2012 SEA DOO WAKE 210 REVIEW/ WITH PRO BOARDER COMMENTS / JET WAKE BOATS ARE THEY ANY GOOD

 

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2012 SEA DOO 210 WAKE REVIEW

 

 

I must say my first experiences with jet boat ownership was the Sea Ray Raider Select, not a great boat mechanically. So I was not sure what to expect with this twin engine supercharged Wake Boat. My jet boat was more of a toy than a boat, this is a boat!

 

  First thoughts on seeing the boat were another bow rider jet boat with a fancy wake bar bolted on to it. NO BIG DEAL. But not so Sea Doo really made an effort here to create a Wake Boat, ballast tanks, trim controls, and enough power to pull anyone on a board comfortably.

 

But power is only part of the equation with these Wake Boats, There is a lot of boat design language that describes the different way Wake Boats create wake and allow a riders to do what they do. If you are a wake connoisseur, the Sea DOO 210 Wake just doesn't stack up against competitive V drive boats, and Inboard /Outboard wake boats. 

 

If price is your consideration okay you may have a winner here, however jet is the least efficient way to propel a boat thru the water and you will pay for this at the pump every trip out.

 

Jet drive is safe but certainly takes some practice to get used to. There is no real neutral position and don't let anyone tell you other wise. As long as the jet turns the boat moves, period. Docking this boat is not easy and requires a patient touch or you will be out of control before you can blink. Once out on the water the boat is a lot of fun carves thru turns and gives you a terrific feel of speed.

 

What doesn't work:

This boat has a completely different feel than a I/O, Inboard or Outboard there is a vibration that one has to adjust to. I am assuming this is do to the type of engine mounts, RPM and huge flow of water thru the jet package..

The access under to the motors is a poor design, if you had to get under the engine access lid in a hurry:  You have to deal with the hatch pull under the glove box door (which requires a pull and twist to lock open),  removal of the tub ( which is always full of stuff) and then you can finally get to the motors.

The aft seat bases are light enough to loose on the highway without the travel cover

A lot of space that you think maybe storage under the aft seats is full of the boats systems.

The hardware that controls the shift doors is way to light duty, and the shift doors have been know to break at the ends.

The LED lights on the wake bar have a habit of loosening and pointing down at you

All Jet boats are gas guzzlers

With jet drive, the back of the boat is always being pulled down so the boat has a tendency to be a rough ride in heavy chop

Its loud! This is a boat with plenty of engine noise (the engine room acts like a resonator)

Terrible low speed control

 

If you keep this boat at a dock all those graphics on the side wont last. With the lack of low speed maneuverability they will get wiped out, if not from hitting the dock. The lack of decent places to attach fenders will do the job for you. 

 

If you make a mistake and hydraulic an engine ( this happens more than you think, the engine fills the cylinders or cylinder with water) this engine with its supercharger and 10 feet of exhaust will take forever to clear.

 

Parts and fluids for this boat are expensive.

 

What works:

This boat is a survivor it will take a beating "no doubt", I found out our tester had sunk at least 3 times (filled with rain water at the dock) and had the original electronics on the motor. I wondered why this happened a lot so I checked the boat out. There is one battery and a whole host of things that can be left on. Even if you shut everything down and shut off the battery switch this boat has a big bilge pump. Without the travel covers on it can collect a lot of water. If you intend to moor this boat put a charger on board! 

Its fast and fun on a fair day

The dash and switches are well marked and not all plastic.

 

Removable center aft seat cushion, leaving access to a non slip step to cockpit floor (props to Sea Doo for this)

 

 

I have not had a chance to operate a lot of these new jet drive boats for extended periods of time yet. So comparing the performance to another similar boat would be unfair. I can however tell you that almost right next to our tester was a Yamaha AR 192 I know its not the same type of "Wake Boat" but I have seen the owner (who by the way just got the boat) appear to have a far easier time with low speed maneuvering.

 

The one problem that I have always had with jet drive boats of any kind (this includes PWC's) is that the owners figure that jet boats can be run in a teaspoon of water. They advertise these boats as low draw (do not require much depth of water to float), which most owners either don't or barely understand. Owners just assume that a jet boat can run over low water without issue. There is some truth to this, however if you buy or own a jet drive boat BEWARE. A jet boat will suck up the bottom from as much as three feet and the grates on the bottom do not prevent all kinds of debris from entering. The most common stuff taken out of jets are: Rocks, Sticks, Rope (and rope is probably the most common),  and chunks of hard mucky bottom. The tolerance between the impellor and the walls of the jet intake is measured in hundreds of an inch and damaged impellors will cause performance issues. As a matter of fact I believe that are tester may have had at least one damaged impellor as the vibration we felt that is standard on the Sea Doo 210 Wake was worse on one side than the other.

 

You can't skimp on service when it comes to a jet boat of any kind. These boats run at high RPM under a variety of load conditions all the time (this means that the jet can load up with water and unload from the water depending on the conditions, and if you jump the hull off a wave).  If you are a  the kind of person who will try to stretch the maintenance dollar I don't suggest buying any jet drive boat. 

 

 Here is some information from a pro boarder about the Ride ability of the Sea Doo Wake:

 

 

IN THE WAKE

 

For wake analysis, we relied on Ryan Jones, a pro rider from Central Florida. Jones spent considerable time behind each boat, noting everything from the size, shape, and firmness of the wake to the consistency of the pull. His help proved invaluable in comparing each boat from the rider’s point of view. Jones is a pro, so from his hardcore perspective it wasn’t surprising that neither jet nor stern drive compared well with the V-drive. He said the V-drive’s wake was firmer, taller, and ideally shaped, allowing the rider to use it more effectively as a launch platform. The wake also maintained its shape a greater distance from the boat, allowing experienced riders to use a longer rope—which provides greater air time. True, it took a whopping amount of ballast and the Power Wedge to achieve that ultimate ramp, but the combination worked. On the other hand, Jones admitted to being surprised at how nice the wake was behind the stern drive, deeming it good and clean, with a great shape and enough size to allow beginners, intermediates, and advanced riders to get a consistent pop. He added, however, that the wake wasn’t as steep as either the V-drive’s or jet’s, resulting in a gentler trajectory through the air. This requires riders to understand a little bit more about line tension to achieve the height they desire. He also said that, if desired, passenger load or add-on ballast bags might increase the wake’s height. Despite 1,000 pounds of ballast, the jet’s wake proved relatively soft, which Jones said forced him use his legs

 

To wrap it up the Sea Doo Wake 210 is not up to par with other Wake Boats, either the boat or the time spent at the helm while towing.

* WOULD I BUY ONE* The answer is no I would not, not because I dislike the style or the layout. I would not own another jet powered boat at all, they are to hard on gas and I don't like the ride plain and simple. I know that they are considered safer which Jet Drives are, but safer doesn't mean better all of the time. A jet drive to me for leisure is a PWC. I wonder if the line was so terrific why did Sea Doo sell it and why did the line become SCARAB. I know most builders have a jet drive boat , but these companies all copy each other. again this does not make this breed great. I suppose if I lived on a lake that was 90 % shallow like Lake Nipissing I would have to consider a boat like this so I could expand the area I could boat on.

 

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