Boat vs. jet ski - what are the pros and cons?

[Jetdrift]

Dear Friends,

we would like to introduce our new site dedicated to watercrafts.
We've just posted a new article on the topic, you may be interested:

https://www.jetdrift.com/jet-ski-vs-boat/

If you have any comments on the article (or the site in general) please don't hesitate to share with us.
Best regards,

Jetdrift editor team

[AsLan7]

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Thanks for the article JD. It’s well written and I’ve certainly enjoyed my time on jet skis. Fantastic machines.

Have you ever owned or been on a Cobalt?

...and a formal welcome aboard mate.

[Jetdrift]

Thank you for the good words!
We love boats as well but we are still on the side of riding personal watercrafts..

[mdadgar]

Why is this even a thing? The answer is clearly BOTH.

- Mark

[AsLan7]

Why is this even a thing? The answer is clearly BOTH.

- Mark

.

+1!

.

[Jetdrift]

Thank you for the comments, it seems you also have experience with jet skis.
We've just posted a new article about how to storage a jet ski on a boat, you may be interested:

https://www.jetdrift.com/jet-ski-storage-on-boats/

If you have any comments on this article (or the site in general) please don't hesitate to share with us.

We are working on a comparative article as well about the jet ski vs. dinghy debate - which one you would choose and why?
We understand that these additions are not common on Cobalt boats (however maybe the A series could carry them?), but if you have any thoughts on this topic please feel free to share with us.
We would like to write an unbiased article based on real experiences.
Thank you for your help in advance!

[liquid]

Thank you for the comments, it seems you also have experience with jet skis.
We've just posted a new article about how to storage a jet ski on a boat, you may be interested:

https://www.jetdrift.com/jet-ski-storage-on-boats/

If you have any comments on this article (or the site in general) please don't hesitate to share with us.

We are working on a comparative article as well about the jet ski vs. dinghy debate - which one you would choose and why?
We understand that these additions are not common on Cobalt boats (however maybe the A series could carry them?), but if you have any thoughts on this topic please feel free to share with us.
We would like to write an unbiased article based on real experiences.
Thank you for your help in advance!

I guess we'll allow it?

[BobRae99]

When I was 20, I had my first exposure to boat recreation in the form of a sailboat. My girlfriend took me sailing in an old dingy with a mast and I was instantly hooked. I went to the book store and bought a book on sailing and took her out on the water the next weekend and showed off my new skills. So started my love affair with sailing and I graduated to larger keelboats - spent 10 summers on a 25' sailboat on Lake of the Woods Ontario and then on a 38' keelboat.

In 2003 I bought my first Sea-Doo, then another in 2004 and another one in 2016, the last one being a Sea-Doo RXT 300. I spent many weekends towing my nephews in tubes on the lake and praying for strong winds so I could jump the high waves. When my kids got old enough to go out of the lake, I started riding with them and my now 12-year-old daughter learned to waterski behind our 2016 Sea-Doo.

With 2 kids and me not as happy banging around on the waves as I used to, I stared considered a boat for the first time a few years ago. While the Sea-Doo was fun banging around on the waves or flying along at 70 mph on a flat lake, it's not really much of a social outing while you are riding, due to noise, wind and the fact you are lined up 3 in a row.

A boat has opened up an opportunity for our family to enjoy the water (OK, not my wife - she gets seasick, so stays home). I have enough room for both kids and a spotter, as well as the kid's friends. We can stop and socialize (the adults) while the kids jump off the swim platform.

While the kids enjoy the boat, they prefer the Sea-Doo due to speed, excitement and wave jumping. They just like the "action" on a Sea-Doo more than the motoring on the boat.

For our family, the perfect mix is to have both. Sadly, these days, my 16' Hobie Cat sits in the yard at our cottage waiting for me to clean it up and take it out. There just doesn't seem to be enough time for 3 toys during our 13-week summer.

One final note re-repair costs; No doubt boats have more systems and those systems are complex, so they must be more expensive to maintain, but I'm hoping my new boat will be more reliable than my Sea-Doos. My first one (2003) started using large amounts of oil after 10 hours and couldn't attain speed. The dealer couldn't fix it after 3 tries and I traded it on a 2004 model (turns out the factory hadn't torqued down the camshaft bolts). The 2004 Sea-Doo was better but went through a couple of wear rings ($500 each - installed) and towards the end of ownership, a known fault with the drive shaft left my nephew marooned out on the lake when the splines stripped damaging the through hull fitting and the unit started taking on water. That was a $700.00 repair. If he and his friends hadn't been close enough to shore the Sea-Doo would have sunk. I sold that unit at the end of the summer and got a new one the following spring.

PWCs live in a very high RPM zone with constant thrashing and in my view, the supercharged models I've owned were prone to supercharger problems - some failures resulting in the requirement to rebuild the complete engine at a cost of a couple of thousand dollars. We'll see how I make out with the boat.

[AsLan7]

Thank you for the comments, it seems you also have experience with jet skis.
We've just posted a new article about how to storage a jet ski on a boat, you may be interested:

https://www.jetdrift.com/jet-ski-storage-on-boats/

If you have any comments on this article (or the site in general) please don't hesitate to share with us.

We are working on a comparative article as well about the jet ski vs. dinghy debate - which one you would choose and why?
We understand that these additions are not common on Cobalt boats (however maybe the A series could carry them?), but if you have any thoughts on this topic please feel free to share with us.
We would like to write an unbiased article based on real experiences.
Thank you for your help in advance!

I guess we'll allow it?

.
For now.
(jmd & I discussed this)

[liquid]

Thank you for the comments, it seems you also have experience with jet skis.
We've just posted a new article about how to storage a jet ski on a boat, you may be interested:

https://www.jetdrift.com/jet-ski-storage-on-boats/

If you have any comments on this article (or the site in general) please don't hesitate to share with us.

We are working on a comparative article as well about the jet ski vs. dinghy debate - which one you would choose and why?
We understand that these additions are not common on Cobalt boats (however maybe the A series could carry them?), but if you have any thoughts on this topic please feel free to share with us.
We would like to write an unbiased article based on real experiences.
Thank you for your help in advance!

I guess we'll allow it?

.
For now.
(jmd & I discussed this)

I believe you know where my opinion falls.

[AsLan7]

I guess we'll allow it?

.
For now.
(jmd & I discussed this)

I believe you know where my opinion falls.

.
JEtDrift and I have since corresponded after his posts.
It’s all good.

PM sent to you with details if interested .

.

[liquid]

.
For now.
(jmd & I discussed this)

I believe you know where my opinion falls.

.
JEtDrift and I have since corresponded after his posts.
It’s all good.

PM sent to you with details if interested .

.

I trust your judgement.

[Vickitn]

Why is this even a thing? The answer is clearly BOTH.

- Mark

.

+1!

.

Yep! Both

[Southerncomfort]

I believe you know where my opinion falls.

.
JEtDrift and I have since corresponded after his posts.
It’s all good.

PM sent to you with details if interested .

.

I trust your judgement.

I feel like there is a secret committee behind the scenes making very big and important decisions. Just can't figure out what those big and important decisions would be.

[AsLan7]

.
JEtDrift and I have since corresponded after his posts.
It’s all good.

PM sent to you with details if interested .

.

I trust your judgement.

I feel like there is a secret committee behind the scenes making very big and important decisions. Just can't figure out what those big and important decisions would be.

.
Trust me. You’re not missing a thing....and it’s hardly a committee...just a couple of clowns.

..