, and my 7 year old, and probably my wife from time to time. Basically drag tubes around the lake. Maybe other stuff when they get older.

I saw that a 4 seater existed at some point (which sounds ideal), but got discontinued years ago. Lots of different 3 seater and a 2 seaters on the market? Do I need 2 machines, or just one big one? I'll probably fund this by selling my ZX10 (worth maybe 8k) so ideally the price would be around there...but it doesn't have to be.

I don't even know where to start. Suggestions?

 

They suck balls to work on. Otherwise I got nothin’.

 

If you want to pull tubes, you can only pull what the machine can sit, and you need a driver and a spotter, so really you only "legally" can tow one person, at least in WI. 2 seaters are fun and a lot more nimble and easier to screw around on, three seaters are way more stable and usually get the big output engines. If it were my first one, i'd do what we did again, get a cheaper two seater and see if the hype wears out.

 

Buy 2, otherwise you spend a good portion of the day watching someone else ride your toy.

Every lake in the area has boat rental, I wonder if you can rent one to see what you like?

 

Yamaha vtx or some such.

2 buddies with these. Him wife kid tubes no problem.
Does 55mph with 2 husky dudes.
Get the 1.8liter 4T non supercharged...reliable

 

Know your boating laws before pulling tubes etc.. 8K will get you something nice.

 

Keep the ZX10.

 

Buy a Yamaha. Avoid Sea Doo like the plague.

 

Oh and wait until November to buy...best time to find the deals..

 

PA requires a PWC license to operate...not sure about other states.

 

Buy a Yamaha or Kawi 3 seater. See if you can find a used pair of them, it’s getting close to the right time to buy. Find someone who kept them at their lake house, had the dealer come pick them up and service them, etc. Usually they will have low hours and people with that kind of money want them off their hands. I just bought a fishing boat like that, 3 years it had no hours put on it by the owner and still got serviced. There are lots out there just have to look and look daily as they go quick.

 

^ Absofackinglutely!!!
If you are looking in three seater check out Yamaha VX Limited package, when I bought mine in '17 came with tube, cover with solar panel, cleats already installed, 12V power outlet, tube pump etc. If you wanted to buy all this stuff separately it would add 1-2K extra. Ski came with 3 cyl. 1.0L engine which was enough to propel ski with me and my 12 yo to 55mph. Darn thing is blast and towing tube with it is breeze a lot more maneuverability compared to my boat.
Just get it, when you see smiles on your kids faces you will ask yourself why you didn't do it earlier!

 

As price point my buddy bought a Yamaha vx cruiser ho, 1.8l 3 seater in may.
Out the door with trailer was ~14k ATL area

 

Find a older Honda Aquatrax 3 seater turbo. 1200cc turbo.. stupid fast and they are very reliable. Should be able to get them pretty cheap. Or look for a newer Honda Aquatrax 1500 Turbo if you can find them, not a ton out there.

 

I have a 2006 F12x Turbo - bought new. Does 65mph. Will pull anything I want, even a big 4-seat tube. Bit of turbo-lag, but lots of fun. It has been a reliable machine and still looks new. Had to replace the wastegate control valve once and it had a pump seal fail under warranty. Other than that it has just been oil changes and spark plugs.

 

sit down to ski, sit down to pee... thats the motto in AZ.. Get a stand up ski so your son wont be called a girl.

But for real.. here in AZ we all BBQ and hang out on shore line and do lil 10 min session rides. "exploring the lake" or "pulling tubes" is fun once or twice.. riding a stand up is always fun.

 

Thanks everybody. So summing it up so far...

First: I need a 3 seater for me and the kids to legally pull a tube and ride around.
Second: When the wife gets bored sitting on shore, convince her that we need a stand up (for me) so the whole family can have fun
Third: Find a nice machine...maybe a yamaha.

Few more questions...

The new Yamaha EX sport at my local dealership looks pretty cost effective? Is that worth looking at too, or are nicer, more powerful used machines the way to go?

Anything I need to know about single trailers?

Anybody in Michigan want to trade for a Kendon single and a mint 2014 street/trackday ZX10 with all the goodies.

 

I love our two PWC's. They are both 3 seaters. I bought Sea Doo's because of the closed cooling system and I have a dealer a few miles away. Most of our riding is in a river and I thought the closed cooling had some advantages. It also makes them very easy to winterize (as in, you basically don't). I have had them for a couple of years and have never worked on them other than oil changes. Just get one, you'll love it. It's kinda like an adventure bike for the water. My wife and I probably rode ours 70-80 miles last weekend. The one I usually ride is 230 HP with a supercharger. It's FUN! It also has a bunch of electronics that make riding easy (cruise control, launch control, intelligent braking, etc).

 

Rent them...

 

I had two Yamaha's when I had my place at the lake. My suggestion? Don't buy them. They are boring AF in my opinion.