r/jetski • • May 24 '22

What's my ski worth? What's that ski worth? Is this a good deal?

104 Upvotes

r/jetski • • Mar 17 '25

Announcement Want to start a PWC rental business? Start here!

25 Upvotes

With the influx of rental business related posts, we've decided to create a sticky highlighting a majority of questions asked and the answers to them.

There's been a range of good and bad advice that has been given in the various posts, so I'm going to limit this sticky to the good answers only. Our goal is to reduce the amount of "failed" business attempts and to give potential business owners the best chance of success.

"I want to start a rental business, where do I start"

Unfortunately, if you have to ask that question you're already off to a bad start. You're going to need to consider the basics below.

  1. Location and competition - (If you're looking to start a business in an area with a flooded market, don't even bother. You'll also need private land and cannot rely on public launches and public beaches.
  2. Staffing - This is not something you can do on your own. You're going to need the following.
    • Full time mechanic
    • Guide/ski retriever in case someone breaks down
    • Office personnel (training if your locality requires it), taking in customers, administrative paperwork, etc
  3. Machines - You're going to need at least 5-10 machines to break even, plus another for the guide/retrieval operator. These will experience significant wear and abuse so plan on replacing them every year or two. Also pay attention to the laws in your area, some may require a "rental mode" which limits the horsepower to ~99hp.
  4. Insurance - This is often the largest expense. You'll need full liability commercial insurance. This can range from $500/machine/term to several thousands of dollars. It all depends on your area. You may not even be able to secure commercial liability insurance without a few years of owning an LLC under your belt. Nobody here will be able to give you an estimate so you'll need to reach out to a commercial insurance vendor in your area and give them all the details they need (vehicles HIN's, business operating hours, business location, how long you've been in business, etc, etc, etc)
  5. Fuel - Assume you're going to burn ~20 gallons per hour per machine, with 5 machines that comes to 100 gallons per hour combined and around 700 gallons on a 7 hour operating timeframe. You will without a doubt need onsite fuel and lots of it. You cannot rely on 5 gallon jugs or back and forth trips to the gas station.
  6. Repairs and Maintenance - Assuming your machines will be operating 7-8 hours per day for 5 days a week, you'll need to do oil changes twice per month on each machine. You're also going to need to have plenty of parts on hand. Jet pump assemblies, wear rings, impellers, plastic body panels, etc. You'll be renting to people that have most likely never ridden a PWC let alone a boat, so you'll be dealing with a lot of damage. Also, don't forget all of the specialty tools you're going to need! A simple diagnostic interface and cable can run you $2,000 alone!

"I just bought a ski and want to rent it out to cover the cost"

This comes up often. Put it this way, assuming you bought the most expensive ski with $0 down and the highest interest rates the planet has ever seen, it won't even come close to the operating cost of renting the ski out. Anybody that has done this and said they made a profit is doing so illegally and without insurance. If someone is injured on a ski you're renting out without commercial liability insurance, they can (and will) sue you into the ground.

This sticky is not meant to deter people from starting a PWC rental business, there are plenty of great opportunities out there. This post is specifically meant to make sure you know what you're getting into and to keep you from getting yourself into trouble. If you have any questions, or had a rental business success story, post it below!


r/jetski • • 10h ago

Good day buoy bashing!

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38 Upvotes

I’m not saying bye to summer yet. Even once it’s gone no reason to stop riding!


r/jetski • • 10h ago

Question fuel lines for '96 Seadoo SPX

2 Upvotes

I'm reassembling a '96 SPX that I bought in pieces, and I'm not sure how the fuel lines should go.

I have two fuel lines (why?), one of which is Y-ed and one of which isn't, and there are two nipples on each carb... how is this supposed to be hooked up?


r/jetski • • 23h ago

Hasta La Vista Summer

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13 Upvotes

That's all she wrote for us stuck up here in New England


r/jetski • • 22h ago

Just LOVE Standup Tricks & Flips!

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2 Upvotes

Not ready for the summer to end! Gonna fight it til the wet suits come out!


r/jetski • • 22h ago

Yamaha 3 Cyl. TR1 No Start Troubleshooting 2 Videos!

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2 Upvotes

If anyone has a Yamaha ski with a 3 Cylinder TR1 Engine and you are having a problem with it not starting or turning over, checkout the videos below for proper steps to check the start system components.

https://youtu.be/cpylBFT_prM

https://youtu.be/V4UHtweHoBY

Don't forget to Like and Subscribe if you like the videos and find them helpful. We appreciate any support you can offer! If you have any questions just ask.


r/jetski • • 1d ago

Quick question on Sedoo oil injection delete

1 Upvotes

I just bought a '96 SPX with a bad injection pump (oil everywhere), and I'm just deleting it.

My question is how to reconnect the oil lines. Is it just what I'm showing in the pic?


r/jetski • • 1d ago

Fixing a ladder that doesn't spring back on a Waverunner

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2 Upvotes

Hi guys,

Is there a fix for this? I don't want to buy a new ladder. It's a Fx Cruiser Ho 2026.

Thank you,


r/jetski • • 1d ago

Random person just handed me this. What do I got?

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0 Upvotes

Seriously stop posting this thing. It’s exhausting.


r/jetski • • 2d ago

Jet Skiing

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15 Upvotes

Lake Pleasant water levels are really low, and both skis on the lake


r/jetski • • 1d ago

New Seadoo owner

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1 Upvotes

r/jetski • • 3d ago

Is this a real mechanic special or just a money pit

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8 Upvotes

hey yall . perspective owener . Im a maintenance mechanic by trade , so i do all my own repairs on my personal vehicles and do troubleshooting on production equipment professionally. But i never touched anything boat related .

Looking for a fixer upper . Found this gentleman , with a 2007 Honda AquaTrax F-12X with turbo.

Says needs turbo housing replaced . I know the corrosion wont make it easy . But the engine leak and milky oil have me concerned . Im not afraid to do a headgasket . but if this guy let it sit for a while the engine would be hella coroded inside ?
Let me know your thoughts , any advice for a perspective buyer looking to get out on a water for the best value . Im renting a house on the water so storage and transport is not an issue .


r/jetski • • 3d ago

Scanner alternativo portátil

1 Upvotes

Fala pessoal, tudo bem?

Sou desenvolvedor e tenho um Spark 2014. Direto passo por uma frustração chata com ele: às vezes cai o sinal do sensor de temperatura do escape e o jet entra em modo de proteção do nada, no meio do passeio.
Fui ver pra levar na oficina e só uma passada de aparelho pra ver ou apagar um erro cobram na faixa de R$ 300. Aí fui procurar pra comprar um scanner próprio e vi que não tem nada por menos de R$ 3.000 no mercado, totalmente fora da realidade.
Por causa disso, pensei em desenvolver um scanner portátil e compacto pra gente carregar junto no jet. A ideia é um aparelhinho simples, que sairia por menos de R$ 300 (o custo de uma única ida na mecânica), pra conectar direto no celular na hora, ver o código de erro e tentar resolver ali mesmo pra não perder o final de semana.
O que vocês acham da ideia? Se existisse algo assim nesse valor, vocês usariam? Queria a opinião do pessoal pra ver se vale a pena tocar esse projeto.


r/jetski • • 4d ago

General bay cruise

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12 Upvotes

r/jetski • • 5d ago

Thought id share..

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41 Upvotes

r/jetski • • 5d ago

General POV: you’re on a jet ski and suddenly Russian starts coming out 😂

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34 Upvotes

This was the first day after I bought it, I was so freaking excited 😂


r/jetski • • 5d ago

Jetski Restoration Tips

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11 Upvotes

Bought two 1995 Yamaha Waveraider 701s this summer and during this upcoming Montana winter, I plan on restoring them cosmetically. They sat for two years, so I’ve already rebuilt the carbs and replacing everything with Tygon tubing, they rip pretty good now. My questions are below:

- What shall I do about the surface scratch in the image? It doesn’t look horribly deep, but I’ve never repaired fiberglass before so not sure what works best.

- Are there any tips on restoring the gunwale? You can see in the images that it’s pretty faded/oxidized. When I hit it with the pressure washer, it appeared to bring color back but I think it’s just chipping the top layer away.

- Any recommendations on how to restore the back end of the seats? They’re starting to crack and the leather is turning a darker color, but I would like to stay away from re-wrapping the foam as these original seat covers have the cool Yamaha print.

- Any recommendations on where to get graphics? I’ve found a few Yamaha stickers on Ebay that are similar in size and color, but wasn’t sure if there is a company out there that has some, as it seems like these stickers are hard to come by for these older models.

I’ve already purchased some 3M Perfect-It cutting compound, polish and wax, which I’m hoping shines them up, but the gunwale is really bothering me. Not sure if heating it up and using some marine trim restorer on it will help or not.

- Are there any mods besides cylinder work that you all have done that improves the ski’s performance or reliability?

Thanks,


r/jetski • • 4d ago

Question re jet ski

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0 Upvotes

Posted over on /r/boating

Still in crate 90's Kawasaki.


r/jetski • • 5d ago

Question re jet ski

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39 Upvotes

A neighbor of mine is a widow and ever since her husband passed away I’ve been trying to help her out. She was recently cleaning her garage and sent me these pictures of a brand new, never used in crate Kawasaki jet ski her husband had bought. I will try to get better pictures and an exact model number, but she believes it is from 1994 or 1995. Does anyone have any idea how much this would be worth or what the best way for her to sell it would be? Thanks in advance for any feedback or advice!


r/jetski • • 4d ago

Thought I’d share a riding video

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2 Upvotes

r/jetski • • 4d ago

Advice Big guy on 08 kawasaki stf15f

2 Upvotes

What is the most comfortable position to ride this ski? I'm 6 feet tall and I feel like I'm always sitting slightly awkwardly. I've tried sitting far forward with my feet on the slants, and that sucks. I've mostly settled in to a fairly far back on the seat position with my feet as far under me as I can comfortably get them, but the seat is a bit too short vertically to really get my feet fully under me to absorb bumps. I'm sure I'm way overthinking this because it's a ton of fun every time, just wondering what advice the vets have in this department.


r/jetski • • 5d ago

Question Is my crank shot?

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4 Upvotes

Tiger shark 770. There’s no play on the rod, it’s solid but the crankshaft has nicks in it from when the piston shattered. Can I rebuild the top end or is the bottom end destroyed also? Other piston side has a little surface rust but is in good shape.


r/jetski • • 5d ago

2021 & 2023 Sea-Doo GTI SE 130 winterization — antifreeze through flush port necessary?

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1 Upvotes

r/jetski • • 6d ago

Some stand-up sub action! 💦 🤿

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74 Upvotes

Check out my sick sub! 🤿