Do you need a licence for a jet ski?

Rob2593

As the title says, do you? I'm thinking of buying one but not entirely too sure where to look for a second hand one. Anyone have any ideas apart from Donedeal?

pedroeibar1

You don't need anything for a jetski, not even a brain.

fergal.b

You don't need a licence but it would be worth your while getting certified as it will help when you go to insure it http://www.dmgsailsports.com/pwccourses.php

Try here you might see something you like http://www.apolloduck.ie/listings.phtml?cid=11&scid=341 or join one of the clubs and they will look after you and point you in the right direction http://afloat.ie/resources/irish-sailing-clubs/south-meath-jet-ski-club



.

Skuxx

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

You don't need anything for a jetski, not even a brain.

But having a brain is a great help....especially to everyone else out on the water! You see some absolute muppets using jetskis. As Fergal said, do the course!!

Rob2593

I understand there is a large deal of hatred towards jet ski users, however I would appreciate if we could keep this on topic.

Lastly; are jet skis reliable? After how many hours should I not buy one (bare in mind I only have around €2,000) to spend on one. Any good brand names out there I should look for? Thanks again.

Skuxx

Rob2593 wrote: »

I understand there is a large deal of hatred towards jet ski users, however I would appreciate if we could keep this on topic.

Lastly; are jet skis reliable? After how many hours should I not buy one (bare in mind I only have around €2,000) to spend on one. Any good brand names out there I should look for? Thanks again.

Sorry, I wasnt trying to bring things off topic, or show any hatred....I had a ski myself for a while and will more than likely buy another after the summer!!

You see a lot on donedeal advertising engine rebuilds around the 80-100 hour mark, if you can see receipts for this work they would probably be a good buy. Ski's have a fairly hard life, I know when I had mine, its flat out from the second you get on the water, you have no reason to stop or slow down like in a car!
I had a Yamaha, it was fine for me anyway, I'd have no problem buying another one! A friend of mine has a Sea-doo and again he's had no trouble from it!

Rob2593

alan1990 wrote: »

Sorry, I wasnt trying to bring things off topic, or show any hatred....I had a ski myself for a while and will more than likely buy another after the summer!!

You see a lot on donedeal advertising engine rebuilds around the 80-100 hour mark, if you can see receipts for this work they would probably be a good buy. Ski's have a fairly hard life, I know when I had mine, its flat out from the second you get on the water, you have no reason to stop or slow down like in a car!
I had a Yamaha, it was fine for me anyway, I'd have no problem buying another one! A friend of mine has a Sea-doo and again he's had no trouble from it!

No problem at all. Can I ask did you find it expensive to run? Like how much fuel would you use in about 1-2 hours of flat out playtime? :pac: Seriously considering getting one after Christmas however need to make sure it won't bankrupt me first! :rolleyes:

Also, I'm looking at a Yamaha waverunner 800GP - are these fast do you know?

Thanks for taking sometime to help me out, appreciate it!

fergal.b

Another thing to think about is where you are going to use it, I see you are in Dublin and I know most places on the East coast have banned them and also a lot of inland lakes and rivers and I can only see this becoming widespread over the coming years.





.

Rob2593

fergal.b wrote: »

Another thing to think about is where you are going to use it, I see you are in Dublin and I know most places on the East coast have banned them and also a lot of inland lakes and rivers and I can only see this becoming widespread over the coming years.

My plan was to use it outside of Howth Harbour, around Ireland's eye. They aren't banned there yet thankfully.

fergal.b

Yep Howth is about the only place left http://www.fingalcoco.ie/Environment/BeachesinFingal/ByeLaws2006RegulatingRecreationalCraft/FileDownload,20658,en.pdf




.

Rob2593

fergal.b wrote: »

Yep Howth is about the only place left http://www.fingalcoco.ie/Environment/BeachesinFingal/ByeLaws2006RegulatingRecreationalCraft/FileDownload,20658,en.pdf




.

Awesome, got lucky so. Are you allowed launch them from the harbour on your own or do you have to notify someone? :rolleyes:

fergal.b

I think you have to let the Harbour authorities know.
As to give you an idea of how much fuel you will burn it will depend on what one you get be it 2 or 4 stroke xp,rxp.gsx and so on. A 800cc 2 stroke can carry 15 gallons and at "WOT" full speed it will burn about 11-12 gallons giving you a running time of an hour and a quarter.

We have a good few jet ski users in our powerboat club as you can see in the video I posted in here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056887167 you would be more than welcome to join us and talk to some of the guys/girls that have ski's they should be able to help you out on what and where to buy, you can also get them here if your on FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/133673356708207/?fref=ts

Or how about this it would save you all hassle of having to buy and look after one http://www.groupon.ie/deals/dublin/extreme-time-off/677907?nlp=&CID=IE_CRM_1_0_0_228&a=1220
.

oceanman

fergal.b wrote: »

I think you have to let the Harbour authorities know.
As to give you an idea of how much fuel you will burn it will depend on what one you get be it 2 or 4 stroke xp,rxp.gsx and so on. A 800cc 2 stroke can carry 15 gallons and at "WOT" full speed it will burn about 11-12 gallons giving you a running time of an hour and a quarter.

We have a good few jet ski users in our powerboat club as you can see in the video I posted in here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056887167 you would be more than welcome to join us and talk to some of the guys/girls that have ski's they should be able to help you out on what and where to buy, you can also get them here if your on FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/133673356708207/?fref=ts

Or how about this it would save you all hassle of having to buy and look after one http://www.groupon.ie/deals/dublin/extreme-time-off/677907?nlp=&CID=IE_CRM_1_0_0_228&a=1220
.

dose that mean it would cost about 80-90euro an hour to run?

Whatnuclearsub

Jet Skis are great fun, think you will be pushed to find a decent one for E2000 tho… I think the best ones to go for if you are going to be using it at sea are the ones which do not use sea water for cooling, I would go for an internally cooled model.

Rob2593

Whatnuclearsub wrote: »

Jet Skis are great fun, think you will be pushed to find a decent one for E2000 tho… I think the best ones to go for if you are going to be using it at sea are the ones which do not use sea water for cooling, I would go for an internally cooled model.

What sorts are internally cooled? The Yamaha waverunner 800gp seems to be cheap enough (1999 model) and has around 100 hours on the clock - all for €2,000. What do you think?

fergal.b

oceanman wrote: »

dose that mean it would cost about 80-90euro an hour to run?

No............ more you also have to buy two stroke

Whatnuclearsub

Rob2593 wrote: »

What sorts are internally cooled? The Yamaha waverunner 800gp seems to be cheap enough (1999 model) and has around 100 hours on the clock - all for €2,000. What do you think?

Im by no means a jet ski expert I have only had a few hours messing around on my mates, I was considering buying one but thought I would get better use from a RIB. There are 2 types of cooling systems closed loop and open loop, I think sea doos are closed loop, yahmas open loop, not sure about the kwasaki's. Im sure someone will correct me if I am wrong! If you go for closed loop it just means less maintenance.

fergal.b

A bit of basic info here on buying your first jetski http://skimd.co.nz/news.php?content_id=744 servicing them is not cheep and 100 hours is about the limit of the engine before a rebuild if it has not been done already. If you are going to buy one go to a main dealer and try and get a warranty or one that they have serviced and are willing to stand by it as a good engine. I would not buy one of these from the free ads unless you were able to rebuild an engine yourself.



.

Rob2593

fergal.b wrote: »

A bit of basic info here on buying your first jetski http://skimd.co.nz/news.php?content_id=744 servicing them is not cheep and 100 hours is about the limit of the engine before a rebuild if it has not been done already. If you are going to buy one go to a main dealer and try and get a warranty or one that they have serviced and are willing to stand by it as a good engine. I would not buy one of these from the free ads unless you were able to rebuild an engine yourself.



.

Cheers for the info Fergal, where abouts can I find a main dealer?

fergal.b

You could try these http://www.yelp.ie/biz/g-p-motorcycles-and-jet-ski-dublin or http://www.kilmorejetworks.com/new_jetskis_dealer_Ireland.php



.

Rob2593

fergal.b wrote: »

You could try these http://www.yelp.ie/biz/g-p-motorcycles-and-jet-ski-dublin or http://www.kilmorejetworks.com/new_jetskis_dealer_Ireland.php



.

Grand I'll pop into the one in Dublin at some stage and take a look. So overall I should be looking for a ski that has a closed loop, 2 stroke and doesn't need to be rebuilt anytime soon. Reckon that's possible with about 2 grand?

breghall

i don't buy into the theory that 2 stoke jetskis need rebuilding at 100hrs. As far as i see it , there is no difference between a 2 stroke outboard or jet ski. As long as it is maintained properly then it should run fine for years. 2 strokes are designed to run hard and fast so once lubricated properly and cooled properly they shoudl be just fine. 2 stroke outboards can run without needing rebuilds for 10-20 years, can't see jetskis being any different.

A proven well maintained jet ski should keep going for years...

fergal.b

I wouldn't worry too much about it being a closed loop once it's been well looked after and flushed after each run just like all outboards are it should be fine.



.

Rob2593

Okay lads thanks for the information, you have no idea how much this is helping. With regards to flushing out the jetski - How is this done? Also if I were to only use it in sea water, would this decrease the lifespan of it? And how would I cool it down after use?

fergal.b

Once it well looked after it should be fine. You will need to learn a bit about your ski like changing the anode and using salt away other jet ski owners would be the ones to ask so joining a club would be the way to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIiQbP_v5cU

Rob2593

fergal.b wrote: »

Once it well looked after it should be fine. You will need to learn a bit about your ski like changing the anode and using salt away other jet ski owners would be the ones to ask so joining a club would be the way to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIiQbP_v5cU

Brilliant, sounds great. How would one go about joining this club?:pac:

fergal.b

I'm not to up to date with with jet ski clubs but you could ask here https://www.facebook.com/jetskireland or try the club I'm in there are quite a few jetski owners that could help you out https://www.facebook.com/groups/133673356708207/?fref=ts




.