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1997 Sea-Doo GSi Personal Watercraft
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10-20-2002 Stored the jetski for the winter at the same place as my parent's boat and my brother's Dakota RT is sitting, as well as where the GSX will go next month. And friend and I winterized it and I'll be looking forward until spring so I can go use it again.

09-18-2002 A friend of mine who used to work at a Sea Doo dealership at a mechanic took a look at the jetski recentely and found the problem. There was a broken bolt laying underneath the motor that was a telltale sign of the culprit: a broken exhaust manifold bolt. He explanied that because of this, two things were happening: exhaust was leaking into the engine bay, overheating it and the motor, and a change in exhaust backpressure. These problems caused the motor to overheat, foul the plugs, and generally run like crap.

He removed the broken stud, replaced all the manifold bolts, and the motor runs great now. Due to the weather I'll have to wait until next season to ride it again, but I should have no problems now.

08-11-2002 Went back out on chain and the boat ran fine for a few hours, but it eventually fouled out both sets of plugs I brought. We towed it back to the dock with my brother's boat, and now I'm going to have to find the problem, as it's defintely not a fuel/oil delivery problem.

08-03-2002 In an effort to stop the boat from fouling the plugs again, my brother and I pulled the carb off the engine and completely dissasembled and cleaned it. Check a few other things, and also put a new set of factory heat-range plugs, the BPR8ES, in the motor. Everything seems fine so far.

07-28-2002 Ended up having to tow the jetski all the way back to the dock from Petite, as the both sets of plugs I brought were covered in oil after only a few hours of sprinting around the lakes. The motor loads-up almost immediately after getting off the throttle, as eventually just stopped running even under WOT. Something is defintely wrong, and I'll check it out next weekend.

07-21-2002 Went out on chain on yet another beautiful July Sunday, except this time I had to change the spark plugs out on the water near dusk. The old plugs fouled out (I forgot to change them) after a few hours, so I tossed in the spare set and headed for home. The jetski did start to load-up again as I approached the dock, so something may be amiss.

07-13-2002 Went boating out on the Chain-O-Lakes here in northern Illinois this weekend with my brother and some other friend's on my parent's boat. The boat is in a slip on Pistakee Lake, and I simply launch my jetski at JetFun which is only a few hundred yards from the slip.

We mostly spent time running around Pistakee, Nippersink, and Fox Lake, as well as relaxing at the popular Lake Petite sandbar.

06-25-2002 Went back up to Lake Delavan last Sunday and spent most of the day on my ski. Later in the afternoon when the lake calmed down I was able to just run around at wide-open-throttle for as long as I wanted.

After 3 full tanks of gas, the only issues I've run into are (1) I had to keep pulling a ton of seaweed out of the impeller intake, and (2) during rough riding, the Oil Low light was coming on with 1/3 of a tank of oil.

06-01-2002 Spent a few hours on the Chain-o-Lakes today, riding around with a friend of mine who rented a Yahama 750. My boat was a little smaller and just a bit faster.

05-26-2002 I trailered the Sea-Doo up to my friend's place in Delavan, WI today and went out on Lake Delavan in the afternoon. My first impressions are that: (1) I'm going to have a lot of fun on it this summer, (2) as it's a pretty small craft, very choppy water really knocks you around and keeps you running at a slower speed than most boats go, and (3) wetsuits are awesome.

After-riding maintenance is pretty easy and I plan on going out on the water as much as I possibly can.

05-25-2002 Went out today and purchased a battery charger, oil and lube, whistles for the lifevests, a trailer receiver and hitch, trailer locks, and a shorty wetsuit. I plan on going riding this weekend, and think I have everything I shall need.

05-19-2002 So, in the same fashion that I acquired the Eclipse, I just stumbled upon a very nice personal watercraft by accident, and decided to buy it. Last week I noticed a waverunner for sale just down the street from me, and I stopped and talked to the owner with the intention of forwarding his info over to a friend or my brother. After both of them declined interest, I started to remember all those summers I spent on the Chain-o-Lakes in Northeastern IL on my family's boat, envying all those guys having fun on their jetskis and waverunners.

I decided to seriously think about getting one for this summer, which meant spending a good chunk of money, AND delaying any more mods on the Eclipse until next summer. I've already got the Ranger with the trailer package, friends and my parent's with boats, a friend with a big garage, and another friend who used to be a mechanic at Nielsen. Plus, the car is fast enough for now anyways, and it stops really good too :) Sounds like I've already made up my mind at this point!

After spending the last week doing tons of research, I found out that the craft I stumbled upon was a veritable diamond in the rough. As far as pre-owned equipment goes, this one was incredibly well maintained and hardly ever used. And it's a perfect boat to get me started off on: it's a light 2-seater that will handle very well with my 130 pound body on it, and comes with a great trailer, spare wheel/tire, cover, fire extinguisher, tool kit, and almost everything else I need. I'm still reading the manual and learning what I'll need to get for maintenance, but it should be pretty simple.

According to a few sources, the 718cc Rotax motor that it has is one of the best, most reliable motors ever put out by Bombardier, and at 90hp should hit 55mph on smooth water with just me and a light load of fuel. I plan on making NO modifications to this, with the exception of maybe a better breathing flame arrestor of the engine. I want a perfectly reliable craft that will always start and never dies on me, and with this boat I believe that is what I've found.

Specifications
Dimensions
HullSemi-V fiberglass reinforced
Length 106" / 269cm
Width 45.6" / 116cm
Height 37" / 94cm
Dry Weight 478 lbs. / 215kg
Rider Capacity 2
Fuel Capacity 15 gal. (1.8 gal. reserve)
Oil Capacity 1.6 gal.
Engine
Type Two stroke, twin cylinder Bombardier Rotax
Bore x Stroke 82mm x 62mm
Displacement 718cc
Power 90hp
Compression Ratio6.2:1
Rev Limiter 7000rpm
Intake System Rotary Valve
Carburetion Single Mikuni BN 40-38
Lubrication Variable Rate Oil Injection
Cooling Water, open system
Fuel Type Regular (or Premium) Unleaded
Drive Unit
Propulsion SystemBombardier Formula water jet pump with trimming nozzle
Water Jet Pump Axial flow, single stage
Tranmission Direct Drive
Impeller Stainless Steel
Electrical
Ignition CDI
Starter Electric
Battery 12 volt
Equipment
Tachometer Info Center multi-function gauge
Fuel/Oil Gauge Info Center multi-function gauge
Trim Electric Variable Trim System
Trailer
Model Shoreland'r PWC 1000
Carrying Capacity1200 lbs.
Length 146"
Width 58.5" (46" between fenders)
Tire Size 12" x 4.80"
Equipment
Battery Tender 12-volt Charger
  • Purchased on: 05/25/2002

  • Purchased at: Nielsen Enterprises

    Used to recharge the watercraft's 12 volt battery when not in use.
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    NGK BR8ES Spark Plugs
  • Purchased on: 05/25/2002

  • Purchased at: Nielsen Enterprises

    These plugs are the factory recommened spark plugs.
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    Bombardier 2-cycle Motor Oil
  • Purchased on: 05/25/2002

  • Purchased at: Nielsen Enterprises

    The recommended oil for use in the Rotax 720 2-cycle motors.
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    Bombardier Lube
  • Purchased on: 05/25/2002

  • Purchased at: Nielsen Enterprises

    For lubrication of external components and fogging of internal parts.
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    Bombardier Grease
  • Purchased on: 05/25/2002

  • Purchased at: Nielsen Enterprises

    Applied to the zerk fitting located on the motor's flywheel.
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    Jet Logic Sand Anchor
  • Purchased on: 06/25/2002

  • Purchased at: KMart (Bluelight.com)

    A vinyl/polyester tri-laminate anchor bag that can be filled with up to 35 lbs. of sand or rocks.
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    Jet Logic Dock Lines
  • Purchased on: 06/25/2002

  • Purchased at: KMart (Bluelight.com)

    A pair of 7ft long ropes for attaching to ski eyes, cleats, bow eyes and mooring rings.
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    Jet Logic Inflatable Fender
  • Purchased on: 06/25/2002

  • Purchased at: KMart (Bluelight.com)

    Secures under the hood or seat, uses suction cups, Velcro, or hangs from cleats.
    		•
    Jet Logic Tow Strap
  • Purchased on: 06/25/2002

  • Purchased at: KMart (Bluelight.com)

    A 15ft tow strap with 10" loops at the ends designed for recesssed bow eyes.
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    Links
    Equipment
    Sea-Doo Official site of Bombardier's Sea-Doo line of watercraft.
    ShoreLand'r Official site for ShoreLand'r trailers.
    Nielsen Enterprises Local Sea-Doo dealership.
    Information
    sea-doo.net The largest meeting place online for Sea-Doo enthusiasts.
    OEM Parts Finder A complete microfiche database used for part identification.