JohnyB

hi, can anybody recommend a good, ideally local, jetski shop.
id prefer to buy new, but a good secondhand deal maybe tempting.
also, somewhere reasonable on servicing and the all important upgrades !
cheers

Nevetas

Yeah SKi Tek, or there is a shop on South Woodford Hi Road.

I had one for 3 years, and they get boring very very quickly.

You are much better off buying a Speed Boat!!

Scooby Snacks 23

I've had three jetskis over a period of three years and thought they were great fun. Once you've been out and about on a jetski, you won't want a speedboat - trust me on this one.

If you're thinking about your first ski, go secondhand to see if you enjoy it. You'll lose 20% depreciation on a new ski the second it goes on water for a start - it's also frustrating running it in!

Consider what you want out of it (do you want to tow for instance) then consider where you want to use it (freshwater/sea etc), and how much you can spend. Don't forget the little extras to insure it (approx £250-£300 a year depending on ski), westuits and inflatable toys, and a towbar!

There's a Seadoo GSX Ltd for sale on the For Sale forum here (I had one and they're great ski's) so that's a good starting point.

Mail me off line if you want any more info.


[Edited by Scooby Snacks 23 - 7/15/2003 12:15:47 PM]

TopBanana

Not any more, I sold it

Scooby Snacks 23

The ebay bidder???

TopBanana

No, in fact none of the bidders answered my emails - which wasn't particularly surprising I have to say (ebay = timewaster / dreamer central). Someone saw the auction and gave me a ring - his offer was within the auction reserve so I took it. Sold it for £3650 in the end which I think was a fair price.

I can't understand why someone would bid on something so expensive without phoning or at least emailing me first.

beemerboy

JB,

there used to be a shop on the seafront call Thorpe Bay Marine.
near the halfway house, just down from the Kursaal.

dunno if they are still there though...

great things those, used to go down the festival park lake and blat them about for £25 / half hour (those were the days)...

danm, want another go on one now, give me a shout when you get one, i'll run it in for you!!!

all the best

Dazza

Scooby Snacks 23

James - glad you got rid out it, but bet you miss it now!!

I can recommend Thorpe Bay Marine for servicing, but their 2nd hand ski prices are inflated - you can do much better than shopping around (Russell Power Boats do some good prices, and you can try them on their private lake).

I learnt to ski at Festival Park in Basildon. The last time I was there, Ian (the guy who owned it) was selling the leasehold to half the lake as the other half had been bought by the Hilton for an extension to the hotel they already had there. That would make it two small for two or three seaters, but fab for anyone learning how to use a stand-up.

PeteT

If you do get one don't come anywhere ******* near Windermere.

I'm sick to death of the annoying bloody things droning round and round showing off to anyone who'll look.

Roll on the 10mph limit

TopBanana

Yep, felt serious pangs of doubt as I saw it being towed away. I don't think I'd been that genuinely moved in years

Still, the new boat should help take the pain away!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Jetskis are good fun, for about ten minutes then you realise they are fairly limited, basically only any good for showing off on.

Where we go in Wales (Trearrdur Bay) you see (and hear) them all day, all they do is go about 100 yards out to sea, bomb back and spin it round, ignore any swim area signs, frighten kids, cut sailing boats up and generally p1ss everybody apart from themselves off.

They always turn up towed by Frontera's driven by ignorant gits, I used to love them but after ten years of sitting in the garden watching and listening to them I am sick to death of them, pity anybody who lives there.

Also, it seems ludicrous to give a Jetski to anybody who wants one without any training, basically they are a water bound sports bike, some have 150 bhp engines and I have seen ten year old kids in charge of them, they need regulating big time.

GM

All you need to know about jetskis

TopBanana

Well as a windsurfer and jetskiier I can see both sides of the argument. It's like anything else in life, you get tossers and you get decent folk. There should definately be compulsory training / testing, a minimum age, and strict punishments for arsing around close to the shore

blip

You can only properly refer to the solo (stand-up) type as jetski's - which is how they were originally patented by Kawasaki many years ago. All the rest would be better called AquaSofa's or something

There is very little skill required in riding these 3/4/5 seater GSXRZXRSS1500's things - my mum could ride one for christ's sake. Get a 'real' ski - a SuperJet - and take the time to learn to ride it. Like motocross you won't be an expert after the first ten minutes but you will quickly realise where the real fun (and kudos)is on the water once you master it! As with anything you get out what you put in. All IMHO of course

I have been riding solo ski's for 16 years, and used to be a sponsored solo racer at national level several years ago, and back in the late 80's/early 90's it was genuinely an awesome sport to compete & be involved in.

Unfortunately Kawasaki & Yamaha decided to kill the sport by creating seated craft that would appeal to a wider, family based audience - and ultimately were easier to ride. Along came the 'sit-downs' and the term Jetskiing was inappropriately adopted by a new breed of weekend pleasure rider who wanted little more than to blast round and round in circles at full throttle for an hour believing they were cool, possessed great technique and were impressing all the onlookers.

Generally these guys have no concept of the danger they pose to solo riders on the water, no comprehension of how long a SeaDoo takes to come off the plane at 70mph, and little thought of what damage they would do if they hit a head in the water at that speed. And believe me it aint pretty as I have pulled one guy out of the water (hit in the head) whilst working at a lake and had to attempt to resuscitate him (through all the blood).

There are obviously careful/considerate riders out there too, and I apologise to them for the generalisation, but working at a jetski lake gives you a real insight into just how many d*ckheads now own and ride the sit-downs. It's a real shame.

I realise things change/move on/etc but it isn't always for the best, and in this case the real heart of this sport died along time ago thanks to the Japanese factories (and several American pro-level solo riders) selling out. RIP jetskiing. Long-live the AquaSofa!!

<Rant mode off>

Scooby Snacks 23

Good post blip, there's none quite as good as the Superjet.

If you've ever seen Keith Rimmer do tricks on stand-up, you'd never want an AquaSofa!!!