A little background first. I am 54 years old and have been boating since before I was born. I am the third generation to live in our lakehouse. I was born in October and my mom was out boating the entire summer before I was born. From 27 - 38, I lived in Fort Lauderdale and did a tremendous amount of boating there. I got my Captains license and while I was never Captain, I did serve as crew on many boats, the largest being a 100' Burger. In my life I have owned outboards, I/O's and straight inboards (as well as a sunfish sailboat).
With that being said, I can only speak to my own experience. In 2007, I bought (new) a speedster 150 SCIC. It is hands down the most fun boat I have ever owned. I can't speak to the normally aspirated model, but mine will easily do mid 60's in the spring and fall. The intercooler loves the colder water. And, it will reach those speeds very quickly. In the heat of the summer, it will top out at around 60. These are true speeds as measured by GPS, not the dream-o-meter. It will drink a lot of fuel but I can pretty easily get a full weekend on one tank of gas unless my crazy niece is at the lake. If she's there, It'll go through a tank per day but she does run it hard, and all day long to. Still, it's better than my Century which will go through 12 gallons per hour (it's a 440). That one really hits the wallet hard.
As to reliability, I have never had it in the shop for any reason (other than winterizing). That's 8 years of hard use with no problems. I consider it to be a great boat mechanically. I can't say if this is normal or not but I suspect it is. At least for the 4 stroke models. Sea Doo did have issues with ceramic clutch washers in their superchargers prior to 2008 but that really only affected the skis and not the boats. In 2008 they switched to steel washers and resolved that problem. If you want more info about that go to Greenhulk.net (a jet ski forum).
As to weeds, I only experienced issues one year out of the 8 I have owned it and that was only due to the fact that the lake I'm on was very low and the weeds were very close to the surface. That year, the pump did clog frequently. When it clogged, I was always able to get back to the dock. As mentioned, clearing the pump, although not hard, is a pain in the rear end. If you boat in an area where the weeds are close to the surface, that will be an issue to consider.
You often hear about steering issues with jets. The modern jet boats do not have the issues the older ones do. While there is a LARGE learning curve, once you have it down you'll discover they will out handle any other boat at ANY speed. I can spin mine 360 degrees in it's own length and move it sideways as well all at idle.
These are wet boats and if you're boating in any water with 2 -3 footers, you will take water over the bow. No worries on a smaller lake (less than 4000 acres) where 3 footers are not common. I don't know, but I'd be concerned on the intracoastal where they're much more common. At least they are in the Lauderdale area.
If I were you, I'd go with an outboard. Much more practical in your area.
Still, if you were looking for a second boat, you can't beat a little jet for the fun factor. And get the supercharged one, you won't regret it.
Sorry this post is so long. And remember, it's jusy my two cents.
