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I am in the market for a used Boston Whaler I have narrow it down two. a 1992 14ft super clean rage/jet15 whaler for 6700.00 or a 15 ft 1983 all around great boat. I don't know much about boats all I know is that the Whalers are very safe. I live up in the Sacramento area and I plan to take the boat to Lake Tahoe, Sacramento River, Bay Area and Lake Berryessa etc.... I gues my question is should I stay away from the jet boat its very cute and its well maintained.
Thanks for your help I hope to make my decision by tomorrow afternoon.
The Jet boats have their place but are a special breed. If you have a special need for the jet, then I would suggest getting it... If not, look at something else. The jet parts and engine are hard to come by from what I understand.
I would suggest going with the larger 15' model. This model will handle a 70 hp engine and is very versatile. Parts for any of the outboard engines are easily obtained and relatively inexpensive.
Tahoe can always be a problem with older engines. Tahoe requires "clean" burning engines....
Mostly 4 strokes or the newer E-Tec or Optimax enginse are required to boat on Lake Tahoe... The engines must be Carb3 rated..... Keep that in mind when purchasing a boat to use on Lake Tahoe.....
Do you know if the 650 Yamaha engine in the Rage Whaler is a two stroke or four stroke. I did not even thnk of the regulations for boating in Lake Tahoe thanks for bringing the issue up it will play into my decision on which boat to purchase.
I don't know about the "JET", the reg. 15' is a blast though, it crashes through waves better than the 13' models, my friend has the 13' model, everything on it is easier to fix than the 15' though (that part I like, the 13' is still one of my favorite models). My 15' is a 1976, and has never let me down. I don't own a lot of things, I don't have a lot of money, GOD I LOVE THAT BOAT ! it is very inexpensive to own, it's my "Vacation" every year !
mw
I can promise you that you will not regret getting a 15'. I'm sure that there are many others out there that have many pluses over the 15' but I can only speak of the 15' and like MW, I think it is the best bang for the buck! Easy to launch, easy to trailer, easy to manuver, especially for someone that is not all that familiar with boating. You could get an old whaler and a good dependable motor and be virtually set for life!
ps
I would not get the jet boat, especially if you are going to use it in fast moving river currents. Just my opinion
