PWC Advice
 

Looking to purchase a new PWC. Looking for reliability, comfortable ride, not overly concerned about speed, 45-50 is plenty. Price is also a concern that's why I'm looking in the recreation category. Sea Doo GTI vs Yamaha VX. Advice on either is welcome.

If you're not into super fast then stay away from supercharged models. They require more maintenance and a non super charged model is plenty fast enough for most.
I bought a Sea Doo Gti 130 and it will do 55mph with one person. It's super reliable and needs very little maintenance. If you want a little more speed they have a GTI 155. Basically the same machine with a little more horse power.
Sea Doo and Yamaha are the most popular. I looked at both and decided on Sea Doo after all my research. If I had to buy another one the only thing I would do different is to go with the GTI 155.
I haven't been on a Yamaha VX but friends who have used mine say the Yamaha feels heavier and doesn't handle as well as the Sea Doo. I can't confirm this but I've heard this more often than not.

We got a non supercharged 2018 Yamaha FX Cruiser HO last summer. All I can say is it was bullet proof reliable and is an awesome machine. It goes plenty fast, about as fast as you dare. I would highly recommend it.

Agree
 

I also started with Sea-doo , as far as i'm concerned they are very reliable machines ! I now have four of them and service them every year at Irwin Marine on 28A in Alton with no complaints.

I'm going to buy another one, probably the GTI 155 and a double trailer. I've put more hours on the Sea Doo the past two years than I have on my boat. I only use the boat now when we have company. If it's just me and my wife we hop on the Sea Doo.

Gti
 

Traded in my 10 year old GTX in August for a 2018 GTI 155. What a great machine. Better handling than the GTX.

Thanks for the comments. For those who purchased new, did you buy the trailer & mooring cover at the same time or separately?

The Boat show is a good time to purchase, it is this weekend and many manufacturers offer discounts as well as extended warranties. I would purchase the trailer at the same time. I have a 2018 Yamaha FX cruiser HO and find it to be more stable than the Sea Doo. Good luck


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I have owned Yamaha, Seadoo and Polaris over the years. I prefer Yamaha. Not a fan of the DESS key setup on Seadoo. I lost one on a vest that blew out of the boat one time and had to tow the machine back to shore and haul to the dealer for a new one to be coded (couldn't find the spare either).

The Yamaha FX HO and FX SHO and SVHO are great machines. They are a solid ride and very reliable.

I haven't ridden any of the newer ones that have reverse on a trigger, like the Seadoo with IBR or 2016 and newer Yamahas. My next one will have this setup. So much easier!

I have had both SeaDoos and Yamaha's. For the last 20 years or so I have only had Yamaha's.

I have found them to be very reliable and I have noticed that the companies renting jet skis on Winnipesaukee use primarily Yamaha's. Lake's Region Jet Ski Rentals in the Weirs Channel only uses Yamaha's.

In the Fort Myers Beach area of Florida there are at least 5 waterfront jet ski rental companies and most of them have 8 to 12 machines. The ones I have seen are mostly, if not all, Yamaha's.

To me that says something. The people who make their living renting these to inexperienced tourists who will probably abuse them prefer Yamaha's. I think that says a lot about the dependability of them.

Certain Sea Doo models have IBR modules that can fail regularly after warranty has expired and they're expensive. For my money, Yamaha is the choice.

Second that.....in SW Florida all the hotel rentals use Yamaha's....they drag them over the sand,leave them in salt water all day and they are constantly run up onto sand bars by novice drivers but they keep on running.

Yamaha GP 1800R
 

BoatTest.com has a good review of the Yamaha GP 1800R.

https://www.boattest.com/review/yamaha/3832_gp1800r